Review of the Game from a long time gamer

[senshi]

First off I have been playing MMO's for 13 years. Started with Everquest and moved onto many others through the years including Shadowbane, Final Fantasy XI, SWG, DDO, Vanguard, WOW (not much time spent in WOW) and Everquest 2. I show the games I have played so anyone that reads knows I am not just blowing smoke.

 

About 2 years ago I just did not feel like playing MMO's anymore, I went to log into a game one evening and just said to myself that this is just really not fun anymore. That night I canceled my active subs to the 2 games I was currently playing. Before that time I was really looking forward to SWTOR and even after I decided to quit MMO's I still followed the development off and on. I did go ahead and pre-order a couple of days after it was announced, I was really hoping that the game would reignite my passion for this genre.

 

During my hiatus from MMO's I had some time to think about why I just did not want to play them anymore and what made me play them in the first place. Everquest and Final Fantasy XI to such a long time to level that you could go days without feeling like you achieved anything but I absolutely loved the communities. Shadowbane was just flat out fun to play when you felt like some PVP but that was it, no dungeons, economy was crap etc... DDO had awesome dungeons but nothing else. SWG was fun until they screwed it up with their improvements but could not attain mass appeal mostly because of the sandbox design, most people just do not want that. WOW was never really given a chance by me, I have the collector's edition still sitting on my shelf. I played for about 2 weeks and quit because of the obnoxious players that happened to choose the same server as myself. Everquest 2 was fun but I think this is when I started feeling like it was just not fun anymore.

 

Having pre-ordered I was able to begin playing on day one of early access. Having played since the 13th I can honestly say that SWTOR has definitely brought the spark back. I cannot wait to get home from work to log in. Does it have some problems, yes but anyone who has ever played an MMO knows that there will be problems and with every new piece of content more problems will surface. Nature of the beast. The awesome definitely outweighs the problems.

 

Cons:

Ability animation lag. Cannot see this bug lasting much longer, not a game breaking bug but one that hampers enjoyment.

 

GTN needs some refinement, it is passable for now but would like to see it improved.

 

The UI needs to be customizable. I am running this on a laptop with an odd resolution, this causes some windows and bars to overlap oddly.

 

Chat Bubbles would be a nice addition.

 

The LFG tool is there, just type LFG in the search and it brings up everybody with their tag on but I would like to see this improved upon as a lot of people simply don't know you can do that.

 

Jumping ability seems clunky and sluggish, one night I can get a datacron on the first try, the next I feel like I forgot how to jump onto a box.

 

Pros:

This is the first time with regards to my mmo characters that I feel like I am truly a hero and not just mage number 1100 or some Paladin who is not awesome enough to be protecting the king. The head of the Jedi Order actually asked to see me at level 3. Awesome.

 

I can honestly say that I have not even so much as thought about looking at my experience bar, I am pleasantly surprised when I find the level up graphic over my head. That is saying something in the MMO world.

 

Great balance between solo and group content. This past weekend I ran in a group all day Saturday, it was so much fun. Sunday I had to be on call for work so I knew I may have to stop playing at any second so I ran solo that day while having a blast hunting for datacrons with other people and chatting it up on General and through Whispers.

 

I can honestly say I have not group this much since playing Final Fantasy XI when you had to have a full group to kill anything that conned hard or above.

 

In every area of the planets I quest on I see people running around questing but I have not had to fight over a spawn once. Actually if I or someone else sees we are on the same objective we give a quick whisper to make sure and just group up. Much fun.

 

The boss battles in the flashpoints have been a blast, you fight one who is a tank and spank and go into the next one thinking the same and bam, the boss disappears and you have to start dodging fireballs. Good times.

 

Crafting has been fun, still too early to see how much money can be made and what will sell but I am very much enjoying the mechanics.

 

This is starting to get fairly long so I will stop. I have to say thank you Bioware, this is the game for me and I will be here for a good long while. I am no blind fanboy but I know what I likes and I likes the game.

[senshi]

1 Bump because I want my thoughts heard.

[Sinister-Sith]

I know that this is a positive review, but are we really supposed to appreciate this review more simply because you're a "long-time" gamer?

[imtrick]

1 Bump because I want my thoughts heard.

 

Much as I hate bumps in general, I'm glad you did. You summed up my feelings pretty well here. Sure, the game needs some work, but it's already really fun, and I'm enjoying the hell out of it. It's good to hear a similar voice in an ocean of MMO forum-style complaining.

