TOR Press Embargo Lifted -- Consesus is an Overwhelming MEH

[Stall]

So the TOR press embargo got lifted, meaning that sites are able to review and discuss the game.

So far, there hasn't been much positive said about the game. The closest there's been to something nice was from IGN, and they basically said that it's "solid" but incredibly safe (which basically translates to "WoW with lightsabers"). Other sites have said that the single player story elements and MMO elements all clash, fuck up the immersion something fierce, and just feels awkward. Worse yet, I've read one or two impressions that have called the story elements outright unnecessary and distracting.

So, TOR is basically going to be a dud. It will probably keep the really desperate and really naive happy for a few months, but most have been saying there isn't much there. I feel bad for all the people who have been following this game for the last 5 years... must be hard to see all these mediocre and unimpressed reviews of the game.

 

[Nami nom noms]

As expected from those who predict the second coming of MMO's.

But mark my words, TOR will be a slow-burner... and it will be successful, of that I have no doubt.


And I'm one of those that has been waiting for 6 years... and I know it's going to keep me hooked for a decent length of time.

 

[Something Amyss]

Wow with lightsabers sounds infinitely more appealing than WoW without lightsabers.

But I'm a sucker for monks who swing around swords and cast "Summon Bigger Fish."

 

[Qitz]

Your forgetting one thing. It's about Star Wars. That in itself is enough to draw a good chunk of people too it. Probably a lot who were playing Star Wars: Galaxies.

That and the story stuff that's been pretty interesting from what I've seen of GamesCon footage and the like. People who are big into RPGs will like a bit of it too.

Sure the combat's pretty bleh, but that can be said with ANY hot-key MMO.

 

[Gralian]

I would've put money on this being the outcome. Aside from people always expecting a new release of an MMO to be as polished as something that's had the benefit of seven years of patches like WoW, MMO's are something of a gimmick. Story has to be virtually non-existant, because the real thing that's going to keep recurring subscribers is addictive skinner box-esque rewards and gameplay. Hence why everything in WoW is just a textfest that everyone skips over anyway, unless they have a vested interest in the questline or Blizzard is making the quest a nod to something memetic. To claim you can put story in an MMO on a level equivalent to that of a single player experience is absolutely laughable.

MMO's aren't about having an in-depth story with rich characters that develop. They're about lore. If you get that right, you're golden. It's what makes WoW such a joy to play - the story might be silly and at times non-existant, but the lore of the world oozes from every orifice. I think a good comparison is Warhammer 40k: Space Marine. It's not an MMO, but as yahtzee said, the story was silly and non-existant; but it's the world and lore that it presents that makes it a joy to play and experience.

So honestly, as long as they get the lore and the "feeling" of Star Wars right, the fans won't care either way. Even if the gameplay is a shoddy hotkey based affair and the dialogue is nothing more than false "choice" that has zero impact on the gameplay.

 

[Qitz]

-Damn escapist not showing my response till I posed this second one-

 

[Pandabearparade]

Safe makes sense. The boys aren't looking to revolutionize the MMO. They're looking to make a LOT of money. And TOR will make a lot.

It also cost truckloads of money to make.

I hope it at least breaks even, I don't want Bioware to fold. Their most recent turd (DA2) notwithstanding.

 

[Kopikatsu]

Sure the combat's pretty bleh, but that can be said with ANY hot-key MMO.

Why are they all like this?

Does anyone find nursing cooldowns to be fun? ANYONE? Serious question.

 

[thethingthatlurks]

Hardly surprising. Let's be honest here, did anybody here suspect a AAA MMO to be anything other than "Like WOW but...?"
I still forsee this making some money. Perhaps not enough to cover the (supposedly) ungodly development costs, but still enough to convince somebody to try again in a decade or so. It's star wars, so it has a huge following by its very nature.

 

[Smooth Operator]

It's an MMO, unless you have never played one before it should be pretty clear that middle of the road is all they can do.

 

[Gasaraki]

Sure the combat's pretty bleh, but that can be said with ANY hot-key MMO.

Why are they all like this?

Does anyone find nursing cooldowns to be fun? ANYONE? Serious question.

They're not all like that, there's are mmos, like Mabinogi or Shin Megami Tensei for example, that have good combat systems that actually require more strategy than 'SPAM ALL THE HOTKEYS'. It's just the all the innovative mmos are way lesser known.

 

[WouldYouKindly]

A few reasons I will at least try it out. First, only MMO with a universe I actually care about(fuck Azeroth). Second, moderately less grind because you can just tell a companion or two to go collect crafting supplies and the like. Third, fourth, and fifth, voices, a character I can develop, and something of a story which I might actually care about as well

It deserves a try at least.

 

[Stall]

I would've put money on this being the outcome. Aside from people always expecting a new release of an MMO to be as polished as something that's had the benefit of seven years of patches like WoW, MMO's are something of a gimmick.

I would agree with you if it weren't people in the MMO PRESS are saying this about TOR. You know, people whose sole job is to report on news IN THE MMO GENRE. These aren't just random assholes picked up off the street, but people whose passion and livelihood are MMOs.

It's not looking good for TOR.

It's an MMO, unless you have never played one before it should be pretty clear that middle of the road is all they can do.

Yes, because games like Guild Wars 2 and to much lesser extents, games like Tera, Secret Worlds, Blades and Souls don't stand to do something totally different and new in MMOs. Nope. It's nothing but a genre of regurgitated shit.

 

[hazabaza1]

And is anybody surprised about this?
Nobody?
Golly gee.

 

[AuronFtw]

Sure the combat's pretty bleh, but that can be said with ANY hot-key MMO.

Why are they all like this?

Does anyone find nursing cooldowns to be fun? ANYONE? Serious question.

Arcane mage makes it pretty obvious that removing cooldowns doesn't magically make combat better. It's the single most boring spec in all of WoW to play, and it isn't fettered by cooldowns at all. If people are going to use this argument, they at least need to think it through. Unfortunately, none of them do.

Cooldowns don't mean shit. It's a balance mechanic intrinsically designed into the game. Guild Wars managed to be one of the best pseudo-MMO PvP games, with long and intense matches in several different game modes, and cooldowns were a bigger deal there than in most MMOs (given the limited number of skills taken).

Cooldowns don't make a game worse by existing, and removing them doesn't make a game better. Combat being shitty and boring is usually just a product of poor design, not skills having cooldowns.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

I just want to keep the story separate. I'm a loner when I play mmos. But all the big moving events are stupid flashpoints, where everyone gets to talk. That means that there will always be some jackass there to choose the Cartoon Villain option from Bioware's hackneyed dialogue system just so he can grief light side players.