Star Wars: The Old Republic (or SWTOR, if you prefer and henceforth within the article) is an MMORPG for the PC. Too many letters coming at ya? Okay, think World of Warcraft but Star Wars. Better?
It's taken a long time to get here, but it has been well worth the wait.
I got to play the beta before the initial release and enjoyed the game. However, since then, Bioware has apparently stepped up their A game and really hammered out some finer details and have taken a good experience and made it truly great - or should I say epic? So many subtle changes have helped to make SWTOR an awe-inspiring ride and putting her on the forefront of being the true first probable WOW-killer.
The oft-talked about but never realized WOW-killer has become something of a legend. WOW has become the Holy Grail of MMO's and the idea that it could ever have competition has kind of become a point of debate amongst gamers and nerds alike. It's such a successful game that many have wondered if and when it could ever be toppled over. Not that it would just die out or that it would become outdated to some new form of gaming. It's become something of a gambit or bet on just which new MMO could best the Champion of the World. Many of tried and none have succeeded.
For a long time coming, I have thought that SWTOR might be the only game on the horizon that has a shot at the title. Mostly because I felt that if the gaming elements were spot-on and fun, the history and submersive world of Star Wars would just be too powerful a combination for WOW. I mean, I played WOW on and off again for about six years (mostly on) and while I loved the Hell out of that game, I never found myself truly interested in the history, story, and mythology of Azeroth itself. Often times I was confused and overwhelmed when I thought that maybe if I was more invested in the world I'd understand more and therefore be a better player for it.
Well, here I am now, having played for more than a few hours on SWTOR. Now I can say that I'm putting all my chips in. SWTOR is absolutely THE WOW-killer we've all been waiting and watching for.
Believe it.
It's just so damn good.
So far I've only created my main which is a Jedi Sentinel but I have every intention of creating a Smuggler Gunslinger eventually as an alt. At level 14 I think I've seen enough and played enough to know that SWTOR is going to be a very involving game that is joyous, interesting, diverse, and maybe a tad addicting. These are all elements we want in a good game. We want to be able to dive-in. We should be eager to dive-in. And this is true of anything that's a hobby, whether it's reading a book, or watching a TV show, if it's like a chore, we're not gonna want to do it and we're not going to finish it. I've been an avid reader my whole life and when I was young it was really hard for me to put down a book that I was struggling to get through. It was an accomplishment to finish it, I wanted another notch on my belt! It wasn't until I was in my late twenties that I stopped doing this. Life's too short to have to work through a book you don't enjoy. I've applied this practice to pretty much everything. I used to feel guilty when a game that I didn't like sat on my coffee table, now I just trade it in for something else. Now when I find myself dreading reading a book I can't get into I just sell it or hand it off to someone else. If a TV show takes more than four or five episodes for me to get into it I walk away.
The point is, that's why WOW is so successful. They've created a game that was fun to play that had a LOT going for it (a ton of stuff you could do) in a world that was interesting and fantastical all at the same time. SWTOR has done something similar but they're working in the Star Wars universe which to me is WAY more accessible and a lot more exciting.
Time will tell if SWTOR is the WOW-killer. In the end, who cares? It doesn't really matter. It's just a fun game and you should check it out.
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