[Synche]

I hate to crap in this guy's bed, cause he really doesn't deserve it (preface aside, I'm going to go ahead and do it) but seriously, I am amazed at the sheer number of people on these forums that think their innermost thoughts need to be heard by the wide world.

 

I've never seen anything like it. Interact with the community dude. Your opinion is seriously not worth the effort.

[OsarionRDM]

I'm waiting on IGNs final verdict. Not that I need it to form my own opinion, I just think IGNs score will be the most "objective". I'm predicting 8.5 or 9 out of 10.

[DARTHNARTH]

Well thought out ways to improve the game wont accomplish much here. You spent some time writing a very constructive post it was fair and neutral. they will not listen to people with alot of time devoted to mmos as they believe a large playerbase is not sustainable. Ride the wave of subbers checking out the game shrug when they get quickly sick of your game and hang on to the fanboys who would love anything the devs did.

[Fubbik]

I know that this is a positive review, but are we really supposed to appreciate this review more simply because you're a "long-time" gamer?

 

I put more trust in a "long-time" gamer than any of the spoon-fed brats who started playing MMOs 2 years ago in WoW and have no idea what a "real" MMORPG is about. (Don't get me wrong, I played WoW for years as well ).

 

Good post OP, mostly how I feel as well, although I am a bit worried of how slow BW reacts to bugs so far.

[senshi]

I know that this is a positive review, but are we really supposed to appreciate this review more simply because you're a "long-time" gamer?

 

Wow, the only reason I wrote I was a long time gamer was to give context to my perception of the game champ. Apologies if you were not able to comprehend that. Now you do.

[Lyvean_gr]

I'm waiting on IGNs final verdict. Not that I need it to form my own opinion, I just think IGNs score will be the most "objective". I'm predicting 8.5 or 9 out of 10.

 

I have heard many crazy things in my life, but someone waiting the verdict of the laughing stock of videogames journalism is a new experience for me.

[bayachay]

I am not long time gamer myself but I like to comment about your review.

 

Usually when coming back from hiatuses I have a much better chance of feeling better about having fun for sometime. I guess you can think of it as me thinking "hey I haven't played in so long! Let me play like hell just broke loose", when I think like that, my perspective definitely change versus if I didn't stop playing. That emotional subjectivity is always there, at least for me.

 

The things you mentioned with the pros of this game are actually things that should have been in place as accepted must-have, since they are the features of the game. Not fighting over an objective is lessened because of the phased pre-orders and the spreading of people on different servers.

 

Yes games that are fun but lacking in other departments are plenty. I remember a game called Rising Force Online, there was virtually no support, a total of 5 servers, 3 races to choose from, pvp based economy (losers pay butt loads of tax), broken class balance (BLACK MAU!!!!!), ridiculous grind ( 8 hours to grind 10.8 % ). But definitely one of the most fun I had playing a MMO simply because I was away from wow for so long and I wanted something different.

 

I guess you get the point. Most people here complain because there is a big gap between their expectations and what they are getting. This gap is kind of lessen for us who hasn't been in the environment long enough to be "soaked" in it. Some of the expectation can be extreme, or unreasonable but it does have some drops of truth and sincerity in them.

Edited January 4, 2012 by bayachay

[andrelle]

I enjoyed this review because it expressed your opinions for both pro and con. Very objective. Its refreshing to hear both likes and dislikes.

 

I feel pretty much the same, except for the con about the ability delay. I don't really see a game-breaking issue or even an annoyance, as others have stated. Combat has been pretty fun for me, and taking down strong plus elites with my character and companion has been fine. I'm sure there is an issue with the delay, not denying it. Just saying I can have fun in a game and overlook some of its idiosyncrasies.

[HavenAE]

First off I have been playing MMO's for 13 years. Started with Everquest and moved onto many others through the years including Shadowbane, Final Fantasy XI, SWG, DDO, Vanguard, WOW (not much time spent in WOW) and Everquest 2. I show the games I have played so anyone that reads knows I am not just blowing smoke.

 

About 2 years ago I just did not feel like playing MMO's anymore, I went to log into a game one evening and just said to myself that this is just really not fun anymore. That night I canceled my active subs to the 2 games I was currently playing. Before that time I was really looking forward to SWTOR and even after I decided to quit MMO's I still followed the development off and on. I did go ahead and pre-order a couple of days after it was announced, I was really hoping that the game would reignite my passion for this genre.

