Star Wars is one of the most famous and popular universes in the world. Currently, seven full-length films have been shot in the Star Wars universe and many computer games have been released. Star Wars dates back to the late 1970s and remains in demand to this day. One of the games that will be discussed is Star Wars the Old Republic. The review of the game includes a description of the plot, mechanics, gameplay, graphic component, the general impression of the gameplay and much more.
A bit of history
Star Wars is the brainchild of George Lucas. The first film of the saga was released in the distant 1977. The largest box office did not take long - the picture was a breakthrough for its time and still remains quite watchable.
Over time, computer game developers turned their attention to the fantastic universe, because it was an unplowed field. The legendary Jedi-Knight games have become a favorite not only for fans of Star Wars, but also for fans of high-quality computer RPGs.
Next came a lot of projects related to the saga. They include games under the Lego logo and theme, and two parts of Force Unleashed, and the notorious Battlefront. The continuation of the last mentioned game came out recently. But in this article we will talk about Stars Wars the Old Republic, a review which will definitely appeal to fans of the series. For those who hear for the first time about this project - it will be a great occasion to get acquainted with the game.
Around "Star Wars" has developed a whole isolated culture. The developers of computer games could not ignore this niche. The combination of the too popular MMORPG genre and the universe seemed like a good solution in the form of Stars Wars the Old Republic. The review will help to figure out whether the creators succeeded in making a successful project or not.
Game history
As mentioned above, Star Wars the Old Republic is a multiplayer game with unique features and features, which will be discussed a little later. This project was released in 2011, or rather, just before the New Year. Bioware development studio released the game on time, which affected the quality of optimization and the overall impression of the players, but this did not stop the real fans. The project remains afloat so far. However, publishers and developers had to make many concessions to maintain popularity. The reasons for such decisions will be described later.
Game development
Game development has been underway since 2008. Even then, the studio promised unlike other MMORPGs. The emphasis in the project was on the plot. Since BioWare was famous for its good story RPGs, there were high hopes for Star Wars the Old Republic. Moreover, the combination of a multiplayer game and a full storyline at that time seemed rather curious, since almost no one had done this before, or the implementation was lame.
In 2009, the first trailer of the project was presented at the E3 game exhibition. Within a couple of months, the developers announced the recruitment for the closed beta test of Star Wars the Old Republic 2011. A review of the game servers of that time suggests that the company was not doing well. Due to the huge popularity and millions of people who want to plunge into the game world of the Star Wars universe, the project servers simply could not stand the load. Even the official site did not cope with the flow of visitors.
In the summer of 2010, the second trailer for the game appeared. Exactly one year later, the final third video about the game Stars Wars The Old Republic was released. A review of the chips and innovations for the genre as a whole - this is how these 3 trailers can be characterized.
On June 21, 2011, publishers began to accept pre-orders for the game and released it in December of that year. The publisher was Eletronic Arts.
However, after a year, the popularity of the project fell sharply. To increase ratings and relevance, publishers decided to switch to the Free-to-Play model in order to attract new players. With this approach to distribution, visitors and players do not have to pay a monthly fee. All investments in the game are limited to donat, which, by the way, is not at all necessary for a full and comfortable gameplay.
Project Scope
Star Wars The Old Republic can be considered the largest and most complex game in the Star Wars universe. This conclusion immediately comes to mind after meeting the following figures. Firstly, the development period is more than 3 years, which allowed us to make a really high-quality game. Secondly, a huge budget of about $ 200 million. The development of the project was carried out in parallel on four continents by more than 800 experts from various industries and fields of game development. Thirdly, due to the strong and voluminous plot component of BioWare, it was necessary to attract more than a thousand voice actors for all unique characters. According to the developers themselves, if they had the opportunity to invite a unique actor for each character, they would do it. It is worth mentioning that the number of game characters is about 4 thousand.
Stars Wars the Old Republic: concept overview
Even before going into open beta testing, the project was positioned as a multiplayer game with a monthly fee. Access to it could be purchased for an amount not exceeding a thousand rubles. At the same time, a donut was also present in the game, which influenced the gameplay. Why developers and publishers adopted such two incompatible concepts of distribution at the same time is incomprehensible. However, later this move played a cruel joke with them.
Star Wars Old Republic (online): an overview of the technical data of the game
The project has a game engine HeroEngine. This platform has been specifically designed for online multiplayer games. The engine copes with its task successfully. The engine concept fits perfectly with BioWare's work style. Because of the sheer scale, programmers have to work on the same elements simultaneously from different points of the planet. HeroEngine just provided this opportunity.
