If you shave about 3 points off of each score, then that's about what I would have given it. SWTOR is not a terrible game, but it's also nowhere near a great game either. It's exactly average. Overall, a 6, and that's because the voice acting and single player story are really great.
Otherwise this is a completely and totally middle of the road, safe bet, no surprises, vanilla, average game.
Also... a SIX for space? A SIX? Maybe if the game had been released in 1995. Putting StarFox in a 2011 (heck nearly 2012) release is a scandal. I only shave about 3 points off the rest of your scores, but space gets a big fat goose egg with a "please take this out of the game before you embarass yourselves" comment to go along with it.
Seriously what game is GREAT? Millions of players world wide and we are all suppsoe to agree on one game!
Your right,no game is great but some are less than average and BioWares clone wars with voices is average at best.
What you see as less than average will be more appealing to others. I love how many of you assume that what you say actually matters most, in reality many of these games will have a targetted audiance whether you like it or not. Great example, look at Funcom, dispite their reputation many still support their games like AoC. Is it a fucking huge smash it like WoW? NO! It doesn't have to be. Look at Cryptic,...
Actually, I still play AoC to this day. It's also an average game. For me it wins huge in the graphics department and makes SWTOR look like utter crap. But then again, when half your target audience is gonna be kids playing on their parents last gen laptop, you can't really pull off AoC level graphics. I've spent hours just taking screenies of my geared out Necro and Bear Shaman.
I agree with you that "great" is in the eye of the beholder. Many people will find SWTOR to be great, but a lot of more experienced MMO'ers are going to finally come to a "ding - lightbulb" moment about three months into the game, if they haven't already, that cloning a pre existing game almost line for line hardly qualifies as great.
Heck, even I am still going to play it even though I think they totally screwed the pooch on what, in my not so humble opinion, it should have been.
The problem with these games is the developement cost. 100 million dollars is a lot of money, and where does that money come from? It doesnt come from creative people who care about making great fun games. It comes from businessmen who are interested in only one thing, and that thing is making money.
One of the main rules of business is, "find someone who is successfull, and do what they do, and you will be successful". I'd be willing to bet that most of the devs making these crappy clones arent making the games they really want to make. They are making games that they think investors will invest in.
From everything ive seen, this game is just more of the same bleh. Questing on rails, storyline which has no place in an MMO, and Arenas, etc, all the same crap they have been doing for years now, since WoW came out and became a monster.
Its an effective way to make money, so they will keep doing it. It's unfortunate for people who don't like WoW type games.
TOR is a game alot of people have been waiting on for years, and alot of folks have really high expectations for the game 'including myself", so its only natural that it will not live up to every single Star Wars Nerd fantasy out there "BUT", that does not mean it will not be good for what it is. Lets begin....
PVE: After playing a ton of MMO's over the years, I will be perfectly honest; Reading a ton of freaking text and running off to kill 10 of this or that bores me to tears, however, with TOR that was not the case. The story immediatly enthralled me from the get go, and had me on the edge of my seat wondering what was gonna happen to my character next. Of course the game still has missions of collecting 5 of this, or killing 10 of that, but those missions are placed brillantly, and everything is on the way to your main story quest. I found myself surprised by the story in this game, and im not easily impressed. I give PVE in this game a "9.5".
PVP: Honestly I do not PVP 24/7, but I did do it enough in TOR during beta to give it a honest review.I found alot of the Warzones to mimic the Battlegrounds in World of Warcraft, but with a sci-fi flare. That is not to say they were not any good, because I had a blast, and I enjoyed the fact that every class had a role and was viable if played correctly.Not to mention the game has territory the Republic and Empire can fight for in the open world, adding another layer to the system, and if owning people in the face with a flamethrower is wrong, I don't wanna be right....I give PVP in TOR a "8".
Companions: I really enjoyed companions in this game, and it felt like a breath of fresh air being able to interact with them, and have them share in my adventure and choices. At times they could be very annoying when they repeated things alot, however, I loved the fact you could gear them out, change how they looked, and even select one that best complemented you based on how you play, and your spec. I give companions a solid "9" for this game.
