Would you review a video game you hardly played? What about an MMORPG when you never hit the max level cap? Well, let me ask you this one- would you come back and review a game 15 months later and say it was a “Take two” on the game but then admit in this very same review that you have never experience any endgame experience of this particular MMORPG? Well, that’s exactly what one Massively writer did and it beats us why this ever got published in the first place. Now let me preempt this and say that we are not afraid to publish negative things about Bioware and SWTOR here- in fact, we’ve done it on multiple occasions. We like the game but we are also committed to the truth. SWTOR is not perfect and Bioware has made mistakes along the way. We’re not denying it. But haters hating…
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Top 10 Gaming Controversies of 2012!
OH NOOOoooo!!! What did SWTOR do now? WHY ALWAYS US?!?!?!!!!! Well, before you all start freaking out, SWTOR was not included in this all out critique of the 2012 gaming world. So why am I writing an article about it, if Angry Joe’s video has nothing do with SWTOR? Because SWTOR is FREAKING AWESOME!!! That’s why! And for a few other reasons. Remember words like TORTANIC? Yeah well the ship hasn’t sunk. In fact we’re all out on deck catching some rays, dirty dancing to reggaeton! I must admit there was that scary moment when after people speed played through the game before it was even finished (EA forced Bioware to release the game unfinished until the March 2012 update which fixed that) finding the lack of end game content, causing way too many subscribers to up and leave. After some time it was like playing SWG in mid 2011…
Star Wars: The Old Republic – Annihilation reviews
Not sure about getting the new Star Wars: The Old Republic book by Drew Karpyshyn yet? Well this might help you out. We have collected all the book reviews we could find around the net, so you could make a decision. Personally I found the book to be awesome, but don’t take my word for it. Check out the reviews below: Eucantina: Overall, Annihilation is an extremely fun adventure filled with some humor (like a certain character’s landing on Coruscant) and nods to the films (“I owe you one.” “The Jedi don’t keep track of such things.”). I highly recommend checking it out, even if you’re not familiar with the era. Just watch out for those video game spoilers. and gives the book 4,5 out of 5. starwarsreport.com: Surprisingly I really liked this book. I haven’t been following the Old Republic Era in the books and I have not gotten into the MMO so I didn’t…
“Should I Play SWTOR?” A Review after Ten Months
We’re not quite at the 1-year anniversary of SWTOR and there have been some major changes and additions to the game. While some will say SWTOR struggled after launch, others will say it’s actually a good thing to see a game grow so much in the first year. It shows the staff is willing to do what it takes to make a game the players enjoy. BioWare has asked for a lot of feedback from the players along the way and that feedback has gone into making the game what we see today. One major development that has come from these changes is the new free to play model. Personally, if someone asked me if they should play a game and it’s free to play, I would always recommend just trying it to see for yourself. You won’t risk anything- just invest a little of your time. But not everyone…
An Honest Personal Review on SWTOR Endgame
There are a lot of naysayers about SWTOR these days. In fact, since the game was in pre-launch phase, there were haters who protested and insisted the game would be a massive failure. While many are now trying to say that prophecy has come to light, not everyone believes this. In fact, there are still quite a few players who are happy with the current state of SWTOR and impressed with the game overall and in general. Reddit and the subreddit of SWTOR is not always friendly to those who love SWTOR but here is one poster who had a thorough report of Here is a snippet of the review talking about endgame content: So I finally get to the max level and am ready to finally “play the game” as I would say. First thing’s first — I need gear. A bit of online research tells me that Recruit…
Intergalactic Intel: Patch 1.2 Review
I sat down at the table attempting to finish writing an e-mail to my professor. My phone lit up. “Dude did you see it?” Before I could reply another text from another friend appeared on my phone. “Dual spec!!!!!” A smile began emerging on my face. Another text confirmed my suspicions. “My trooper is gonna have baller ass purple armor!” Patch 1.2 is here. Welcome back to another Intergalactic Intel! A little while ago patch 1.2 hit. With so many big changes coming we can only be excited, but let’s take a closer look at each of the new features that have arrived. Legacy system: Since the beta we’ve had very little idea about what the legacy system actually does. At the guild summit we learned that characters across both factions are apart of a single legacy, which in turn gives various benefits for people leveling classes and races…
