Just a short update until I actually beat the game! Lol. I have90 hours right now...and about 150 quest done...so many more things to do. This is just a holding spot!
Here is a trailer of the game if you have SOMEHOW missed it!
It is by far one of the best RPG's on a console I have ever played. I've been playing since before Xbox.
I'm sure people are excited about the newly released MMORPG by BioWare. I was SUPER excited about it also, and the way the trailer looked for it...WOW! It was one of the most hyped ever games for the last few years, besides the Call of Duty franchise, but those are over-hyped. Star Wars has a huge history and fanbase to draw upon to make any RPG huge...but sadly none have ever been done as well as The Old Republic. (Star Wars Galaxies...yeah see how well that went?)
I got lucky and was accepted into the beta in November and got to see what the game was really like. The graphics were sharp for an MMO which is surprising considering most have mediocre graphics. The sound effects were great and the music was actually pretty good also, though I generally turn on my own music. You can check out another longer trailer below which is pretty "in your face!" The Beta that I was invited to was the last beta and the game was pretty much finalized and just working out final bugs and polishing. As of this posting the game has only been on the market for about 30 days, still pretty fresh on the market!!
Gameplay
When I was picking my character it seemed...familiar to another hugely popular game (cough- World of Warcraft-cough). I was slightly disappointed but didn't think to much of it. Had an all right class selection and different races, good start for a new game. And the game is thought to have about a million players already, which is great for PvP and PvE challenges. The questing was pretty good and didn't seem as repetitive as many other MMO's.
But the best part I thought about the entire game was actually the way you get the quest. Your character talks to the quest giver and you get to pick what your character says, which really gets you into the whole, you know, Role-playing aspect!!! The set-up for the mini-dialogues was the same used in Mass Effect (trailer here). The voice acting for the quest was really cool, never have I seen it done so well in an MMORPG.
The way you communicate with other players was not a strong suit of the game sadly, other games have a well built communication system, this one needed work. A small box that contains all the talking in the zone is hard to follow and an even worse set up. The box has a solid background and just didn't fit in well.
The game also puts a new spin on groups and instances, which are actually pretty well done. It's easy enough to group up and get quest done. PvE content can be daunting but since its easy to group up if you want and knock out harder stuff it makes it fun instead of a boring requirement. There is so much more that the game brings to the average MMORPG table, and it does it well.
The way you level and get equipment is pretty standard for an RPG and eventually you pick something of a "2nd tier" class structure, think Rift (trailer here).
Overall
In my view the game earns 7 out 10. The game was too much like WoW for my taste. It I was excited but for anybody who has played WoW, it will seem like a bit hard to spring for a different WoW with Star Wars characters. But if you are NEW TO MMO'S...GET THIS GAME!!! The new twists that Bioware creates for a tried and true method is a breath of fresh air. When there are so many MMO's out there...one that actually changes it up is a Godsend!!! Knowing the epic games that BioWare has made in the past...you better watch out World of Warcraft...
Here's the intro to the game...one hell of an introduction...
The trailer for Halo 4 was recently shown at E3 2011 (the biggest video game conference in the world) and you could say that it stole the show...almost. You can check out the trailer here to see it; it’s the only one out right now. Not much is known about the game at this point expect that it will be a new trilogy that is based on the Chief and the Forerunners; who you really didn't hear about in the first 3 games. Another thing about this one is that it is a Halo game not made by Bungie, and instead by 343 Industries. This game could make or break this company if such a hugely anticipated game sucks.
Hail to the (new) Chief
Along with Halo 4's trailer is a completely revamped trailer for a redux of Halo: Combat Evolved was also shown; trailer here. I bought the Halo Anniversary and after playing it a few hours (the story has been on the interwebs for 10 years now!) it was just as fun as the original! I loved being able to replay the game with updated graphics and a few new tweaks here and there. With a simple push of the back button you can return to the landscape of yore...and see how terrible it was! I couldn't believe the difference of the old and the new; I thought to myself, "THIS was top of the line at some point?!"
The graphics are top notch and small details have been added and changed. One of the best parts about the game is the price, $40 (£26, €31) for a solid hit, though it is old. It also brings back the some of the original multi-player maps in all of their glory, (Hang 'em High)! The physics of the game seems to be a little better than the original so far also, no longer does half your body disappear into a wall when you die; it now stays in the border of the game! They also added the skulls that started in Halo 2 and continued throughout the franchise. The skulls add a new and fresh take on a game that’s been around since 2001, and a hellva lot more grenades than I remember. >.>
The first book of the new series, get yours on Amazon!
As an extra I'll let you in on a tip...they made more books! If you’re into expanding on the story of the Forerunners I'd recommend you grab them. To coincide with the new story arc three new books will be written that is set WAYYYY before the timeframe of Halo 1; (think about 100,000 years). I bought and read the first one not to bad, a little hard to follow but it is setting up for a new series so I assume it will pick up in the next two.
The single player campaign is pretty good. I played through it on Hardcore setting the first time through to get a good experience, I did. The campaign was stronger than Gears of War 2 and, to me, beat the original GOW. It drops you right into the action as soon as you pop in the disc. You get more of a back story with the main characters and get a real sense of them. The game looks a great deal "better" instead of dark colors you get actual color! The game puts a fresh twist on everything. New objectives, new weapons, new enemies, everything is better! The conclusion to this awesome trilogy is amazing and a twist you'll not see coming, I sure didn't!
The multi-player is beast. Faster, better, and you shouldn't get screwed on lag with dedicated servers this time around. Horde mode is completely revamped and worth the change! New game types to boot and just a good sense of "fun" when you chainsaw that baddie who wasn't watching their six...if you'll excuse me...I'm off to pwn noobs on some Gears.. ;)
