I read a really interesting piece today from Escapist Magazine. It was part of a weekly column “First Person” written by Boston, MA-based freelancer Dennis Scimeca that I often enjoy. This particular write-up on how The Old Republic didn’t change MMOs is spot-on with how I feel about the game in many areas.
Let’s start with saying that it’s not a negative review. In fact, the columnist seems quite content with SWTOR as far as the game itself goes but he makes some very valid points about the MMO aspects and how there are certain things that just cannot be revolutionized yet in the genre. While SWTOR has done some things that no other MMORPG has done, there are still some things that it just hasn’t changed about the genre in SWTOR.
However, it may not really be BioWare’s fault. I mean, this is reportedly one of (if not the) most expensive MMORPG to date and there are only so many things that can be changed, regardless of the amount of money you spend on a game.
In closing, the writer leaves us with these words:
“The long-term importance of The Old Republic to MMO development might not be the changes Bioware introduced, however, but the necessity of judging whether or not the rest of the game adequately supports the changes made. The answer to that question will ultimately drive the genre forward, or make The Old Republic a singular experiment in MMO evolution which goes unrepeated.”
