The-Voices.net

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I had the privilege of obtaining a 3-day PAX pass for myself and my girlfriend for PAX Prime in Seattle. I was also accompanied by several friends and later on, my brother. If I may I'd like to give a little back story before I detail my full experience...and I mean FULL experience. So be ready for a detailed review here!

Prior to going to PAX I had scoured the internet for all things TOR in the hopes of finding some little “tid-bit” of information I may have missed. This devouring of information really spiked when I started seeing quite a few reviews, and nearly insurmountable comments and posts on the internet alluding to some fore-gone conclusion that SWToR might not be what we had hoped; and indeed that it may not do well at all.

I found the prevailing dissent disturbing. I couldn't believe that so many people who have never played the game had such a negative opinion of it and that so many websites that had done previews of the game spoke so blandly of the combat and interface (among other things).

The basic consensus growing, it seemed, was that the game would be "good" but wouldn't "revolutionize" the MMO genre in any way.

In fact my girlfriend even reflected this view stating, "I just think GW2 looks more fun to play. Look at all the videos...GW2 combat just looks like more fun." She also thought that SWToR looked too "cartoony" and too much "...like WoW...”

I obviously did not share these views of the two games. Yes it seemed that combat in GW2 looked more engaging and SWToR looked more “typical” of the MMO genre but I couldn’t believe that BioWare would take anything other than the “feel” of “typical” so that many people could easily transition into it.

I was hoping there was actually more going on and that it would be “familiar” only in that it’s comfortable and easy to pick up but wouldn’t feel like the same old stuff.

All of this isn't for the purpose of creating a GW2 vs. Star Wars debate; there is more than enough of that. Rather, it’s to give the readers an understanding of my impressions before, and after having played it for myself.

First and foremost, my friends and I are gamers. We want good, quality, fun games being made regardless of who is making them. We try to approach all games with an open mind and enjoy each for what it offers.

ON TO THE GAME!

Setup

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Our first day at PAX my girlfriend, my friends, and myself all rushed off to the BioWare booth(s) to get into the line for SWToR before it got out of hand. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the design of the booth allowed all of us in line to watch people currently playing the game on large TVs positioned throughout the line.

There was also this mesh fabric with SWToR graphics printed on them that we could see through and watch the people playing. It was pretty cool.

My boss and I noticed that the shadows looked very pixilated and "jaggy" on the large TVs. It did have us slightly dismayed that some of the polish we wanted to see may not be in place yet. We continued to talk about what we saw and constantly pointed out things we were noticing for the first time, with up-close observation.

We saw some other things that didn’t look quite right to us either but we put our fears aside and just watched, and waited. Then it was our turn.

We all got in, sat down and picked from a list of pre-made characters. The SWToR team asked that we not create our own characters and instead pick from the list before us. Each computer in the area had different Race/Gender combos provided for the different classes. I chose the Jedi Knight for my first run at playing SWToR...

Story and General Impressions

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It started out with a little cinematic of my character arriving on Tyhon and then approaching one of the Jedi Instructors for further, well, instruction. Thus began the first character controlled dialogue for the Jedi Knight.

The dialogue choices and responses from the characters felt very natural and fluid – Nothing felt forced or artificially contrived. I did not have to spend a lot of time deciding what I thought my character would say; the choices just felt right for what I wanted to be. I was very impressed that for the first time in an MMO I was actually engaged with what I was going to be doing, and why.

Then the realization struck me...I had actually made a choice. For the first time in an MMO I didn't just click a voiceless NPC quest-giver, spam click "accept" and move on, looking at my quest log to determine what I actually needed to do or how many of something I needed to kill. Now, I had actually engaged someone in a conversation that led me to a course of action.

I can not truly emphasize enough just how cool this was. I was an important character; making decisions while conversing with NPCs in the world, but they were no longer just NPCs. They, like my character, had a life and personality all their own. I can tell you now that from the few quests, or missions I undertook, that I already felt connected to the game world and its “people.” I did not have to spend large amounts of time doing it and when it occurred, it felt natural and immersive. They honestly, truly, nailed it on this.

For those out there that would hearken to the phrase, “It’ll be a good game but people are going to be sorely disappointed if they think it’s going to revolutionize the MMO genre” as a means to placate the extremes to either side; they could not be more wrong.

Even in my brief experience with SWToR I can tell you that, at least for me, this level of immersion will most definitely revolutionize, at the very least, MMO questing! I find it quite possible that this system might become the standard by which all future MMOs will be judged.

I know that underneath the feel of it you could say that you're still just doing the same thing...but it's much more than that. The immersion is second to none. It really brings you in to the world and makes it an experience like no other MMO has ever done.

