First Star Wars: The Old Republic gameplay footage debuts
by Randy Nelson 
{ Dec 12th 2008 at 3:15PM }
BioWare has unleashed the first in-game footage from its upcoming Star Wars MMO, The Old Republic. Presented in documentary format, it's quite heavy on lightsaber dueling (thankfully with ones less chubby than those in the above screenshot).
The footage also shows a few brief glimpses of world traversal and combat against NPC creatures, including a K'lor'slug. Unfortunately, the video quality doesn't show off the game's visual nuances all that well, but LucasArts has told us that an HD version of the documentary will arrive on Monday, December 15.
You can watch the current video after the break. And for the deep analysis, head over to Massively.
The footage also shows a few brief glimpses of world traversal and combat against NPC creatures, including a K'lor'slug. Unfortunately, the video quality doesn't show off the game's visual nuances all that well, but LucasArts has told us that an HD version of the documentary will arrive on Monday, December 15.
You can watch the current video after the break. And for the deep analysis, head over to Massively.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Nick the Hero of Canton @ Dec 12th 2008 3:21PM
Please insert coin to finish duel.
Zertoss @ Dec 12th 2008 3:23PM
"warning: it autoplays"
Not if you're using NoScript. ;)
Temidien @ Dec 12th 2008 7:55PM
I know, I love me some NoScript ^^
Strategy_Panda (The Sandwitch Poisoning Crew) @ Dec 12th 2008 3:25PM
Don't let George Lucas touch it!
Dirty @ Dec 12th 2008 3:31PM
Yes keep Lucas 200 yards from this at all times.
Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Dec 12th 2008 3:33PM
Well the game is based on his movies so I'm sure he had some input on the game.
Shmil @ Dec 12th 2008 3:43PM
No, this game is not based on his movies. Lucas created the universe but doesn't know it at all. When Lucas touches Star Wars we get the new trilogy.
Bioware staff must keep rolled up magazines on them at all times to bat lucas away if he gets too close.
aristokrat @ Dec 12th 2008 6:57PM
They should just throw Lucas a stormtrooper to rape in a closet somewhere.
Joeshie @ Dec 12th 2008 10:06PM
You guys realize that if it wasn't for George Lucas, we wouldn't have Star Wars at all?
It's like people have completely forgotten that it was George Lucas who created the franchise to being with.
t_m @ Dec 12th 2008 11:03PM
Robert Mugabe created zimbabwe... that doesn't mean he isn't F'ing it up now...
LaughingTarget @ Dec 13th 2008 2:03AM
No one is allowed to coast through life on a single accomplishment, let alone allowed to destroy it.
pixls @ Dec 14th 2008 9:29AM
but who loves zimbabwe?
IceKXG @ Dec 15th 2008 9:11AM
Yes, please keep George Lucas and Steven Spieldberg away from this...we all seen what they did to Indiana Jones...
I don't want this game to be raped too!
SugarDaddy @ Dec 15th 2008 10:03AM
@LaughingTarget: "No one is allowed to coast through life on a single accomplishment, let alone allowed to destroy it."
Single accomplishment? Star Wars. Indiana Jones. Industrial Light and Magic. Lucasfilm. Lucasarts. Hardly "single" accomplishments here especially considering both franchises are composed of 6 and 4 movies respectively. Not to mention all the video games and books involved. Bottom line: You're a moron.
Bigfoot @ Dec 12th 2008 3:26PM
Looks pretty sweet so far.
Alex @ Dec 12th 2008 3:27PM
Not interested, until I can play an MMO on my console kicking back on the couch, I'm not touching it.
Hunkering down for hours hunched over my computer just doesn't compete to couch gaming anymore, shoot, I can even position my tv, and couch to where I can actually lye down and game! Pure genius!
Fausk @ Dec 12th 2008 4:00PM
You can, it's called Final Fantasy XI (PS2, 360, PC)
Redhobbit @ Dec 12th 2008 6:09PM
Check out Champions online. They're coming out with both a PC and Xbox360 version. The PC version is also fully controller compatible provided you've got a long enough reach.
Reader @ Dec 12th 2008 5:41PM
If you have to hunker down to play PC games, you're doing it wrong. I'm more comfortable at my PC than my couch.
