I don’t have too much experience with MMOs.  There was one that I got into and played for about three years (and its not the one you think it is) and I had a good time with it.  But the other one (the one you are thinking of) I just couldn’t get into for some reason.  But when Star Wars: The Old Republic went live I couldn’t help but to try it.

After the massive install it was time to make a character and pick a class.  You can choose to represent the Republic or the Empire.  Each faction has 4 basic classes that become more specialized at level 10.  The character creator is pretty basic which is understandable given the scope of this game but it is better than what I expected.  I ended up creating a bald cyborg with a kick ass cybernetic eye.  I chose to make him a Sith Warrior and in no time I was on the Sith home world of Korriban.

The first thing that wowed me (no pun intended) was voice acting.  I was aware that there was voice acting in the game but I didn’t realize the extent of it.  Even minor quest givers are voiced.  For some reason I feel just a bit more motivated to do a fetch quest for someone that’s actually asking me to do it.  There are 8 different classes with 8 different stories that have to be voiced for both genders.  That’s pretty impressive.

The game plays much like a MMO in that there are many fetch quests.  But behind the “kill this and bring me that” quest nature that these type of games have, there is genuine story here.  Within a few hours I had fought a rival, interrogated prisoners, rooted out traitors, claimed a Twi’lek as a companion/slave, double and triple crossed fellow Sith Acolytes and Sith Overseers, and a lot of killing.  My early adventures on Korriban have culminated in me earning my lightsaber, something I’ve been looking forward to since I touched down on this desolate planet.

All of the Bioware touches are here.   The conversation system, companion system and good storytelling are right in line with Bioware’s usual high quality.  I have enjoyed my first 10 levels with The Old Republic and can’t wait to delve deeper into it.