System requirements
To start the game, you must have a computer running Windows XP or later. The processor must have a frequency of at least 2 GHz, for example, Core 2 Duo from Intel or an analog from AMD. The minimum amount of RAM is 2 GB. The amount of video memory must be at least 512 MB.
Game optimization
Despite the rather low system requirements, the game Star Wars The Old Republic is very poorly optimized. Even on configurations that exceed the power described above by several times, the game manages to slow down and crash. FPS sometimes drops to unplayable 10 frames per second.
Plot
As mentioned above, the main feature of the project is a deep and thoughtful plot. The scene of the game becomes a huge number of planets from the universe of Star Wars. Events unfold 3 thousand years before the events of the films. The player will choose one of the parties: the Galactic Republic or the Sith Empire. According to the plot, the Sith captured the main republican capital. However, the rebels are not going to put up with this state of affairs, so the war does not abate. It is in it that you will have to take part.
Studying the characters and their personal stories is the main pride of the developers of Star Wars The Old Republic. A video review with a unique description has each significant plot character. Basically, the player will have to engage in reading dialogs and watching story clips.
Gameplay
However, the developers also did not forget about the MMORPG component of the game, although they pushed into the background. Here the first problems of the project begin to appear.
Playing Stars Wars The Old Republic, like a regular MMORPG, is pretty boring. Therefore, after completing story missions and tasks in the game, there is practically nothing for those who came only for the sake of their favorite setting and history.
At the same time, lovers of classic MMORPG will like a variety of dungeons, instances and PVP modes. It is recommended to constantly dilute the passage of the plot with the usual social and rpg elements, otherwise the game can quickly get bored. However, after passing the plot for one character, you can go through a story for another faction, or create a new unique hero and choose new answers in dialogs that will lead to different consequences.
Otherwise, Stars Wars The Old Republic is a boring and rather gray MMORPG, despite its high marks after launch. Side missions are primitive - kill, collect and bring back, or go down and activate several elements in some dungeon and kill the final boss. True, the unique situation with side quests is saved by unique and non-repeating NPCs with unique voice acting.
The first 10 levels, your character is in a kind of training mode in the initial location. The player is introduced to the mechanics and control through the plot of the plot and a small set of third-party tasks. After reaching level 10 you will be sent to free swimming. This is where Stars Wars The Old Republic is good: freedom of choice of locations and planets allows you to feel like part of the universe and a true explorer of distant galaxies. Of course, you will not be able to conquer all the places from the first minutes - after all, this is an MMORPG and a class of equipment, the level of a character directly affects the complexity of opponents and quests on various planets.
The locations are truly beautiful and never repeated in Star Wars The Old Republic Origin. The overview of each unique planet is usually remembered for its color palette, weather conditions and nature.
Star Wars The Old Republic: Class Options
Looking at Star Wars The Old Republic, a review of the classes will not be out of place. For each of the fractions the same number of classes is available. For those who choose the Republic, smugglers, paratroopers, the Jedi Consul and the Jedi Knight will be available. A smuggler is a local counterpart to an assassin or thief. Marines - the main Damage Dealer fraction. The knights are tanks, and the Jedi Consuls are the equivalent of mages and wizards.
The following classes are available for the Sith Empire: bounty hunter, empire agent, sit warrior, and inquisitor. Classes are completely similar to the classes of republican characters.
At the start of the project, the balance of all classes was simply disgusting. But over time, the developers conducted tests, interviewed players and listened to their opinions. As a result, all classes are perfectly balanced: unique skills and abilities complement each other and there is no “imba” class.
Total
During the existence of the project, 4 plot additions and many updates to the game content and the server itself were released to it. This proves that the game still feels great. The influx of new players, although small, but still there.
Fans and fans of Star Wars will be pleased with the game. Perfectly conveyed setting and atmosphere of the universe will not leave them indifferent. Casual players will also not be offended - the combat system, pumping and dialogs will not cause any difficulties even at the first meeting. The only category of gamers who were unsatisfied with the game are hardcore MMORPG lovers, since they are unlikely to like a small number of small parts. For example, a simplified system for pumping or improving items. But for such players, there are many other multi-player projects. Perhaps in the near future the gaming community will receive the announcement of Star Wars The Old Republic 2. The review, in general, turned out to be positive. Despite minor flaws and adjusted for the plot of the game, we have a unique and curious project of its kind. It is not necessary to stay in it for a long time, but at least it is definitely worth a look.