 

During my hiatus from MMO's I had some time to think about why I just did not want to play them anymore and what made me play them in the first place. Everquest and Final Fantasy XI to such a long time to level that you could go days without feeling like you achieved anything but I absolutely loved the communities. Shadowbane was just flat out fun to play when you felt like some PVP but that was it, no dungeons, economy was crap etc... DDO had awesome dungeons but nothing else. SWG was fun until they screwed it up with their improvements but could not attain mass appeal mostly because of the sandbox design, most people just do not want that. WOW was never really given a chance by me, I have the collector's edition still sitting on my shelf. I played for about 2 weeks and quit because of the obnoxious players that happened to choose the same server as myself. Everquest 2 was fun but I think this is when I started feeling like it was just not fun anymore.

 

Having pre-ordered I was able to begin playing on day one of early access. Having played since the 13th I can honestly say that SWTOR has definitely brought the spark back. I cannot wait to get home from work to log in. Does it have some problems, yes but anyone who has ever played an MMO knows that there will be problems and with every new piece of content more problems will surface. Nature of the beast. The awesome definitely outweighs the problems.

 

Cons:

Ability animation lag. Cannot see this bug lasting much longer, not a game breaking bug but one that hampers enjoyment.

 

GTN needs some refinement, it is passable for now but would like to see it improved.

 

The UI needs to be customizable. I am running this on a laptop with an odd resolution, this causes some windows and bars to overlap oddly.

 

Chat Bubbles would be a nice addition.

 

The LFG tool is there, just type LFG in the search and it brings up everybody with their tag on but I would like to see this improved upon as a lot of people simply don't know you can do that.

 

Jumping ability seems clunky and sluggish, one night I can get a datacron on the first try, the next I feel like I forgot how to jump onto a box.

 

Pros:

This is the first time with regards to my mmo characters that I feel like I am truly a hero and not just mage number 1100 or some Paladin who is not awesome enough to be protecting the king. The head of the Jedi Order actually asked to see me at level 3. Awesome.

 

I can honestly say that I have not even so much as thought about looking at my experience bar, I am pleasantly surprised when I find the level up graphic over my head. That is saying something in the MMO world.

 

Great balance between solo and group content. This past weekend I ran in a group all day Saturday, it was so much fun. Sunday I had to be on call for work so I knew I may have to stop playing at any second so I ran solo that day while having a blast hunting for datacrons with other people and chatting it up on General and through Whispers.

 

I can honestly say I have not group this much since playing Final Fantasy XI when you had to have a full group to kill anything that conned hard or above.

 

In every area of the planets I quest on I see people running around questing but I have not had to fight over a spawn once. Actually if I or someone else sees we are on the same objective we give a quick whisper to make sure and just group up. Much fun.

 

The boss battles in the flashpoints have been a blast, you fight one who is a tank and spank and go into the next one thinking the same and bam, the boss disappears and you have to start dodging fireballs. Good times.

 

Crafting has been fun, still too early to see how much money can be made and what will sell but I am very much enjoying the mechanics.

 

This is starting to get fairly long so I will stop. I have to say thank you Bioware, this is the game for me and I will be here for a good long while. I am no blind fanboy but I know what I likes and I likes the game.

 

We're on the same page except I have a couple more years on you. Started on this genre about 15 years back. Played Countless MMOs, if you can name it there's a good chance I've played it some extent.

 

I also got tired of MMOs. Was in WoW on and off for 6 years (among many other games).. Had my own successful guild had plenty of friends, we were busy in raiding and PvP.. One day I just said, "this isn't fun anymore" handed my guild over to a friend and canceled my Sub. That was Winter of 2010. Over the past year I've tried several games, none stuck.

 

Last few months before SWTOR launched I hadn't played a single MMO, and I was wondering if I was just done with MMOs all together. I mean you can only spend so much time on a treadmill before you wanna say, "I think I'll go hit the free weights. But so far SWTOR is sticking, I'm enjoying most of it. Yes there are small issues that nag at me, but 41 so far and still loving it as much as I was at level 10.

 

Mostly because I take it for what it is. an MMO. They are all grindy, they all require time sinks and a bit of patience. SWTOR is different in that it propells you forward with it's story, so it's a bit less grindy. Only problem I really see with that is after a couple more play throughs that's going to just bring the grind back in.

Edited January 4, 2012 by HavenAE

[Chikai]

Attention freak.

 

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