Star Wars: The Old Republic Review

Star Wars: The Old Republic (TOR) is an upcoming massively multiplayer online role-playing game based in the Star Wars universe. Currently in development by BioWare and a supplemental team at BioWare Edmonton, the game was first announced on October 21, 2008 at an invitation-only press event. The Old Republic will be released as a PC title. Members of the two main factions – the Galactic Republic and Sith Empire – will have different moralities; the project's key focus is to differentiate between the player's faction and morality. Each faction will contain different classes, each with a distinct backstory and a branching storyline affected by players' moral choices.Classes will also be exclusive to one faction or the other. All eight of the classes have been confirmed: the Bounty Hunter, Sith Warrior,Imperial Agent, and Sith Inquisitor for the Sith Empire; and the Trooper, Smuggler,Jedi Knight,and Jedi Consular for the Galactic Republic. Although each class will have a distinct storyline, they will be integrated with the game's overall arc.

Players' choices will permanently open or close storylines and affect players' non-player character (NPC) companions. The game's developers believe that the game will provide more context for characters' missions and quests than other MMORPGs offer. Every character in the game, including the player character, will feature full voice dialog to enhance gameplay, and interactions with those characters will feature a dialogue system similar to that used in the Mass Effect series. Players will be able to choose from a variety of NPCs, although spending time with a single companion will help more in developing story and content than dividing time among several, and may even develop a love interest. It is possible for players to "blow it big time" if they fail to meet NPCs' expectation. Players will also have access to dozens of planets, including Korriban, Ord Mantell, Nal Hutta, Tython, Coruscant, Balmorra, Alderaan, and Tatooine.