Voice acting: Not alot to say here guys, the voice acting in this game is as good as it freaking gets period.Alot of the actors you will recognize from games like Dragon Age, Mass Effect, and other titles that relied heavily on superior voice work and animation movies.I give Voice Acting in this game a "10".
UI: I liked how the UI looked and felt in this game, however, it really annoyed me that I could not move things around the way I wanted. Things are set up in a familar way most MMO veterans will be familar with, and they deffiantly did not try to recreate the wheel, but it worked for the type of game they were making.I would like to rate UI higher, but due to the fact it was not adjustable, and the fact there were no chat bubbles, I have to rate UI with a big "7.5" I hope when the game releases these issues are addressed by then.
Character customization: Comming from games like City of Heroes, Champions Onlines, I have to say the customization is sorta "so/so. Its good enough to work in my opinion, and gives many more options then World of Warcraft in terms of body dimentions, size ect, but there are not a ton of options. I give customization a "7".
Crafting: Having played SWG and Vanguard, I gotta say that if your looking for a extreamly complex crafting system, then you might wanna skip this game, however, I will say I did enjoy how they implemented it, and having your companions helping with collecting resources and making things was awesome! Im gonna go out on a limb here and give the crafting system a "8" due to the fact they tried something new and it worked out nicely!
Space: Well folks no BS here, its deffiantly not Rogue Squadron,Wing Commander, or any of those uber space shooters, it felt more like "Starfox" to be honest. I will say for what it is, that I had fun blasting things, and it gave a nice break from questing.I hope in the future they add more complexity to space, and make it more open ended so we can explore, mine resources ect, but im not gonna hold my breath. I give space a "6".
Combat: I gotta say I loved the combat in this game. The action was really fast paced, keeps you on your toes, and was really fun to watch, and lets face it, whats "NOT" fun about force pushing a opponent off a ledge or into a pool of acid? And I gotta admit, kicking a guy in the nuts and watching him bend over in pain was the icing on the cake. Good times my friends, good times...I give the combat in this game a "8.5".
Sound: The sound in the game was just what you would expect from a Star Wars game "GOOD!" I will keep it short and sweet here, the sound effects are awesome, however I feel they need to add more enviromental sounds and stuff to the game to make the world feel more alive. I gotta give the sound a "10" though, its that good.
Graphics: The graphics are not state of the art in this game. nor were they ment to be. They were designed to allowed alot of people the abiltiy to access the game and to have alot of folks in the same area pvping ect without a ton of graphic lag. I liked the fact they gave it a timeless feature, so 10 years from now it will not look completly horrible like "EQ 1" does for example. I give the graphics a generous "8" due to the fact that for what they were striving for in the game, they pulled it off, and it works nicely!
My total score for this game is a "9" Due to the fact it has a few areas I feel it can improve on. The story, sound, and the fun combat will make this a title many will enjoy, and I hope EA and Bioware continues to polish and improve upon its weaker areas as time goes on.With several Operations (raids),PVP areas being released with the game, and over 200 hours of story per character class in this game, I think it will keep many of the players busy long enough for Bioware to add more Operations(Raids) more Warzones, and other end games features. I hope to see you all in Star Wars:The Old Republic.
Well written even if I dont agree most of it. Also I HIGHLY doubt there is over 200hrs of story per character. In that sense you are saying every class has Skyrim amount of content x2 just in the story? That would mean each class has the highest amount of content in a game ever for the "main" storyline. Uh no. Nice exaggeration though.
My total score for this game is a "9" Due to the fact it has a few areas I feel it can improve on. The story, sound, and the fun combat will make this a title many will enjoy, and I hope EA and Bioware continues to polish and improve upon its weaker areas as time goes on.With several Operations (raids),PVP areas being released with the game, and over 200 hours of story per character class in this game, I think it will keep many of the players busy long enough for Bioware to add more Operations(Raids) more Warzones, and other end games features. I hope to see you all in Star Wars:The Old Republic.
Well written even if I dont agree most of it. Also I HIGHLY doubt there is over 200hrs of story per character. In that sense you are saying every class has Skyrim amount of content x2 just in the story? That would mean each class has the highest amount of content in a game ever for the "main" storyline. Uh no. Nice exaggeration though.