Dirty @ Dec 12th 2008 3:29PM
Wish I could listen to this at work or get some subtitles (friday woot!). I have faith in the Bioware guys to make this good, I just am a bit worried about the micro transactions. I think I would rather pay the monthly fee than have to drop extra money to change my light saber color or pimp out my ship.
Dirty @ Dec 12th 2008 3:34PM
Really I would rather have a next gen kotr by bioware.
ebola @ Dec 12th 2008 3:33PM
It looks okay, but I'm not sure if I'm a fan of the art direction they chose. I know they're going for stylization over realism, but it seems like a big graphical step back from Mass Effect. Would have been cool if they could have built TOR on UE3.
Mister Servo @ Dec 12th 2008 3:34PM
Sounds great, but when I'm walking around looking at other players, am I going to see a 100 other identical companions? Not that it's a big deal for me (I played WoW, so I'm used to seeing my 400 identical twins walking around). I'm just wondering if they're will be a wide variety of companions.
DarkNessBear @ Dec 13th 2008 6:24AM
Thinkin the same thing, it's a great idea to have a companion in an MMORPG, maybe make it so you basically customize two characters. But you dont have to worry/touch the other character EVER, all he is there for is your companion. That'd be neat.
WiNG LifeInAGame.com @ Dec 12th 2008 3:37PM
SW:TOR will (choose one):
1. Feature mediocre gameplay
2. Assail consumers with microtransactions
3. Sustain a community of 12 year olds
4. Give you a longer lightsaber, in under just 2 weeks
5. All of the above
CC @ Dec 13th 2008 3:55AM
I don't understand
1. Feature mediocre gameplay
BioWare really developed the first KOTOR very well, and I don't see why they wouldn't be ace on this time around
2. Assail consumers with microtransactions
It can only be justified if it is worth it or not, so this can be a okay or a terrible thing. EA can very involved with it, so it can be a terrible thing
3. Sustain a community of 12 year olds
this, is not a legitamite concern. What community doesn't consist of immaturity, real life or in games? whenever I buy a game I expect nothing less for other players to say or do immature things, and it really isn't a big deal and it can simply be ignored
4. Give you a longer lightsaber, in under just 2 weeks
alrite i don't understand this one
5. All of the above
Listen, guys, there's not many promising games that can stand toe to toe with franchises like KOTOR. ANYTHING about KOTOR is good enough, and I don't have any qualms about the game ITSELF being stellar.
the real concerns i would have would be how it is published and handled payment wise, and if it is worth the price of admission, which I think the quality of KOTOR speaks for itself
KOTOR hasn't come out for four years, and this game will be supported and directly replenished with new content, so it isn't like its a one and done deal.
like BAM kotor 3 and move on to something else, or another 3-5 years for kotor 4.
this game looks promising so far to me, and i dont understand the negative vibes about this game at all.
Bowser Rogozhin @ Dec 13th 2008 5:35AM
Always go for number one, always.
SpikeDelight @ Dec 12th 2008 3:39PM
I really do hope that nothing hampers this game like the horse armor shit they're implementing. I am such a Star Wars fa and I really want this game to be as good as it can be! Cool video also.
Boffo the $ock @ Dec 12th 2008 3:49PM
What's the point of warning that the video auto play at the end of the article. Anybody who actually took the time to read the article would have most likely figured out that a video was automatically playing when noise starts pouring unbidden out of their speakers.
Yourself @ Dec 12th 2008 4:01PM
o.0
I'd assume the majority of people read the posts on the main page, so the warning was "if you jump the break, the video is going to start."
Dirty @ Dec 12th 2008 4:06PM
Nothing is more embarrassing that having some star wars cranking out of your computer at work, when all your trying to do is leave a comment.
Strategy_Panda (The Sandwitch Poisoning Crew) @ Dec 12th 2008 4:43PM
I thought thats what brings all the girls to the yard
Sora @ Dec 12th 2008 5:18PM
No, that's my milkshake.
Antagonist @ Dec 12th 2008 3:53PM
I hate when a video that is supposed to show game footage starts off with some drab team member blathering about some goal, idea, or some other such nonsense that they were attempting to bring to the table. I don't care what some crusty old Asian woman has to say about Star Wars heritage. I just want to see pretty-colored lightsabers and force pushes.
My Name @ Dec 12th 2008 3:56PM
I'll take pre-cu SWG over this any day.
Rhinosaur @ Dec 12th 2008 4:03PM
Wow, somebody else overrating pre-cu Galaxies.
