Majestic_Jazz Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 TL;DR Allowing my character and everyone around him/her to have a voice allows me to immerse myself into the world and play the game at a much more comfortable pace because voice adds character to the game and when that happens, I really get lost in the story, lore, characters, and locations within the game. Some who discount voice will say that it is only fun the 1st time around but this is my 4th character since the beta [2 beta and 2 live] and I have yet to get bored with it. In fact, the more I play and more characters I make, the better experience I get! I do not believe that I would enjoy this game the same way I do now if there were no voice overs or my character did not speak. -------------------- One thing that I enjoyed about Mass Effect/Mass Effect 2 and even Dragon Age 2 is how your character's voice is more than just an aesthetic feature, but an gameplay feature that allows you to further immerse yourself into your character. As much as I enjoyed KOTOR, I never really had any connection to my character. I had connections to my squadmates such as Bastilla, Carth, Canderous and so on, but never my character. However with Commander Shepard in ME and Hawke in DA2, through voice, I am able to have that deeper connection with my character than before, thus making the gameplay experience that much more fun. So with SWTOR it is the exact same thing! With my Sith Juggernaut, I had no personal connection to the world or even my character. Basically, she was like a blake slate, waiting to be painted and given life/personality. So I started off by not only choosing all of the DS options, but also all the options that were either smart***, mocking, or outright rude. When I got Vette, I would just terribly mean to her just to be mean to her. Now that I am about to leave Balmorra, I have had time to see my character be established through cutscenes, I have had time to get to know Vette more. When I choose the [FLIRT] options with Quinn, I got to see a much more softer.....more "human" side of my Juggernaut, one who isn't afraid to lighten up and enjoy many situations. When Vetta talked to me about family, it really drew me closer to Vette and as a result, allowed me to establish a "Family" bond with my companions. Before, I was just this even b**** who was mean and evil to everyone for no real reason. Now while she is still an evil Sith Lord, she has a profound respect for her companions, something that she didn't previously have. Going forward, I can expect to learn more about my character, companions, and the NPCs around me. All of these elements together allows me to enjoy the game in the same way I enjoyed Mass Effect because I am more emotionally connected to my character in a way that wasn't possible with the original KOTOR where my character was mute. -------------------------------------------------------------- Many of the people who do not like SWTOR will immediately dismiss the voice overs as if it is some 2nd tier innovation, but they do not speak for everyone because if they did, I would not have found so much enjoyment in this game! I mean I love other features about this game but it is the voice overs that is really drawing me in! People who disagree would counter that by saying that voiceovers is only fun the 1st time around but the 3rd/4th time it gets boring. I disagree because I have played Mass Effect 1 over 20 times! And the 20th time beating the game was just as enjoyable as the 1st time. Obviously the surprises weren't there, but the dialog never bored me. In fact, I have a different experience because I am playing as a different class! During the Thanksgiving Beta, I was a female Bounty Hunter who was LS and everywhere I went, I was constantly rudely asked for attention by Imperial NPCs by saying stuff like "You there! Hunter! I have something to share with you!" but as a female Sith Warrior, those same NPCs would instead say "Excuse me my Lord, I am honored to be in your pressence, I have something I would like to share with you if your time allows my lord." It is the little things like that which will allow me to have different immersions with my various characters! Again, others may get bored with the dialog but that isn't the case for me. To this date, I have played 4 characters [2 in the beta and 2 live] and I have YET to get bored because each character has their own voice and their own place/purpose in the world. My Sith Warrior's motives was different than my Bounty Hunter's motives and my Bounty Hunter's and Sith Warrior's motives will be different than my Imperial Agent's motives. ------------------------- I can go on and one but I would continue after I get to see what your opinions are, agree or disagree. Hell, I am rushing to type this so that I can finish eating my toast so that I can go play SWTOR! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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