SWTOR: First Impressions.

Give me back my huttball!

There's a lot to be excited about in the world of gaming. On the MMO front, we are confronted with a myriad of revolutionary new games that promise to shatter our perception of space and time. For one, I'm talking about SWTOR, quite possibly the most anticipated game to hit the market since Hello Kitty Online Adventures Skyrim.

With its NDA lifted, all SWTOR enthusiasts have been granted an all-access pass into the inner mechanics of the game. The visuals are portrayed in a soft, enjoyable style reminiscent of Team Fortress 2's whimsical art style. Beyond that, the galactic landscape is touched by the neon sheen of eye-catching holographics, adding a warm, futuristic feel to the familiar Star Wars universe. The game-play is smooth, glossy, and while not without its beta-phase bugs, the game promotes a new level of immersion via interactive quest-lines that showcase Bioware's penchant for exceptional voice acting. What's more, the quests delve into decision making dynamics that allow your to modify your alignment to the Dark Side (and *sometimes* Light Side, if you want to be all nice and stuff). 

Bipeds, doing stuff!

And not every class is relegated to the gamut of faction-specific quest routines. No, in SWTOR, the questing is dynamic, inasmuch every class has their own unique story-line filled with shady Hutts, esoteric Twi'leks, and eccentric smugglers destined to conquer their own galactic niche (and trust me, Twi'lek girls are not the only reason to go to Tatooine - the place is crawling with ravenous Rancors that you can ride around on and assault towns with)** 

Beyond the immersive quest mechanics and visual splendor, there is a PvP system that looks and feels in-tune with what you might expect from a triple-A MMO. Warzones are all about team-based combat and situational awareness, nothing new here, but the first thing to realize is there's an immediate departure from the traditional fantasy-based genre of MMOs here. Instead of steel-meets-steel, mage-wielding sorcery, and druidic polymorphism, you're presented with a barrage of blaster-fire, light-saber duels, and Bounty Hunters flying around with jet-packs murdering everyone with explosives! Hutt-ball is sure to be a fan favorite; there is much satisfaction to be had when pushing enemies onto incineration platforms and poison pools at the behest of your force-push ability.   

Get Slayed™

I plan on writing an in-depth guide about hutt-ball once SWTOR is released, but for now, I'll leave you with this tidbit of helpful information.

The Czerka Corporation was kind enough to give the game a bit of an extra edge; small pools of poison that run across the direct route to the ball, flame throwing areas which keeps you from going at a fast run to the other side, gates that keep you from walking straight to the goal and, of course, air vents that shoot you up into the air in an uncontrolled fashion. You could land anywhere. And if you’re lucky, you land in a poisonous pool.

I don't know how that would make you lucky at all, but this guy seems to think so.

And did I mention the SPACE COMBAT? Yes, you get to fly around in a star-ship in outer-space, in an MMO, and it doesn't suck. 

Be sure to give your companion nice things, or they will kill you in your sleep!**

Another topic of interest with regard to the single-player experience of this MMO is the companion system. Basically, each class is afforded a unique companion that helps, heals, holds stuff, does quests, crafts, and follows you around in a non-creepy fashion. They talk to you when you're lonely, providing useful little anecdotes about newly discovered locations, and are more than willing to sacrifice themselves for the greater good of your gunslinging, dark-side induced haze of psychopathic murder. I mean saving the galaxy. You gain new companions along the way by completing certain quests, and choose which one you want to make your primary. You win over the love and support of your companion by providing them with gifts, earning you affection points. However, this has a tendency to backfire, as some companions are assholes, and will casually dismiss your gift altogether, because they don't like it. Also, some companions have a tendency to be on the annoying side (i.e. Mako: "Are you alright?" "Are you alright?" "Are you alright?")

And I've only scratched the surface. Stay tuned for more ridiculous SWTOR nonsense!

**slight exaggeration.