The developer has come out and said that this is true, but not as the poster stated here. It takes about 200 hours to level form 1 to max for a first play through of a class. At first they were making an educated guess, but later on their "metrics" actually proved it to be true. Now that doesn't mean you can't skip through the story, make random answers and get to max faster. People misunderstand though and say "200 hundred hours per class story". On the starter planets, aboue 80% of the story is your class story. Moving on to the Captial Planets about 40% of the story is the class story. Then on the rest of the planets about 10% of the stories are class stories. Now if you consider that there is 8 individual stories in this game and with the percentages given to us by BioWare, that makes for considerably more content than Skyrim. Sorry if that idea offends you, but it seems to be truth.
"If half of what you tell me is a lie, how can I believe any of it?"
Good review. I pretty much feel the same way. The game isn't the perfect gem from heaven, but it's definitely the best MMORPG I have ever played when it's all said and done. The story really surprised me. I thought I was going to hate it but It's been pretty captivating most of the time. I hope they can add content fast enough to keep me playing long term.
My total score for this game is a "9" Due to the fact it has a few areas I feel it can improve on. The story, sound, and the fun combat will make this a title many will enjoy, and I hope EA and Bioware continues to polish and improve upon its weaker areas as time goes on.With several Operations (raids),PVP areas being released with the game, and over 200 hours of story per character class in this game, I think it will keep many of the players busy long enough for Bioware to add more Operations(Raids) more Warzones, and other end games features. I hope to see you all in Star Wars:The Old Republic.
Well written even if I dont agree most of it. Also I HIGHLY doubt there is over 200hrs of story per character. In that sense you are saying every class has Skyrim amount of content x2 just in the story? That would mean each class has the highest amount of content in a game ever for the "main" storyline. Uh no. Nice exaggeration though.
The developer has come out and said that this is true, but not as the poster stated here. It takes about 200 hours to level form 1 to max for a first play through of a class. At first they were making an educated guess, but later on their "metrics" actually proved it to be true. Now that doesn't mean you can't skip through the story, make random answers and get to max faster. People misunderstand though and say "200 hundred hours per class story". On the starter planets, aboue 80% of the story is your class story. Moving on to the Captial Planets about 40% of the story is the class story. Then on the rest of the planets about 10% of the stories are class stories. Now if you consider that there is 8 individual stories in this game and with the percentages given to us by BioWare, that makes for considerably more content than Skyrim. Sorry if that idea offends you, but it seems to be truth.
Why even bother mentioning the hours of content. At the end of the day it's the quality of the content. Of course a game that has had 100+ million and 7 years invested into it is going to have more content than a game that has had a couple of years and half the budget. But at least Bethesda didn't have Lucas the Hutt telling them exactly what game they were allowed to make and then skimming 30% of the earnings off of the top after sales. lol
The review was the OP's personal opinion and I can respect that. I don't agree with all of the assertions as I don't feel the game is perfect by any means though.
That said... It is a solid offering and if the devs can back the launch up with solid server performance, CM's that listen, and regular quality updates. I have no doubt that they will have a bonafied hit on their hands.
Respect to the OP for at least having an objective opinion , am getting right p***ed off with the brainless drivel this forum seems to have attracted.
Don't worry,15 more days and you will be gone,no reason to come back if BioWares clone wars with voices is all you and the OP say it is,right?The other thing is, why are you not on the official forums where everything is BioWare utopia,why beat yourself up here if you can't handle anything negative said about this 2001 game that has been transported to 2011.
I wouldn't point fingers like that, considering you seem to be the exact opposite of him, also into the extreme.
Respect to the OP for at least having an objective opinion , am getting right p***ed off with the brainless drivel this forum seems to have attracted.
Don't worry,15 more days and you will be gone,no reason to come back if BioWares clone wars with voices is all you and the OP say it is,right?The other thing is, why are you not on the official forums where everything is BioWare utopia,why beat yourself up here if you can't handle anything negative said about this 2001 game that has been transported to 2011.
I wouldn't point fingers like that, considering you seem to be the exact opposite of him, also into the extreme.
