Star Wars: The Old Republic Preview

The Internet is home to another hands-on preview of BioWare’s Star Wars: The Old Republic, and this time it comes our way via the editors at IncGamers. There really isn’t any new information within, but it’s a good summary of all the major points:

One of the most surprisingly enjoyable aspects of this bizarre and never-before-seen (player choice) thing actually comes in the Flashpoints (SWTOR’s instanced dungeons). As has been much publicised there are also decisions to be made when in groups, whether it’s a choice between sparing or killing an errant captain, or simply picking a line of dialogue that in the long run doesn’t really matter.

Each player picks the option they want, and the game (rolls) a number for each player. Whoever rolls highest wins. This might not sound particularly fascinating, but there’s a childish joy at seeing your character spouting a line of dialogue and getting a response from the NPC, and knowing that everyone else is seeing it too. I had to physically restrain myself from opening the chat window and shouting (Look, guys! Look! That’s me being sarcastic at the big man who could kill us all with a wave of his hand!)

Tying into this is the other thing the game is really good at, and that’s making you feel like an unstoppable badass from the word go. Enemies are divided up into a number of categories Weak, Standard, Strong, Champion, and Boss, if memory serves. Weak and Standard enemies are fodder; Strong enemies are tougher, and more than one can provide are serious challenge; Champions tend to be mini-bosses of a sort; and Bosses are… well, good luck.