These aren’t simple “voiceovers” that you’ve seen in other MMOs. We are talking about characters and NPCs that are completely voiced and animated cinematically in realistic conversational manners. We are talking...about a dialogue and questing system fully realized... in true RPG form with characters that are unique, who have their own voices and personalities. If that isn’t revolutionary then I don’t know what is. Once you get your hands on the game you’ll understand what I’m talking about. It was simply amazing.

Graphics and Animation

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When people talk about graphics they tend to lump everything that composes a games holistic design into an extreme oversimplification of its components. There are quite a few things to consider within this category but I do not want to stray too far off the path here. Keep in mind, though, that when you’re talking about game “graphics” you’re really describing a wide variety of things like the UI, Characters, NPCs, “Mobs”, environment, particle systems, animations, and much more from the perspective of Art design, Implementation, functionality, scalability, technical specifications, etc.

For instance, you could say that Vanguard: Saga of Heroes had the best graphics you’ve ever seen in an MMO. Well that’s a broad statement with quite a lot of implications. The perception of the player may be as such but for what reasons? Is it the Artistic style? Is it the environment? Character / mob / NPC animations? Combat animations? Spell effects?

Or you could look at the notorious and often nefarious World of Warcraft. You could say that it had horrible graphics and you’d be right; you’d also be wrong. From a technical standpoint it may be lacking in high fidelity (res) textures and loads of lighting effects, shadows, advanced mapping, polygon count, and so on. But for everything it lacked in raw power it made up for much of that with solid weight to characters and creatures (mounts) beautiful animations, a colorful world and excellent execution of Art direction. I think you get the point.

With that in mind I still thought the Art design choice in SWToR was a smart one. I can tell that it was built not only to fit, thematically, but to also provide scalability and functionality without forcing all of our systems to bog down into a clunking, steaming mess. I have to say; the graphics look great in person. The world was vibrant, but not overly so. Characters, NPCs, Mobs...they all seemed to fit into this environment. You had a sense that they belonged where they were. The game was actually quite breathtaking in its vistas and connection to the characters within them. When I was sitting down playing the game, not once did I think to myself, “Huh this looks rather cartoony.”

I was also highly impressed with how smooth the animations were - from the way the characters moved, the cloth animations, to the little nuances of facial expressions. The animations really brought everything to life; not only in the dialogue sequences but also in the general movement of characters and in combat. Everything seemed to have weight, and a solid connection to the environment.

I had the distinct impression that many of the potential negatives surrounding the “graphics” in SWToR would vaporize once you saw it for yourself and not via Internet footage. The game looks fantastic and again I would say reserve your own judgment until you sit down and play. It’s a completely different experience than watching those horrible quality videos online.

The few qualms I had with the “graphics”, I’m convinced are just within the build used at the demo and will be polished up by launch. I believe most who have played beta versions of a game would agree with me on this one; that the following issues are easily things you’d see polished up last and usually during or just after public stress testing. Everything in the game looked great and in place. The animations were fantastic as well but the shadows were very jaggy and the water affects...well there were none. I didn’t like that at all. However, like I said I have nothing but confidence that these aren’t even issues...as the polish of them just wasn’t in our build of the game and those things are easily updated.

Normally I would discuss combat animations and graphics here as well but I’d like to reserve that for the combat portion of the review.

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Speaking of the combat portion of the review; it’s time!

This has been a subject of much contention on the forums and well, basically anywhere on the internet where MMOs are “discussed.” This is probably one of the things I’m most happy to report on. I was absolutely thrilled once I got my hands on the combat portion of the game; for good reason. It affirmed that BioWare has indeed put more time and thought into it than what has been speculated via available footage, blogs, vlogs, previews and the like.

Starting off I had two combat attacks and three utility abilities. The first combat ability was a quick saber strike. If I clicked it once I would attack. If I continued to click it, I attacked in a succession of blows that acted more like a flurry of strikes with combo progression style animations – invariably leading to a finishing swipe as I destroyed the opponent. Already the game had me hooked.

The second combat ability was a heavy saber strike. When I clicked it I would do a heavy handed sweep of my vibro-blade and inflict major hurt on my opponent. The animation was smooth and impactful. When I came upon an opponent with a vibro-blade of his own, our attacks matched up. My strikes were connected with his defensive movements and his strikes met with my own defense! It was fantastic; here was actual combat!

It did not have any auto attacks, nor did it force me to remain stationary to defeat my opponents. It was fluid, impressive...and fun. Here I was with two abilities and heavily enjoying the combat. It was unreal just how solid this was.

I encountered the same thing with the Jedi Consular, the Jedi Guardian, and the Bounty Hunter. In all honesty I may have enjoyed my consular more than the other two classes. I thought the repetitive look of lifting and throwing an engine part at my opponents would grow tiresome; it did not. The fact that I could move seamlessly while lifting it into the air, rush towards my attackers with my Lightsaber and strike simultaneously in fluid movements simply exhilarated me!

