Ten Ton Hammer - Taking MMO Gamers to the Next Level!

Eager anticipation of good things to come is one of the hallmarks of the Christmas season, although as we get older that feeling tends to diminish slightly. No longer do we endure fitful...

Eager anticipation of good things to come is one of the hallmarks of the Christmas season, although as we get older that feeling tends to diminish slightly. No longer do we endure fitful nights as visions of sugarplums dance in our heads. While having children has allowed me to relive some of that holiday excitement vicariously, it still doesn’t compare to the euphoria I felt when I was young enough to still believe in old St. Nick (my apologies to all the WoW players I may have just ruined the holiday for, but you have to grow up sometime). Every once in a while, however, something comes along to inspire exhilaration that rivals those feelings of childhood past. 

Outside of Lucas Arts HQ in San Francisco

I have been fortunate enough, in my short career in the gaming field, to be able to meet some great people and travel to some interesting events, but none of them ever instilled in me that pit-of-the-stomach anxiousness, which borders just this side of uncomfortable, until I was invited to LucasArts HQ in San Francisco to gets some hands-on time with Star Wars: The Old Republic.

While I would hardly categorize myself as a fanboy of the franchise, I did grow up in the late 70s/early 80s so I do feel a definite nostalgic connection to Luke, Han and the rest of the cast of characters in the episodes 4-6. My casual fan nature noted, I was giddy when I learned I was going to be one of the first, besides employees of BioWare or LucasArts, to play Star Wars: The Old Republic and take a mini-tour of the facilities. The few nights of restless anxiety were well worth it as both the game and the overall experience of being a guest of LucasArts/BioWare lived up to my expectations. 

To kick off our press event, our host, Adam Kahn, led us into a private screening room where an all-star cast of developers from both LucasArts and BioWare, treated us to a briefing on the state of the game, an early reveal of the final two classes, and some in-game footage on the big screen. Among those present were producer Blaine Christine and lead writer Daniel Erickson from BioWare. Producer Jake Neri, along with assistant producer Tim Timmerman, represented LucasArts. 

The game itself looked great even in this early build, with a blend of both crisp clean textures and some stylization that made everything look vibrant and alive. Graphics are neither too cartoonish nor too realistic, which should help with longevity as games that try and push the envelope either ends up looking dated or alienates most players due to heavily burdened system requirements. 

Imperial Agent, the "underbelly" of the Empire.

After seeing a rundown of each class we were treated to a gameplay demonstration of the Imperial Agent. The Agent is described as part of the underbelly of the Empire, a shadowy figure who uses stealth and subterfuge to accomplish his goals. I was impressed by watching the class in action; it gave me my first glimpse into how combat pacing is being envisioned for this game--fast and entertaining. The Imperial Agent had a nice mix of assassin abilities as well as some impressive crowd control. It should make a great addition to groups and will likely be a formidable solo class.

One of the main points that was fleshed out here was that play style customization is important to the game’s core design. SW: TOR will afford players the ability to play the same class in several different and unique ways, which in turn will allow BioWare to balance the game from the ground up to adhere to their “bring the player not the class” mantra.