Olias starts his run!

I got my early access invite to The Old Republic yesterday, and had just enough time to make a few characters. My new main is a Jedi Consular named Olias on the RP server Vrook Lamar.  This morning I got him to level 3, taking it nice and slow.  For me, I like to absorb all the details and not rush through the first time I play a game, so this should keep me busy for quite some time.

Old Republic - More beta shots

The big weekend beta is over now, and I had a blast getting my first experience in The Old Republic.  In the last hour, I abandoned my mission (so as not to spoil the story) and headed off-word, making my way to the Republic fleet, and then to Coruscant.  It was all very well done, but I only scratched the surface of what's in the game.  Still so much to see!

I don't any other beta approvals yet, so it's back to WoW for a few weeks now.

The Old Republic - First Impression

The Old Republic first impressions - having a blast. Played a Jedi Consular for 6 levels. Full voice acting and choices of response in quest system makes the story much more real. Reading quest text is dead. The writing is great, graphics are good, everything flows, and it’s easy to figure out where you are, where you’re supposed to go, and why. I’ve only done a few levels so far, and not even touched space travel or combat. If the rest of the game is as good as what I’ve seen so far, it’s going to keep me playing for a long time.

Desktop for Today - The Old Republic

Here's today's image - a shot of Sith Tombs from the upcoming Old Republic. Still no beta invite!

Desktop for Today - TOR

To get myself in the mindset of switching gears from WoW to TOR, today I went with some concept art for the planet Taris from the Star Wars universe.  This game takes place 3000 years before Luke and Vader, so there are multitudes of Jedi and Sith running around. Should be fun!

The Old Republic - Pre-ordered!

I'm committed.  Thanks to an early Christmas present, my copy of Star Wars: The Old Republic has been purchased, and as soon as I get a beta invite, I'll make the switch from Azeroth to Tatooine.  So many people I know are making the switch, that I have plenty of people to play with in the new game.  I've been looking at classes and factions to see what all there is to play, and so far Bounty Hunter has my attention.  I kind of want a lightsber as well, though.  We'll see!  Skulfrak may resurface in space. :)

Star Wars: The Old Republic

As we get closer to the end of the year, Star Wars: The Old Republic is getting closer to launch, and we're starting to see more and more of the game. The general buzz I'm seeing is that anyone who has played an MMO is going to at least try it out.  Will is be a WoW-killer?  Probably not.  But will it gain a big enough audience to provide a substantial alternative to the seven-year old juggernaut?  Probably so.

The Star Wars universe has mechanics that seem to translate very well into a game setting.  Swords make sense there.  They have two distinct factions with opposing philosophies.  It seems like a no-brainer.  I tried the previous venture into gaming with Star Wars Galaxies, and it was not that good.  The Jedi Knight series of single player games was awesome.  Bioware had a great product with Knights of the Old Republic, and it looks like they're going to translate that success into the MMO field.

I have not pre-ordered yet. I know a lot of people who say they are playing, but I'm looking for a stable group that will be committed to playing together and giving it a serious try.

World of Warcraft is still a great game - probably the best game I've ever played - but it's become a bit dull waiting for the next big thing to happen.  If Blizzard is going to retain folks, they're going to have to do something spectacular to keep them from defecting to TOR.