Pre-cu Galaxies was buggy, templates homogenized, armor absurd, knock-down combat stupid, lack of content inexcusable.
But other than that, yeah, it was really good...and unquestionably better than a game that hasn't even been released yet.
My Name @ Dec 12th 2008 4:08PM
I wasn't saying this game will be bad. I just really enjoyed SWG and would rather play that than any other MMO really. It may have been buggy, but it was very fun in my opinion. I also may be a bit biased since it was my first MMO.
lawls @ Dec 12th 2008 5:27PM
Word, I miss that game so much. I wished that hadn't ruined it.
Evan Tribley @ Dec 12th 2008 3:57PM
As a long time Star Wars/BioWare/KotOR fan I was really looking forward to this.
Initial reaction to game play: it looks like a cartoon.
/sadface
Daniel @ Dec 12th 2008 3:59PM
I know it's an MMO, but why does it look like an Xbox 180 game?
Mythin @ Dec 12th 2008 4:03PM
Because it's a first pass without all the proper lighting and graphics options (such as AA and the like).
The real question is why this is asked every single time new gameplay footage comes out for a very early build of a game.
Rollins @ Dec 12th 2008 4:05PM
"I know it's an MMO, but why does it look like an Xbox 180 game?"
But why does it look like an Xbox 180 game?
I know!
It's an MMO.
--
Sorry, had to do it. Basically, they want to have the same mainstream appeal that WoW has; you can't do that unless you have low system requirements. That's where AoC massively screwed the pooch and where WAR only slightly violated said canine. WoW can run on really old computers and really shitty new computers; therefore, its potential playerbase is far larger than that of its competitors.
JWC @ Dec 12th 2008 4:00PM
Agreed, Lucas stay the hell away.
Also, HAWT!
Kael @ Dec 12th 2008 4:27PM
In the video, the guy says they don't want The Old Republic to look like every other game out there, so they went with a cartoony stylization. You know; just like almost every other MMO out there. The real reason is that they want to get away with as few polygons and effects as they can so that all of you with computers older than the dinosaurs who refuse to upgrade them can run the game, and they hope no one will notice if they can cover it up with a glossy coat of cartoon paint. Yeah, I get it, but I think I should be able to say, hopefully without provoking the whole pro-cartoony-Diablo-3 goon-squad and being labeled an emo freak, that some of us liked Star Wars even before the Clone Wars cartoon, and yes, might like or even prefer a more realistic, subtle portrayal of the universe and force-users in particular than what we've been getting from the franchise lately.
Aside from all that business, I still feel weary of MMOs in general. But... if all that crazy talk about the game having an actual story, choices you can make in that story that matter, and characters you can give a darn about turns out to be true and not just be a little twist on the genre's usual 'text boxes with bits of story written in them', I could be interested enough to give this game a try.
J @ Dec 12th 2008 5:24PM
Star Wars musical to premiere in London.
http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/showbiz/a138255/star-wars-musical-to-premiere-in-london.html
Tickets go on sale Monday. *shivers*
FSK405K @ Dec 12th 2008 5:55PM
From the video: "for the first time in an MMO, all of your choices are going to matter, and..." Ya, we've never been told that before. YAWN.
Megadanxzero @ Dec 12th 2008 6:31PM
I'm not buying the whole MMO with a decent storyline thing. I'm sure that no choice you make can have a dramatic effect on anything. How the hell would that work with thousands of people all together in the same game world?
I just don't get MMOs... How can anyone find them enjoyable...
Negativecool @ Dec 12th 2008 6:51PM
"For the first time in an MMO every one of your chioces are going to matter..."
Although I think this is great, I've heard of how important the idea of "choice" is quite a bit before. Freedom of choice is still pretty limited, and I'm kinda sick of hearing about how "this game will be different" when really all the decision making has done thus far is put a [+1] for evil or [+1] for good, and nothing really in between.
I'd like to see how these guys interpret "choice" in a way that is truly a revolution in its implementation.
Averna @ Dec 12th 2008 8:22PM
Ive heard the 'choice matters in this game' line before. They rarely deliver... I hope this doesn't suck. Bring it to 360 and PS3 and its a day one purchase.
Master Bruce @ Dec 12th 2008 7:09PM
Damn the haters, full speed ahead!
I for one welcome our new Bioware overlords.