The Old Republic Review Diaries - Days 7-9

MMOs are hard to review - we established that over here - so this diary thing is Made2Game's continuing effort to cover every smidgen of feelings we're having towards Star Wars The Old Republic's crazy huge world. If you need to catch up then Part one is over here and Part two is over there.

In the following sections we have some startling revelations and fly around the glaxy in a ship pew-pewing some baddies.

Day 7
Drazlar – Bounty Hunter
Activities: Oh I do like to quest around Dromund Kaaaaaaas.
Have to say, this bounty hunter quest is actually rather good.

Dromund Kaas is the second chapter for every Sith class, meaning unlike the ranged Agent and Bounty Hunter breeding ground that was Hutta there are now several lightsaber-wielding weirdos running around. Some have spikes growing out of their heads. Freaks.

The Bounty Hunter quest has developed. I'm chasing a character called Talon Blood for revenge as I also join the great hunt. I'm introduced to fun characters - such as the Abominable Snow Wookie and Mrs. Snide and Southern - and some genuine narrative starts to emerge.

Why aren't Wookies a playable class? Why! Dang Bioware, saving the best for expansions probably...

It helps that Dromund is absolutely gorgeous. The locations might feel slightly more 'gamey' than, say, World of Warcraft's delicately cultivated Azaroth but some of the views are spectacular, the Imperial capital being a particular highlight.

It's around here that I realise, I'm not really playing to level up. Too often in an MMO you find yourself playing to power up, playing to catch up. The 'fun' part of an MMO is too often locked off, only accessible to those that pass some unwritten patience test.

Star Wars The Old Republic is not like this.

I'm playing the game because I enjoy the kinetic combat. I'm playing it because I like the story, the characters, the locations. I'm playing because I want to hear Mako's next quip, or see the next bad ass plot moment. I'm playing The Old Republic because, well, it's fun.

I know. Shocking right?

The enemy design is rather varied and quite spectacular.

Day 8
Drazlar – Bounty Hunter
Activities: I'm on a boat (starship)!
All hail the S.S.Drazlar. Not easy on the eye, but not easy on your shields when I'm pummelling you with my super charged lasers either.

I had to steal this bucket of bolts from a heavily guarded hanger, because apparently that's what all bounty hunters do, but now I'm spacebourne and have access to a Knights of the Old Republic/Mass Effect style galaxy map. Brilliant!

I also have a new droid companion who, in typical Old Republic fashion, is incredibly deadpan and eyebrow-raisingly amusing. Turns out you can only have one companion at a time though, so I'm sticking with Mako.

The ship provides a few key functions. It is my hub where I can talk to all my companions, free from the intrusions of other players. This allows me to investigate their pasts and foster relationships.

Perhaps it gets better the more I play. At least it looks lovely...

I can travel to any available planet in the galaxy by simply checking my map, which is handy. It costs money for fuel, but it's an insignificant amount. I saw Hoth and was immediately drawn to its icy plains, but it's a high-levelled area and my level 18 hunter would likely get crushed.

The final, most interesting feature is that I can accept space missions which see me fly my ship to take down much larger ships in on rails fight scenes. They are basic but acceptably diverting, a good aside if you're waiting for a friend to log in. I for one am hoping that full Rogue Squadron style combat is in the works for a future patch or expansion...

I can upgrade my ship - I noticed the vendor on Dormuund Kaas - so Bioware must have plans to expand on this feature.

Day 9
Dalagonash – Jedi Consular
Activities: Trying the other side
Right, time to try out the Republic and for this I've started Dalagonash the Jedi Consular. Compared to the Bounty Hunter's tale of betrayal, money grabbing and cocky one liners, the Jedi Consular's bloody slaughter of a 102 Flesh Raiders is comparatively muted.

Not that this is bad, it's just different. Mix in with the Jedis and you're bound to find a much more level headed script focusing on ways of life, emotions, and learning about the basic trials of the Republic, helping out where one can. It's the Shawshank Redemption to the Bounty Hunter's Die Hard and makes every story worth trying.

I played as this Jedi for a while and I have to say, creating your lightsaber is a real 'moment' and as with my 'I'm playing for fun' revelation with my bounty Hunter it was this moment that helped bring this vision more into focus. Bioware want you to feel like a boss.

At level 11 most MMO's will kit you up in rags, hand you a sword barely fit to cut cheese and ask you to off vicious toads. One by one. My level 11 Jedi Consular was protecting a Republic spy aboard a cruise ship as Imperials board in intimidating boarding pods that drill through the side of the ship. I'm wearing a proper robe and wielding a dual sided lightsaber. I felt godlike, and I was still, comparatively speaking, a baby within the world.

Most MMO's take the Gran Turismo approach of starting everyone off as a low spec, wheezing excuse for a hero. Star Wars: The Old Republic is more like a Need for Speed game. No, not rubbish, it's like it in the way it knows you want to be driving the awesome cars as soon as possible, it knows you want to pilot the starship it's advertising on the cover, it knows you want to look like a proper Jedi quickly. So it gives you those things without forcing you to knuckle through tens of hours of comparatively boring material.

Look! Look! It's just like-Look! It's just like in the movie! We fell into the garbage disposal. Yay!

Anyway, I digress. The Republic faction is effectively just a lighter variation of the Imperials. Their starship has more colour - and more Wookies, making it instantly better - while their first instance is a Republic riff on the same Imperial one. I played this with my new friend Kyson, a dashing Republic smuggler, and the instance worked surprisingly well with two of us plus our AI companions.

The Republic do get to go to Coruscant, however, and Coruscant is amazing. Then again they also miss out on the greasy English accents. Swings and oily roundabouts I suppose...

Well we have to say that right now, The Old Republic is a fantastic game. It is, for all intents and purposes, the online RPG Bioware promised. Sure, we're all following the same stories in our classes but they are a lot of fun to follow.

In part four we will discuss multiplayer questing and hopefully be zooming around on a speeder. Toot toot!

Words by James Bowden (Twitter: @Dalagonash)

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