Nope i can handle a fair review but when the OP uses caps in his title as if to say no one can disagree and my word is final then it needs to be countered. Anyone who really thinks that BioWares clone war with voices is worth a 9 is not looking at the game with open eyes. Notice how you use the word 'seem' that just shows you have no proof to back up you claim about me and how i would react if we were talking about a game i was following. Nice try though..
hmmm anyone who gets all rattled by capital letters and feels that justifies some type of response really has his priorities in the wrong order. Its really EGOCENTRIC to think that if someone doesn't agree with you, that must mean their eyes are closed. I guess the over 1M who will be loving the game will be sleep walking.
Well, I shall simply rewrite my review stating the reasons this game sucks, and make sure the title says "REAL REAL REAL" honest review. Perhaps then my post will be labeled "good" and "objective" and "not drivel"!
I love the idea that if you dislike this game, you are deluding yourself. But if you say it is the best game ever created, you are instantly hailed as a person of truth and honor. Classic.
A sure sign that you are in an old, dying paradigm/mindset, is when you are scared of new ideas and new technology. Don't feel bad. The world is moving on without you, and you are welcome to yell "Get Off My Lawn!" all you want while it happens. You cannot, however, stop an idea whose time has come.
While I thank the OP for his write up and respect his freedom to an opinion I simply cant agree with his "scores" for this game.
SWToR is exactly what it claims to be, a well done Themepark MMO with alot of VO. Its not the second comming and IMO its not worth a 9 score. I'd personally score it around the 7.5 mark.
Thats not to say I dislike the game, in fact I pre-orderd several copies (5 !) after the open weekend, the difference is I took an objective view and made the purchace based on my determination that the game would yield at least 2-4 mo's "fun" for me. Which IMO it will. Therefore I concider the price tag to be worth the investment.
Now will I play for 2-4 mo's then quit? That depends 100% on Bioware. From what I can see of there game there is enough there to keep me amused initially, the system is stable and the game is polished enough. Its not a next gen MMO as far as GFX go, or systems or anything else, its as I said a well done Themepark. After the inital 2-4 its down to Bioware to keep content flowing in order to keep my interest.
That the catch with all heavy Themepark games, because they are not sandboxes we have very few tools to make our own fun, grinding PvP / instances etc only goes so far. So IMO retention will be equal to content updates. Few and numbers will drop, if Bioware can keep content flowing the game will do well.
Bioware, IMHO, have a decent start with a stable and fun base system. (Assuming you like Themeparks) As long as they keep adding "rides" (content) all will be well, with no track record for updating a live running MMO this is where you take your gamble. If you enter the game with the attitude that 2-4 mo's is good value you wont be dissapointed either way. If you are looking for a new game for the next year or so ... well then your gamabling on Bioware's ability to produce.
Nope i can handle a fair review but when the OP uses caps in his title as if to say no one can disagree and my word is final then it needs to be countered. Anyone who really thinks that BioWares clone war with voices is worth a 9 is not looking at the game with open eyes. Notice how you use the word 'seem' that just shows you have no proof to back up you claim about me and how i would react if we were talking about a game i was following. Nice try though..
I don't think you can handle a fare review especially if it is positive. As far as agreeing or disagreeing with reviews, people side with one which reflects their opinions more and helps them to reconfirm their opinions. Everyone here is fan of atleast one game and i am pretty sure you would react in same manner if people didn't give ratings that you want to give to it. I have seen it happening so many tmes here.
Giving the space part of the game a 6 is a travesty, the space shouldnt even be put in with the rest of your rankings. I wouldnt give it any more then 4 and thats on a good day. You cant be serious? Either you never played EVE or your space combat is on a level that far from what the average player expects.
This dimeans your entire post, either you dont read reviews every day like I do on gamerankings.com, or your basing your scores on a weighted ranking system conceived by you. I can see ranking it 6 since its really not anything more then just a small mini game, in that sence yea you could consider it that but as a full fledged space combat extension of the ground game, hardly.
Giving the space part of the game a 6 is a travesty, the space shouldnt even be put in with the rest of your rankings. I wouldnt give it any more then 4 and thats on a good day. You cant be serious? Either you never played EVE or your space combat is on a level that far from what the average player expects.
What has EVE got anything to do with it? also Eve combat is point and click and you are not even in actual control of your ship. I would rather have current space combat and Bioware improve on it then go to the route of boring EVE combat. Freelancer type of combat is what is needed in SWTOR.