A Second Look at SWTOR from Rival Tide
As SWTOR has been out for a couple of months now, players are taking a second look at the game to see if their early impressions were spoken too soon or if the game still lives up to the expectations we all had in the beginning. Rival Tide takes a second look at the popular MMO and tells us what they think about it as it stands today. There are many things that have changed from the early impressions of the game. For one, online gameplay can change regularly. Patches and game updates will change and the dynamic player community will affect the game as well. SWTOR is no exception and Rival Tide takes a look at some of the changes in the game and the community. Some positive points: the story, the voice acting, the planets and their unique quest lines and more. Some down points: the crew skills,…
INC Gamers Reviews SWTOR after 2 Months
SWTOR has been out for about 2 months now and some of us have been playing since beta or since the launch. If you’ve ever played a newly launched MMO before, you know that the first few months are sometimes the rockiest. There are usually game bugs and other kinks to iron out. Sometimes the community is out of balance or has not had time to stabilize yet. The economy can be wonky as servers balance and players learn how to work things and what the value of things are. So here we sit, two months in and what better time than now to take a look at what is happening in SWTOR? The crew over at INC gamers have an in-depth review of SWTOR- 2 months in. It’s more than 1,800 words of thoughts and impressions on the game thus far. While they published a positive early review of…
SWTOR Game Review by Capsule Computers
We’re all about bringing you SWTOR news here and part of that involves capturing the opinions of others. If you play, you have to decide for yourself how you feel about the game but it’s still good to hear what other players have to say about the game. Do you have complaints? Maybe someone else has the same complaints? Are there things you love about the game? Maybe others feel the same. Still haven’t bought the game yet? Then reviews may have an even bigger impact on you. Capsulecomputers.com has a few things to say about SWTOR as it stands now: “Star Wars: The Old Republic follows the individual tale of each player character inhabiting the game within the games universe. This means that players will get a more personalised experience from the games story, unlike other MMORPGs that seem to skimp in this department. Using the warring galaxy as…
SWTOR Explorer’s Guide Review
If you’re looking for an additional bonus to help you enjoy SWTOR a little more, consider picking up a copy of Prima’s Star Wars: The Old Republic Explorer’s Guide. This official Prima guide for SWTOR has many amazing features and benefits to this guide but before you buy a copy, it’s important to know what you’re doing and what you’re getting when you buy it. First one, this is not a leveling guide. It will not tell you where to go to quest or how to quest. It’s not necessarily going to help you level faster. Instead, it’s an atlas for SWTOR full of class-specific tips, detailed maps in full color and descriptions of each location. Some of the benefits of this Explorer’s Guide includes: Summaries of the classes and specializations with detailed descriptions of the class and the character creation menu. Beautiful color maps of every area within the…
Did SWTOR Fall Short of Expectations?
Since the release of SWTOR in December, we have brought you news, reviews, updates, funnies and everything else we can find SWTOR related. Most of our readers are fans of the game or fans of Star Wars. However, we would not be fair and unbiased if we only brought you news of the good stuff. There are some fans and gamers who feel let down by SWTOR. In some ways, I have to agree with the points they make. While I still play the game and intend to keep playing, there are some areas of the game that I am disappointed in. I feel like BioWare made some pretty big promises that were hard to back up. The Picky Geek has some reasons why they think SWTOR fell short as well: The bugs – “From graphical quirks to game breaking glitches, SWTOR’s seen them all. While every game has bugs,…
Star Wars The Old Republic Gaming Mousepad By Razer: Review
Are you wondering if the SWTOR gaming mousepad from Razer is worth the expense? You won’t be the first gamer or TOR fan to ask the question. The good news is we have a review for you to help you get the scoop on this gaming accessory. Capsule Computers had a lengthy review of this mousepad (over 1,000 words long) and you can read it in full on their website. Here’s a snippet: As the mouse pad is most certainly an aesthetic piece, the most important thing to immediately review is its physical design. Breaking away from their traditional colour scheme, Razer has dropped the usual black-green colour product colour scheme in favour of a more contextually appropriate White-Gold-Black. The choice in colour scheme I feel is highly appropriate given the sci-fi nature of the universe. The design is simple and straightforward, just as many of us assume that futuristic…