It felt nothing like the combat I've experienced in other MMOs and it definately had the action feel I was hoping it would without overcomplicating the process. This is another moment where I would say; once you sit down and play it for yourself, you'll see what I'm talking about!

Not only that but with the lack of an auto attack it all became ability based; when and how I chose to use them. If I right-clicked my opponent over and over I would continuously attack in a successive flurry of strikes as well...It appeared as though it used my quick saber strike whenever I wanted to just by right clicking my targets! This was the combat I was hoping it would be; Fun, fluid, and exciting.

After playing SWToR my girlfriend couldn't contain her excitement. She thought it was the coolest thing that should could actually choose what she would say in her quests; giving her character a sense of personality. I thought it was really cool watching her come out of PAX, after playing nearly every game there, excited for SWToR!

I came away from the game feeling like it was “whole”...it was complete. My fellow PAX goers stated the following in regards to SWToR:

Other's Impressions

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Harmony – SinSyn

Story and General Impressions

The story really made the game. Being able to mold my own story and contribute to it made the game very fun, even for characters I usually stay away from. I somehow enjoyed playing a Trooper, which is a type of character I stay away from.

Graphics

Graphics ended up being better when you sat down and played, the movement and the ability graphics were pretty smooth. I believe the only reason people say its cartoony in the first place is because the trailers are set up with a more*realistic color scheme. We're expecting something darker, and then we get much brighter colors.

Combat

Combat was very fun; I enjoyed my abilities a lot. (Played both a Trooper Commando and a Sith Inquisitor.)

Ryan - Arnot

Story and General Impressions

I played a Jedi Knight and Republic Trooper at Pax Prime.

For the first time ever in a MMO, I actually know why I’m doing the quest and have some vested interest in completing it, not just killing random mobs or picking up random items. Most engaging character in an MMO game I have played (which was 20minutes twice). No other game is like this!! I don’t think there will be any kind of level grinding in this game, just for the sheer fact that its story is going to be so well written and told.

I was worried that everyone will be playing Jedi Knight and Sith Warriors because of how popular the movie characters were, but I actually enjoyed playing the Trooper class more than the Jedi Knight class(now that was early lvl game play) which tells me they have done very well, creating classes that will be enjoyable to play.

Graphics

“Stellar”

“Nicely structured”

“Everything looked like it belonged…nothing was out of place.”

“…the best looking environment since Vanguard.”

Combat

Combat looked like ACTUAL combat.

It looks like 2 guys are sword fighting and I love how it shows Jedi blocking blaster fire with their Lightsabers.

I like that it has killing blows at the end of fights. How people get knocked back from grenades and rockets.

Space combat… enough said!!

Jesse – Traykor

Story and General Impressions

The story... OMG the story man! I have never seen anything like this in an MMO and honestly I didn't realize how creative it was until I spent 40 minutes at the GW2 display.

Graphics

I thought the world textures and colors were unmatched. It was so amazing to stop and look around me while dodging a few blaster shots. The character models were so smooth - nothing like I was expecting based on the videos I had seen. I do feel the game could use some more spell graphics, but that's personal opinion and I feel the game is in line with the movies in this regard. The shadows need a little work and I assume this won't be a problem at release.

Combat

The combat was super smooth. I really felt engaged in the combat and found it enjoyable. The cover system is sick in that you can bounce around cover, but still take damage from the non covered area's while in cover, if you know what I mean.

Matt – Auladan

Story and General Impressions

I was able to play the game for 15 minutes with a premade male smuggler, and even though my character had been made for me, I felt in those 15 minutes more vested and interested in him than I had in any character I'd made myself and played in any other MMO before. He felt like a unique and fully developed 'person', a 'person' with a history and a personality (which I got to further define through choices I could make in dialogue), and I absolutely loved it.

Graphics

Buttersmooth and incredibly high-resolution, the graphics blew me away! I'd watched plenty of videos of in-game footage, but when I sat down and actually played the game, I was more than impressed. This game is artfully riddled with fine detail.

Combat

Again, I had only 15 minutes and just reached level 2 before my playtime was over, but I found combat to be fun right from the get-go. I had several abilities right away, and as a smuggler one of them was the ability to roll in to cover, which made me absolutely impervious to any damage that came from in front of me. I could stay 'hidden' at my leisure, and pop out to fire whenever I wanted. I loved that there is no auto attack!

What else can I say? I felt the same way.

I walked away from the SWToR booth with my spirit galvanized and the solidified sentiment that this game was truly a masterful “Triple-A” MMO...RPG!

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I would like to thank Tom for allowing us to use his coverage of his experience of Star Wars: The Old Republic at PAX. I would also like to thank EspionageDB7, Nightseye, ChromeTiger and Ripins for allowing me to use some of their amazing artwork that he created - Shane