Respect to the OP for at least having an objective opinion , am getting right p***ed off with the brainless drivel this forum seems to have attracted.
Don't worry,15 more days and you will be gone,no reason to come back if BioWares clone wars with voices is all you and the OP say it is,right?The other thing is, why are you not on the official forums where everything is BioWare utopia,why beat yourself up here if you can't handle anything negative said about this 2001 game that has been transported to 2011.
I can't speak for anyone else. But I still come here because it is a lot of fun to read the posts from the half wits. Just grab some popcorn and watch the crazies post away. Not calling you any names, just a generalization for my own amusment.
And I am on board with the OP. I would give it a solid 8 or 8.5 for what I like out of a Themepark MMO. Stories suck you in, multiplayer dialogue is a lot of fun. Never knowing who will win the role and having a flashpoint change based on the choices. Just enjoying the jeorney for once. But you can't please everyone. But I for one am pleased regardless of the haters or fanbois as everyone likes lables.
How many people long for that "past, simpler, and better world," I wonder, without ever recognizing the truth that perhaps it was they who were simpler and better, and not the world about them? R.A.Salvatore
Respect to the OP for at least having an objective opinion , am getting right p***ed off with the brainless drivel this forum seems to have attracted.
Don't worry,15 more days and you will be gone,no reason to come back if BioWares clone wars with voices is all you and the OP say it is,right?The other thing is, why are you not on the official forums where everything is BioWare utopia,why beat yourself up here if you can't handle anything negative said about this 2001 game that has been transported to 2011.
I can't speak for anyone else. But I still come here because it is a lot of fun to read the posts from the half wits. Just grab some popcorn and watch the crazies post away. Not calling you any names, just a generalization for my own amusment.
And I am on board with the OP. I would give it a solid 8 or 8.5 for what I like out of a Themepark MMO. Stories suck you in, multiplayer dialogue is a lot of fun. Never knowing who will win the role and having a flashpoint change based on the choices. Just enjoying the jeorney for once. But you can't please everyone. But I for one am pleased regardless of the haters or fanbois as everyone likes lables.
From my experience over the weekend I gave it a perfect score since I didnt run into anything that had any resemblence to being not good but playing it over time will obviously be a different ball game.
ok thanks for your input buddy. All I was saying was that the space combat is not worthy of a 6, there are some great games that only get rated around 6 and space combat in SWTOR is definitly not great.
ok thanks for your input buddy. All I was saying was that the space combat is not worthy of a 6, there are some great games that only get rated around 6 and space combat in SWTOR is definitly not great.
.
It depends on your frame of mind IMO. I hated the space combat in the first beta weekend. Didn't even try it in the second beta weekend. But I said what the heck and went back in this last weekend. And just based on entertainment for what it is, I was ok with it.
As a space mini-games, based on graphics and the side tracking is is ment to be, it is fun. I even tried upgrading the ship to see if it makes a difference. It can even gain you some good XP and a level or two if you want to skip some questing or just gain levels. So based on just what the mini game is going to be at launch. A 6 is an ok number.
I would like to see free flight in the same zones, with the same objectives. Only with actual AI from the NPC ships and maybe some open PvP while trying to complete the objectives in the future. But we will only see that in an expansion, someday.
How many people long for that "past, simpler, and better world," I wonder, without ever recognizing the truth that perhaps it was they who were simpler and better, and not the world about them? R.A.Salvatore
UI 7.5??? I would be generous giving it 5. If you overrated one aspect so much i think whole your review is just fanboi crap.
I know personally a lot of people from my guild who are happy with UI but would want to be able to move it around. And they are no fanboys and would easily rate it 7. A working UI is more important than the one that can be modded.
Enough Bias in it? Seriously though, its to be expected someone holds bias towards a game. A lot of your review is inflated for the better results but I feel its cause you WANT it to be better then it is. Still, you did manage to point out areas you didn't like. Your number scores I feel aren't really accurate to your own self, nor do you really give much text detail to explain why you feel something is good or why you think its bad. I think you should really sit down and think things through if you want to review a game. I can tel you enjoyed the game, but I think your blinding your own self and really blindly overlooking some details that give inaccuracies to your review.
