STAR WARS: THE OLD REPUBLIC: Well, here it is…finally. BioWare’s STAR WARS: THE OLD REPUBLIC MMO - in-motion, in-game and in-your-face!
Soak up the debut video below featuring developer and publisher commentary, numerous lightsaber battles and peeks at a few different environments.
Missing in action is anything other than lightsaber battles (what, no blasters?), and anything resembling space flight (OK, technically, there’s one blink-and-you-miss-it shot). Still, it’s a start, and we’ll be inundated with additional media in the months to come.
I do have a minor gripe I have to get off my chest. What is up with THE OLD REPUBLIC’s somewhat disappointing graphics? I understand they are going for a more “timeless” look, and I’m a fan of cartoony styles, but I’m still underwhelmed. I want to be shouting, “Hot damn! TOR looks fantastic!” I know BioWare (one of my favorite developers) is more than capable. Mass Effect looked incredible. Perhaps BioWare is keeping specs low to enable the game to play well across older systems or maybe it’s simply a case of all of the graphical bells and whistles not yet being in place. We’ll see how the final product shakes out – and of course, graphics are less important than gameplay.
There…I’ve said it. I feel better now. On with the video!
“Star Wars: The Old Republic takes place approximately three hundred years after the events of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR). At the conclusion of the Jedi Civil War in KOTOR, Revan disappeared into unknown space in search of a great threat to the Republic, an expanding Sith Empire led by a mysterious Emperor who planned vengeance for his ancient Jedi enemies. Revan never returned from unknown space, but the Sith Empire did, kicking off a war with the Republic that lasted for decades. Now, despite the uneasy truce created by the Treaty of Coruscant, the tension among the divided star systems is threatening to once again tear the galaxy apart.”