Does Star Wars: The Old Republic Not Suck? – Episode One: Unnamed

I awaited the release of Star Wars: The Old Republic for over two years. Much of that time was spent listening to the greatest podcast I’ve ever heard, which later became the lamest podcast I’ve ever heard, which from there became an “all right” to “decent” podcast, ultimately surpassed by other shows which I didn’t think would become so big (the podcast of which I speak shall remain anonymous). Much of it was also spent imagining what a Star Wars MMO would be like without the horrible NGE. I knew it wouldn’t be anything like my beloved Star Wars Galaxies, but my mind still ran wild, conjuring possibility after possibility. I thought of the freedom one would have in a story-based MMO. I thought of the quality of developer BioWare’s previous titles (at the time only the first two Mass Effect games were out and Dragon Age II hadn’t damaged the company’s PR yet), and how they could do no wrong, for the most part. I thought of the potential for all expectations to be exceeded, and for The Old Republic to revolutionize MMOs as we knew them. I was more hyped for this game than I was for Spore (a disappointment which we’ll discuss at another time). And did it deliver? At first, yes. Later, I didn’t stick around. It wasn’t worth it.

I was wrong about TOR. I had been disappointed yet again.

TOR’s biggest failing, its chief weakness (at release), was that it focused more on the story than the game. We already know BioWare can make great stories, but gameplay is the part of the game wherein you are actually participating, in general, the most important part, and they just didn’t meet a level that was good enough to satisfy a lot of people. They lost many subscribers fast, dipping under a million in the first year. It looked like it might be a total failure. However, I hear tell from many who play TOR currently that it has significantly improved, passing the one million users mark once again (according to Gamespot, it may very well be two million). So, does Star Wars: The Old Republic not suck anymore? Let’s find out.

In this series, we will explore the improvements, failures, and overall evolution of the most ambitious multiplayer experience in the last ten years. We’ll do this through interviews, testimonials, all sorts of things. To start, I got a chance to talk to the creator of the recently popular Unnamed SWTOR Podcast, Gaddock Teeg (often referred to as JD), about the game’s current condition.

CLICK HERE to read my full interview with him!

Remember, the Force will be with you, always. This is D. Alexander wishing you a happy Joel Schumacher Actually Isn’t That Bad a Director Day.

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