Again, everyone has personal bias so its to be expected. When you have bias playing part, your best bet is to really go in depth and anaylze it fully. Take each area in deep consideration and break it down piece by piece. You need to remove any bit of the 'its SW!" fan boy self from it (which trust me, I do have that issue myself despite sounding as if I'm a 'hater') and look at it as if your looking at it as some entirely different entity. From there, you will see a "Fan boy" Score, and a "Real" score. For me, the combat screams '9' but truthfully if I can remove my blinders and look at it from a larger prospective, I can see through the deception and realize its only my lightsaber fetish that really makes it that high.
Tame time to reflect on your scores and what you think. It doesn't mean you can't enjoy the game of course, but if you want 'real' you can't let your own bias play you. That being said, its perfectly fine to bash on a games flaws and yet play it because of a deep seated love for it. Lets all not pretend old school gamers were playing the most 'amazing' games ever, they were flawed and no matter what we say, they aren't as great as we make them all to be. XD
"Honest" review which gives high score in UI for the promise that it will be fixed before launch and GFX because it, admittadly is poor quality, but does it well. Also combat is really good because you can force push and kick people in the groin... And crafting got a high score just because they tried something new...
Give me a break.This is nothing but an opinion piece from someone who loves the game and is not reviewed objectively at all.
Comments
Actually, I still play AoC to this day. It's also an average game. For me it wins huge in the graphics department and makes SWTOR look like utter crap. But then again, when half your target audience is gonna be kids playing on their parents last gen laptop, you can't really pull off AoC level graphics. I've spent hours just taking screenies of my geared out Necro and Bear Shaman.
I agree with you that "great" is in the eye of the beholder. Many people will find SWTOR to be great, but a lot of more experienced MMO'ers are going to finally come to a "ding - lightbulb" moment about three months into the game, if they haven't already, that cloning a pre existing game almost line for line hardly qualifies as great.
Heck, even I am still going to play it even though I think they totally screwed the pooch on what, in my not so humble opinion, it should have been.
The problem with these games is the developement cost. 100 million dollars is a lot of money, and where does that money come from? It doesnt come from creative people who care about making great fun games. It comes from businessmen who are interested in only one thing, and that thing is making money.
One of the main rules of business is, "find someone who is successfull, and do what they do, and you will be successful". I'd be willing to bet that most of the devs making these crappy clones arent making the games they really want to make. They are making games that they think investors will invest in.
From everything ive seen, this game is just more of the same bleh. Questing on rails, storyline which has no place in an MMO, and Arenas, etc, all the same crap they have been doing for years now, since WoW came out and became a monster.
Its an effective way to make money, so they will keep doing it. It's unfortunate for people who don't like WoW type games.
Well written even if I dont agree most of it. Also I HIGHLY doubt there is over 200hrs of story per character. In that sense you are saying every class has Skyrim amount of content x2 just in the story? That would mean each class has the highest amount of content in a game ever for the "main" storyline. Uh no. Nice exaggeration though.
The developer has come out and said that this is true, but not as the poster stated here. It takes about 200 hours to level form 1 to max for a first play through of a class. At first they were making an educated guess, but later on their "metrics" actually proved it to be true. Now that doesn't mean you can't skip through the story, make random answers and get to max faster. People misunderstand though and say "200 hundred hours per class story". On the starter planets, aboue 80% of the story is your class story. Moving on to the Captial Planets about 40% of the story is the class story. Then on the rest of the planets about 10% of the stories are class stories. Now if you consider that there is 8 individual stories in this game and with the percentages given to us by BioWare, that makes for considerably more content than Skyrim. Sorry if that idea offends you, but it seems to be truth.
"If half of what you tell me is a lie, how can I believe any of it?"
Good review. I pretty much feel the same way. The game isn't the perfect gem from heaven, but it's definitely the best MMORPG I have ever played when it's all said and done. The story really surprised me. I thought I was going to hate it but It's been pretty captivating most of the time. I hope they can add content fast enough to keep me playing long term.
Why even bother mentioning the hours of content. At the end of the day it's the quality of the content. Of course a game that has had 100+ million and 7 years invested into it is going to have more content than a game that has had a couple of years and half the budget. But at least Bethesda didn't have Lucas the Hutt telling them exactly what game they were allowed to make and then skimming 30% of the earnings off of the top after sales. lol
The review was the OP's personal opinion and I can respect that. I don't agree with all of the assertions as I don't feel the game is perfect by any means though.
