I have so much I want to write about, but barely have the energy to do it. With the recent holiday, and my new job, I’ve just felt like doing nothing when I get home…sort of. I’ve been pretty active on Facebook and Twitter for some reason because it requires little thought other than “like”-ing and sharing and all that good stuff, but other than that I’ve been doing…well, something, and trust me, I’m not proud of it, and explain in a bit. So yeah, that’s what’s up with me. The new job has me training, and in all honesty, it’s a lot of stuff to absorb, and my brain is often fried right afterward. So much so that my mind explodes when I get home. I don’t even talk about the crazy racy stuff, like the insang .gif I saw of an ass implant, because I don’t even want to think…not yet. Wow that .gif is pretty disturbing actually. Who wants a butt THAT BIG? Other than Nicki Minaj. I don’t know how she even sits down sometimes.
Still, the thing that has really stolen my time is, as you guessed from the title, a new MMO. Not “new”, in the sense that is just came out, but new to me because this month, it came out Free To Play. That’s right, I am playing Star Wars: The Old Republic. I am a fan of the Star Wars mythos as you all know. The movies are okay, but I love the games, especially the Old Republic ones, so I felt compelled to play now that it was all free.
I’ve put in a few hours of time, and though they cripple the free to play option, I have to admit, I like the game a lot. The use of lightsabers, the power of the Force, and my awesome Jedi doing my every whim, is just a lot of fun. I know a lot of people have been hating on the game, and maybe I am a bit biased, but the one thing that I think really sold me on the game is the social aspect of it. The people who play, that I’ve encountered, are all very nice people. Helpful, patient, and really good with just doing PUGS, the troll factor seems almost non existent. Yes, I still go back to World of Warcraft every once in awhile, and I should given that I’m paying every month, but for now, Star Wars has me.
Here’s a quick review, because well, maybe you’re interested to know if it’s worth jumping in. First off, I did spend some money, so my experience is slightly different, but not by much. By buying some credits for the Cartel store, or spending money at all of a minimum of $5, you get a Premium status with the game. What that means is, you get a few perks that you don’t get for being a regular free to play, player, like being able to move faster, getting a place to store your stuff, and getting more priority in server queues. There are other things, but none important enough for me to remember, but you can always check out the site if you’re interested in learning more. (http://www.swtor.com/)
I’m not going to concentrate on the limitations, like slower leveling, and needing to reach higher levels to access things. If you subscribe though, you get everything like the ability to show your helmet and added action bars, but whatever. But like I said, I’m already spending $15 a month for WoW, I’m not ready to fork over another $15 for SW:TOR. Well, not yet anyway. Okay, so I did talk about it a little, but as I said, I don’t mind the limitations. What gets me is the story. It actually feels like I’m playing Mass Effect Online, if that were a real MMO, but with Star Wars as the theme. That’s kind of awesome. Making decision choices, giving gifts to the companions that follow you around, having them do stuff for you, like jobs, instead of you having to do it yourself, having your own ship, being able to go to different planets, there is a lot to see and explore. The fighting is cool too, with great graphics, the fact there is no auto attack, so you actually have to pay attention to what you’re doing, and the animations alone make that part of it fun. I have yet to be bored fighting a mob, because it’s nerve racking. You think you can take on a group of enemies and all of a sudden, you see you can’t, and your companion is fighting along side you, possibly surviving, possibly not…gah, I enjoy that part.
It’s like a massive roleplaying game with a nifty little social element, because, as I said before, people for the most part, are very friendly and type in complete sentences. I think the Free to Play aspect kind of forces that, because if you want to find people to do “dungeons” with, you need to be nice to the subscribers and vice versa. But this game is not all sunshine and roses.
Right off the bat, I notice that there is no holiday celebrations. Weird little quirk, but I like that aspect of World of Warcraft. They make up their own holidays and you have to do things and whatnot to get titles and fun little items and achievements. From what I can tell, nothing like that has happened on SW:TOR. I played over the Thanksgiving weekend, and nothing. I don’t know if that will change in the future, but I hope it does. Also, there’s not a lot to do outside of the quests and the planet hopping. Your companions do all the heavy lifting, like making stuff or gathering resources, so you have a lot of free time to do…nothing. My only really reference is WoW, and you can do so much there, like sit on a mountain top and watch the sunset, which I’ve done on occasion. You can fish, cook, smelt, sew, blah de blah de blah. So much to do. SW:TOR…not so much. Which is why I haven’t dived in yet. I have no idea how this game will keep me coming back in the long run other than the amazing story line, and the customization you can do to a lot of your gear. That could be enough for me, but only the end game will tell.
For now, that takes up at some of my evening. Discovering and playing and enjoying a world a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. I have comics and tv shows piling up that I’ll have to catch up with soon. But for now, I’m in my honeymoon period with Star Wars: The Old Republic. I think with more people coming in, and hopefully a future of expansions, this game shows potential. As long as the makers of the game, don’t get too greedy, too restrictive, and overly ambitious, they’ll have me playing for some time yet.
