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Hyperspace Beacon: Testing the SWTOR waters
If you didn't know already, just over a week ago three writers from Massively, including me, traveled to Seattle, Washington for PAX Prime. During that time, besides catching the flu, we were able to catch a glimpse of some of the games that have yet to be released. We were able to play games like TERA, The Force Unleashed II, Guild Wars 2, RIFT, End of Nations, and many, many others. Some were pretty good; others, not-so-much -- but most seemed very polished and perfect for presentation. Of course, you all know I was there to see Star Wars: The Old Republic. I caught a lot of it. There were six of the eight classes available for demo at the gorgeous LucasArts booth. (BioWare did have a booth there, too, but the team was displaying some small game it was trying to get off the ground called Dragon Age 2.) Visitors had a chance to try out the smuggler, trooper, agent, bounty hunter, and both Sith classes. Because of the enormous lines that constantly encircled the booth, I was only able to play three of the classes: smuggler, trooper, and Sith inquisitor. For this edition of the Hyperspace Beacon, I will give you my impressions of the gameplay for those classes. However, I want to take a slightly different look at them. At E3, Massively's editor Seraphina Brennan was able to give her impressions of the smuggler class -- she covered the mechanics and so on. Although I will touch on the combat mechanics, I have decided to focus on some of the features BioWare is famous for: cinematics, character development, and overall storytelling. Follow after the break, and I will give you an honest breakdown of how SWTOR measures up to its predecessors.