That said... It is a solid offering and if the devs can back the launch up with solid server performance, CM's that listen, and regular quality updates. I have no doubt that they will have a bonafied hit on their hands.
Respect to the OP for at least having an objective opinion , am getting right p***ed off with the brainless drivel this forum seems to have attracted.
Greatness is difficult to appreciate from close up. The great mountain on the horizon is only the ground when you are standing on it.
Should I assume these scores go by the mmorpg.com system (where 7.5/10 is "average"), or the standard 5/10=average system?
I wouldn't point fingers like that, considering you seem to be the exact opposite of him, also into the extreme.
Well written and fair review, imo.
/applaud
hmmm anyone who gets all rattled by capital letters and feels that justifies some type of response really has his priorities in the wrong order. Its really EGOCENTRIC to think that if someone doesn't agree with you, that must mean their eyes are closed. I guess the over 1M who will be loving the game will be sleep walking.
There Is Always Hope!
Well, I shall simply rewrite my review stating the reasons this game sucks, and make sure the title says "REAL REAL REAL" honest review. Perhaps then my post will be labeled "good" and "objective" and "not drivel"!
I love the idea that if you dislike this game, you are deluding yourself. But if you say it is the best game ever created, you are instantly hailed as a person of truth and honor. Classic.
A sure sign that you are in an old, dying paradigm/mindset, is when you are scared of new ideas and new technology. Don't feel bad. The world is moving on without you, and you are welcome to yell "Get Off My Lawn!" all you want while it happens. You cannot, however, stop an idea whose time has come.
While I thank the OP for his write up and respect his freedom to an opinion I simply cant agree with his "scores" for this game.
SWToR is exactly what it claims to be, a well done Themepark MMO with alot of VO. Its not the second comming and IMO its not worth a 9 score. I'd personally score it around the 7.5 mark.
Thats not to say I dislike the game, in fact I pre-orderd several copies (5 !) after the open weekend, the difference is I took an objective view and made the purchace based on my determination that the game would yield at least 2-4 mo's "fun" for me. Which IMO it will. Therefore I concider the price tag to be worth the investment.
Now will I play for 2-4 mo's then quit? That depends 100% on Bioware. From what I can see of there game there is enough there to keep me amused initially, the system is stable and the game is polished enough. Its not a next gen MMO as far as GFX go, or systems or anything else, its as I said a well done Themepark. After the inital 2-4 its down to Bioware to keep content flowing in order to keep my interest.
That the catch with all heavy Themepark games, because they are not sandboxes we have very few tools to make our own fun, grinding PvP / instances etc only goes so far. So IMO retention will be equal to content updates. Few and numbers will drop, if Bioware can keep content flowing the game will do well.
Bioware, IMHO, have a decent start with a stable and fun base system. (Assuming you like Themeparks) As long as they keep adding "rides" (content) all will be well, with no track record for updating a live running MMO this is where you take your gamble. If you enter the game with the attitude that 2-4 mo's is good value you wont be dissapointed either way. If you are looking for a new game for the next year or so ... well then your gamabling on Bioware's ability to produce.
I don't think you can handle a fare review especially if it is positive. As far as agreeing or disagreeing with reviews, people side with one which reflects their opinions more and helps them to reconfirm their opinions. Everyone here is fan of atleast one game and i am pretty sure you would react in same manner if people didn't give ratings that you want to give to it. I have seen it happening so many tmes here.
Giving the space part of the game a 6 is a travesty, the space shouldnt even be put in with the rest of your rankings. I wouldnt give it any more then 4 and thats on a good day. You cant be serious? Either you never played EVE or your space combat is on a level that far from what the average player expects.
This dimeans your entire post, either you dont read reviews every day like I do on gamerankings.com, or your basing your scores on a weighted ranking system conceived by you. I can see ranking it 6 since its really not anything more then just a small mini game, in that sence yea you could consider it that but as a full fledged space combat extension of the ground game, hardly.
But I love the game, my review of it here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_aJyfaOK-0&feature=channel_video_title.
