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.
border="1">
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/77570">
style="border: 0px solid ; width: 200px; height: 150px;" alt=""
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/77570" />
style="font-style: italic;">
style="font-style: italic;">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
style="font-style: italic;">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.
border="1">
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/77564">
style="border: 0px solid ; width: 200px; height: 150px;" alt=""
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/77564" />
style="font-style: italic;">
style="font-style: italic;">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.
After
our media presentation and discussion we were led
across the complex, which is a sight to behold. Had I been a hardcore
Star Wars
fan I’m sure I would have found it even more awe inspiring.
We proceeded to the
employee cafeteria where we were able to conduct some interviews and
mingle a
bit while we waited our turns for some hands on game time.
The proof, it’s been said, is in the pudding and let me tell
you that this is one tasty dish. One of the tenets of any BioWare game
is that
story is tantamount, and SW:TOR has been no exception, but the team
also wanted
to impress upon us that combat is just as important…and
impressive. The four
cornerstones of the game are combat, exploration, progression and
story. During
our play session I was surprisingly able to see all four of these
elements in a
short amount of time.
border="1">
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/77562">
style="border: 0px solid ; width: 200px; height: 150px;" alt=""
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/77562" />
style="font-style: italic;"> style="font-style: italic;">The Sith Inquisitor
Our
gameplay session opened with us in the role of a young
Sith Inquisitor, a powerful class that combines both saber play with
crushing
force abilities--think Palpatine, for those familiar with the lore. We
were sent
off to explore the Imperial base and complete some introductory quests.
Our
first task-giver, along with every NPC in the game, was 100% voiced and
really
impressed upon us the brutal and ruthless persona of the Inquisitor
class. This
is a class that allows players to unleash their inner villains and
wreak havoc
with the formidable powers they develop.
The
early build UI wasclean and well laid out: while not a carbon copy
of any existing game, anyone who has played a second-gen MMOG should
find it
familiar and easy to grasp. Movement was fluid and responsive with the
standard
WASD keyset as the default and the mouse to provide direction, look and
targeting functionality. Even for an early pre-beta build the game ran
smoothly
and looks to be friendly to most existing computers, a formula that has
worked
well for other games. One of the nicest features being implemented is
an opaque
map feature that allows you to gather your bearings quickly. This works
very
well with the games fast combat pacing and helps minimize downtime.
border="1">
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/77568">
style="border: 0px solid ; width: 200px; height: 150px;" alt=""
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/77568" />
style="font-style: italic;">
style="font-style: italic;">Quashing rebellion,
Inquisitor style.
After
taking my first task, to go into the mines and stamp
out a mini-revolt, I found several other side quests along the way
which flowed
well with my main objective and maximized my play time. With my quest
log
plumped up and my character having met some interesting NPCs, each with
their
own agendas, I set into the mines to face rebel miners, their
reprogrammed
droids, and cave dwelling beasts.
I’d
like to add one note about the voice acting I experienced
in
Star Wars: The Old Republic.
One of the complaints I have heard from other
gamers about
style="font-style: italic;">Dragon Age Origins,
BioWare’s single-player RPG, is that while the
voicing is well done it tends to be rather long winded. That
isn’t the case
here; voiceovers allow you to get the needed information quickly and
keep you
immersed in the game without putting you to sleep.
border="1">
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/77571">
style="border: 0px solid ; width: 200px; height: 150px;" alt=""
src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/77571" />
style="font-style: italic;">
style="font-style: italic;">The famous Master Yoda
Fountain
Combat
was just as I had seen in the live play demo earlier: fast, immersive,
and a
lot of fun. My Imperial Agent was both deadly with his saber and
impressive
with his force powers. I could crowd control one mob, knock down two
others,
and impale my main target with the press of a few buttons, which gave
combat a
very real-time, cinematic feel. By the end of the play test I felt
comfortable
with the class and that, to me, is an important selling point in a
game’s
success.
I walked into LucasArts HQ a moderate fan of the franchise
(the NGE in
style="font-style: italic;">Star Wars Galaxies
didn’t help foster much goodwill) and walked out
a convert, and I don’t think they slipped anything into the
wine and cheese to
manipulate the process.
style="font-style: italic;">Star Wars: The Old
Republic, even at this early
stage,
has all the ingredients of a long term successful MMOG. I
can’t wait to see
more.
To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our Star Wars: The Old Republic Game Page.
