Recently I tested the Star Wars MMO. Based on my experiences in the Beta testing I decided to purchase the game. Though this review has been a bit delayed, it is a brief commentary on my thoughts as I was testing.
My initial thoughts as I first logged in were of how clean cut the UI appeared so far. I was fairly impressed with the character customization options as well, though it seemed that there were "obvious" choices as to what looked best and what didn't. Of course, that could simply be my taste. Once I made my first character, a Jedi Consular, I was going to make a trooper but instead of returning to the character list it immediately launched me into play. I was thinking, "Okay, first character. Get to experience the cinematics and flashy stuff." However when I logged off to create a second character it did the same thing and instead of returning to the character list launched me into play. While I can see a certain appeal in this, I found it very frustrating as I just wanted to make a few characters without having to watch their introduction every time before I could make another avatar.
That aside, I spent the majority of my time playing my Jedi Consular. I was impressed by how deep the story ran through the game, especially in that your decision in conversation ultimately affected how the mission would play out. This held true through not only my Consular's story but the Imperial Agent and Bounty Hunter I played as well. If I had to rate the games questing system, I'd give it an A-. Some of the quests still feel like errand boy missions and not important story events, which seemed to be the overall goal of the missions .
When it comes to character abilities I felt that all of the tools given to each of my characters fit well into what I was expected based on their backgrounds. Each class felt reasonably balanced without having to sacrifice to much in the way of combat effectiveness and without making characters impossibly awesome. Strong mobs were harder than weak ones, Elites harder still, and so on. When look at ability of players vs. ability of AI I would give it a B (while fairly balanced, it was kind of easy from time to time). In terms of how well abilities fit the classes, I would say an A fits the bill.
The mechanics of the game were similar to that of any MMORPG-push the buttons in the right order to win. Since this is seemingly inherent of RPGs, I won't think any worse of SWTOR because of it though I wish they had found a way to break the system norm and really bring a new core mechanic to the table. They're easy enough to follow and learn. My real praise goes into the Ship mechanics. I feel they were introduced in a way that made ships fun in combat without having to create massive expanses of space for players to traverse. The implied scope did very well at keeping the game manageable without limiting it to planet-bound game play. I hereby award the A to this!
I sadly didn't get to test much else but I very much approve of the direction Star Wars is moving and I hope to see them progress down the road they have so far laid out for them.
May the Force be with you BioWare, and my congratulations on a great game.
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