The new online videogame The Old Republic has garnered much praise from critics long before its launch. After many release dates being pushed and a long development cycle, the game has finally come to stores. But does it live up to the praise it was given before the final product?
The game places you as a character into a Star Wars universe hundreds of years before the existence of Darth Vader. You are immediately thrown into first choosing a side and then a class. There are a total of eight classes with each having its own unique story. In fact, each story can last longer than 40 hours. And each class is unique combat-wise, so you won’t feel like it’s repetitive if you start as a new class.
In terms of playing with other people, the game has gained a large following of players, so you won’t complain about not getting to play with anyone. The game has missions designed for four players called Flashpoints. There are many of these, and while some are definitely more exciting than others, they are all generally creative scenarios and also challenging enough to keep you interested. Although it is sometimes difficult to get a group for some of the missions unless you have friends online, it isn’t fully impossible since many players do these missions with complete strangers.
In multiplayer gameplay, the game is somewhat lacking. While the matches are fun they are sometimes unbalanced, with, for example, level tens going up against players in the mid-thirties. And with only three maps, it can become very repetitive.
The game doesn’t stray too much from other MMO’s like World of Warcraft. The combat is more action-packed, but generally controlled the same as World of Warcraft. Also customization looks similar, and the environment is just as big. The Old Republic is not quite the innovation spectacle, but games like Call of Duty have been using the same gameplay for years. And the game has an extraordinary amount of potential playtime.
Star Wars: the Old Republic is a fun game, and while it is not the most revolutionary, is still an amazing and fun game sure to keep you interested for a long time.
Final Score: 8.5/10