Kentucky.com Reviews SWTOR
It seems that everyone has something to say about SWTOR these days, even Kentucky.com. Special to the Manifesto for their Gaming section, from Shannon Reynolds is this review of SWTOR. It’s short and sweet and honestly, it’s much more of an “impressions” piece than an actual review but it gets the people in Kentucky aware of a really cool game and that’s something, right? This reviewer says: Developer Bioware took Yoda’s teachings to heart — particularly “Do, or do not; there is no try” — when crafting Star Wars: The Old Republic. There’s no evidence of a mere “try” here. The company made a game worthy of the sprawling and beloved Star Wars universe. And perhaps there’s no universe better suited for a massively multiplayer online role-playing game. While some SWTOR-haters might argue, I tend to agree. Is this the best MMORPG that any gamer can dream up brought to…
Review of SWTOR Gaming Headset By Razer
If you’ve been thinking about getting the new SWTOR Razer gear but you’re not quite sure if you want to shell out that much cash yet, then now is a great time to read this review of the Razer gaming headset from Capsule Computers. While all of Razer’s peripherals look great, looks alone are not enough to drop $200 on a piece of gaming/computer equipment. So it pays to find out more about what people think about it. All in all, they give it a positive review. Some features are the fully functional 7.1 channel surround sound. Some down points to note: To be honest, the additional software is a must to get the most out of this device. You will need it to be able to configure the many awesome bits of the device, such as the lighting effects and game synchronisation which also affects the lighting of the…
Review: Hands-On With StarWars the Old Republic (SWTOR): Part 2
My pal, Jason, was in the beta program of SWTOR (same as myself) and shortly after launch, we brought you his review of the game so far. It was a great review but based mostly on early impressions and of course, on the beta. So he has now written a Part 2 Hands-On review to give us all more insight into the game and his opinions of it. His part two covers things he missed or was unable to cover in the first review for a variety of reasons (didn’t exist in the game yet, didn’t have enough exposure to it pre-launch, etc.) In this part two, Jason covers: Single play Storyline Space combat Crafting Equipment modification Crew and crew skills Decision making So the new hands-on review goes into each of these points in more detail. On the topic of storyline he says: Having a storyline in an MMO…
Piki Geek Reviews SWTOR
Matt Wells of Piki Geek has been fascinated with the Star Wars world since KOTOR was released back in 2003. He says it renewed his fascination with Star Wars lore and that everything became new once again for him. He’s a true fan and was super excited when BioWare announced SWTOR in 2008. He says, “The biggest feature that SWTOR brings to the table is a completely fleshed out storyline that will greatly differ depending on which class you choose. It’s an incredibly tall order and definitely a stroke of luck that the first developer to take on such a task is none other than BioWare.” Piki Geek explains why SWTOR is great for KOTOR and Star Wars fans who appreciate the lore: Fans of the original KOTOR will be pleased to see many familiar names, faces, locations and environments. The hardcore fans of the lore will also be able…
SWTOR Draws in a Newbie- A Review
Darren Zenko was a self-professed MMO newbie. Until a couple of weeks ago, he was a near-total MMORPG virgin but something changed this- he got his hands on SWTOR. BioWare’s ability to interweave story and single-player elements into a multi-player format has drawn more than their fair share of newbies into the game, most of who were satisfied after giving it a chance. In a special to The Star on Toronto.com, Zenko shares his opinions on SWTOR and how he believes the game drew in a newbie like himself and why you might want to give it a try, too (if you have not already). Most of you reading our site here at SWTOR Strategies are already playing the game. However, we love to bring you these reviews for a variety of reasons. For one, they are interesting and helpful to those who may not be playing the game yet…
Gaming Age Gives SWTOR a B+
Not everyone is raving about BioWare’s MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic. Gaming Age gives the game a B+ in a solid review that is honest and realistic. This review greets us with the basics. They talk about the accusation that SWTOR is just WoW with a Star Wars skin (and how this accusation is somewhat on target) but then they go on to share the ways that SWTOR is different from WoW or any other MMORPG. Gaming Age says: And overall, I feel like SWTOR is a pretty great MMO. It’s certainly one of the more polished MMO’s at launch I’ve seen in a while. My system is pretty low-end nowadays, but still capable of running this game well enough. They also talk about companions, one aspect that sets the game apart from others in the genre: The companions get added to your overall crew over time, and their…