What has EVE got anything to do with it? also Eve combat is point and click and you are not even in actual control of your ship. I would rather have current space combat and Bioware improve on it then go to the route of boring EVE combat. Freelancer type of combat is what is needed in SWTOR.
All im saying is using it as an example to point out that the space knowledge by the poster must be slim.
Youd be hard pressed to tell that to all the people that love EVE. I played SWG JTL as well, which was great.
I can't speak for anyone else. But I still come here because it is a lot of fun to read the posts from the half wits. Just grab some popcorn and watch the crazies post away. Not calling you any names, just a generalization for my own amusment.
And I am on board with the OP. I would give it a solid 8 or 8.5 for what I like out of a Themepark MMO. Stories suck you in, multiplayer dialogue is a lot of fun. Never knowing who will win the role and having a flashpoint change based on the choices. Just enjoying the jeorney for once. But you can't please everyone. But I for one am pleased regardless of the haters or fanbois as everyone likes lables.
How many people long for that "past, simpler, and better world," I wonder, without ever recognizing the truth that perhaps it was they who were simpler and better, and not the world about them?
R.A.Salvatore
From my experience over the weekend I gave it a perfect score since I didnt run into anything that had any resemblence to being not good but playing it over time will obviously be a different ball game.
ok thanks for your input buddy. All I was saying was that the space combat is not worthy of a 6, there are some great games that only get rated around 6 and space combat in SWTOR is definitly not great.
It depends on your frame of mind IMO. I hated the space combat in the first beta weekend. Didn't even try it in the second beta weekend. But I said what the heck and went back in this last weekend. And just based on entertainment for what it is, I was ok with it.
As a space mini-games, based on graphics and the side tracking is is ment to be, it is fun. I even tried upgrading the ship to see if it makes a difference. It can even gain you some good XP and a level or two if you want to skip some questing or just gain levels. So based on just what the mini game is going to be at launch. A 6 is an ok number.
I would like to see free flight in the same zones, with the same objectives. Only with actual AI from the NPC ships and maybe some open PvP while trying to complete the objectives in the future. But we will only see that in an expansion, someday.
How many people long for that "past, simpler, and better world," I wonder, without ever recognizing the truth that perhaps it was they who were simpler and better, and not the world about them?
R.A.Salvatore
I know personally a lot of people from my guild who are happy with UI but would want to be able to move it around. And they are no fanboys and would easily rate it 7. A working UI is more important than the one that can be modded.
Enough Bias in it? Seriously though, its to be expected someone holds bias towards a game. A lot of your review is inflated for the better results but I feel its cause you WANT it to be better then it is. Still, you did manage to point out areas you didn't like. Your number scores I feel aren't really accurate to your own self, nor do you really give much text detail to explain why you feel something is good or why you think its bad. I think you should really sit down and think things through if you want to review a game. I can tel you enjoyed the game, but I think your blinding your own self and really blindly overlooking some details that give inaccuracies to your review.
Again, everyone has personal bias so its to be expected. When you have bias playing part, your best bet is to really go in depth and anaylze it fully. Take each area in deep consideration and break it down piece by piece. You need to remove any bit of the 'its SW!" fan boy self from it (which trust me, I do have that issue myself despite sounding as if I'm a 'hater') and look at it as if your looking at it as some entirely different entity. From there, you will see a "Fan boy" Score, and a "Real" score. For me, the combat screams '9' but truthfully if I can remove my blinders and look at it from a larger prospective, I can see through the deception and realize its only my lightsaber fetish that really makes it that high.
Tame time to reflect on your scores and what you think. It doesn't mean you can't enjoy the game of course, but if you want 'real' you can't let your own bias play you. That being said, its perfectly fine to bash on a games flaws and yet play it because of a deep seated love for it. Lets all not pretend old school gamers were playing the most 'amazing' games ever, they were flawed and no matter what we say, they aren't as great as we make them all to be. XD
"Honest" review which gives high score in UI for the promise that it will be fixed before launch and GFX because it, admittadly is poor quality, but does it well. Also combat is really good because you can force push and kick people in the groin... And crafting got a high score just because they tried something new...
Give me a break.This is nothing but an opinion piece from someone who loves the game and is not reviewed objectively at all.
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