Time Magazine’s Techland Reviews SWTOR
It seems these days that everyone is getting their own little piece of SWTOR. People are talking about it everywhere and nearly every publication in the gaming, technology and Internet genres is covering SWTOR in stories and reviews. So it’s no surprise then that Time Magazine would review the game for their Techland section. But how they rated it is anybody’s guess before you read the review for yourself. It turns out they say that fresh stories propel SWTOR and create a fresh, fun game that anyone can get into but especially Star Wars fans. Time explains: Most of all, it makes you feel like you’re part of a huge narrative that’s at once personal to your character’s journey, but also part of a wider, unfolding epic between the Republic and the Empire. Quests and story arcs appear to end, but don’t. Your character may finish a mission, only to…
IGN Gives SWTOR a Second Look
You may remember reading a review on IGN a few weeks ago written by Nick Kolan on Star Wars: The Old Republic (we brought you the recap). Kolan had a lot of good things to say about the MMO but some of the commenters called him an idiot (commenters are prone to such things, ya know) so some of the other members of the staff decided to review it, too. They wanted to give readers a second opinion of the game. It’s a pretty fun read if you want to check it out for yourself. Here are a few of their comments. Anthony Gallegos – IGN PC Editor had this to say. “Maybe it was because I knew I’d be addicted, but I really was opposed to Star Wars: The Old Republic early on. So many of the early demos I saw of it made it seem like “just another…
Escapist Magazine Zero Punctuation Reviews SWTOR
This week, Zero Punctuation reviews Star Wars: The Old Republic. Escapist Magazine did not have nice things to say about SWTOR. It’s a 5-minute, fast-paced rant about how much SWTOR sucks (in short) but self-admittedly is nothing more than a “preview” as he doesn’t spend enough time actually playing the game to give it a real review. Ben “YAHTZEE” Croshaw is notorious for not liking MMOs. In fact, his criticism was somewhat mild considering his distaste for the genre. It’s amusing, I’ll give him that, but I really don’t think he gave SWTOR enough of a chance. Since he doesn’t like MMOs, it feels like he just went into the game wanting to hate it and where do you get with an attitude like that, really? You get just what you ask for. Yahtzee chose a Smuggler as his class but doesn’t seem too impressed with it. My Smuggler is…
MMOMFG.com Reviews SWTOR after Level Cap
What happens when you reach the level cap in an MMO? This is what many refer to as the “endgame experience”. For many gamers, they never reach this level cap, especially if you’re not a big MMORPG fan. Some gamers pick up an MMO and grow bored of it before they reach this cap. Still others, accustomed to the WoW-style of play, will power level to the cap and then try to experience all the end game aspects before growing bored and moving on to a new game. One self-professed non-MMO fan has made it to the level cap in SWTOR and this just might be saying something about BioWare and their ability to create a game that all types of gamers can get into. A review over at MMOMFG.com explains: As I’ve mentioned time and again, MMOs are not my favorite genre. While I was a big, big fan…
Escapist Magazine SWTOR Review
You know how we are all about giving you great reviews of SWTOR. This is partly because we want you to hear other opinions of the game, including those from other publications and fan sites. We know that gamers vary in their likes, interests, personalities and gameplay styles so hearing reviews from different sources can help cater to those different types of gamers. Escapist Magazine has a great review of SWTOR, complete with a video, to share with you and we thought it’s worth mentioning. If you have the time, head on over and read their editorial and give the video a play-through. If you can, come on back over here and tell us what you think. Were they spot-on with their review? Anything you agree with or that you don’t agree with? Here’s a snippet: Most MMORPGs have far too narrow a definition of the term “RPG.” For them,…
What Culture Review of SWTOR
So what do you think of SWTOR so far? Are you loving it or still deciding whether or not you want to drop the cash on it? If you’ve tried MMOs before, you know what a time and money sink they can be and that can be frustrating if the game turns out to be a disappointment. This is where great reviews come in handy. The problem with MMO reviews is that the games are so large and multi-faceted that it’s difficult to get all the important info you need into one review. This is why the best reviews are thorough and in-depth and broken into different sections to fully describe the different parts of the game. Here’s another excellent and thorough review of SWTOR from What Culture. We feel it fully covers what you want from a great MMO review and it’s more than worth your time to give…