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UsualSuspect
Member UncommonPosts: 1,243
I just came across a new post on IGN about TOR:
http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/121/1217155p1.html
I think that's the first time I've seen a serious reviewer give a bad opinion, although he did hide it well. He basically goes on about his story at the start, then comes to the realisation that the story is going to end and then all he's got to do is grind flashpoints and warzones for the rest of his life.
"I'll run through the same corridors of enemies time and time again for a percent chance to achieve a reward. I'll play the same Warzones until I'm dressed in the same pointed hat or feathery armor as everyone other Sorcerer at the level cap. No longer will I be a Sith Lord. I'll be just another MMO player running on a galactic treadmill. The fantasy will be over, the mystique gone."
One comment he snuck in made me chuckle, "Though the universe of The Old Republic is split across multiple worlds and an infuriating excess of load screens and pointless shuttle bays, my journey across it felt whole and coherent.".
About time people woke up to the fact that it's not a single player game, despite playing like one. So many of its defenders cry about the wonderful stories and voice overs, but cut that away and it's just another themepark MMO, and not a very good one at that.
Comments
I suppose the best cycle would be 1 month every time they release new content. Maybe it will fall to once every 3 months.
If you have a multigaming guild, you could be playing other games with them in the meanwhile. If you're guildless, the choice is much easier.
Take away the best part or two of any game and you'll have that.
That is why, it is no better than any other of the failing mmo's
Well seems like one month is the time when (some) people start to see through all the bling bling and see that underneath there is just a very mediocre MMORPG.
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Its a pity then that the much hyped class stories apart from being just ok, make up less than 10% of a players journey to max level PvE wise.
Yep, and it's time gamers learn to identify bling before the buy. It's a whole lot easier designing a game for box sales instead of longevity.
"Censorship is never over for those who have experienced it. It is a brand on the imagination that affects the individual who has suffered it, forever." - Noam Chomsky
Compared to every other themepark MMO where after you reach max level you do something else than grind heroic zones, raids and pvp zones?
Bah wait I stand corrected ....in EQ2 we can now farm tokens from player dungeons . Woopi !
Like a friend said "I tried to cure stupidity but got resisted" .
Amen to that. Alas.
The uncritical mass got what they deserved.
People don't ask questions to get answers - they ask questions to show how smart they are. - Dogbert
Compared to every other themepark MMO where after you reach max level you do something else than grind heroic zones, raids and pvp zones?
Bah wait I stand corrected ....in EQ2 we can now farm tokens from player dungeons . Woopi !
Like a friend said "I tried to cure stupidity but got resisted" .
so because all the other MMOs are a boring gear grind at endgame it excuses this game? Sorry but I would expect a tiny bit more from big name devs with deep pickets... games should be pushing a genre forward especially ones with this sort of hype, they shouldn't strive for mediocrity which seems to be what everyone is saying was there PLAN all alonghttp://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/339443/Video-FollowUp-Guide-For-Enhancing-Graphics-and-Performance-in-SWTORSorry-still-Nvidia-Only.html
Why would you cut away the story? That is the main selling point of the game. That reviewer got it right...the story is awesome, but when it ends, it ends. It needs to end to be a story.
So either BioWare will add content and more story, or they won't. At which point people will do the usual end game raiding thing, or they won't.
I can not remember winning or losing a single debate on the internet.
I have been leveling my character very slowly because I know what is waiting for me at max level. The same thing that is waiting for me in any MMO at max level: Boring, repetitive, grinding. It will suck to go from an epic leveling experience to "Here is your daily!".
So basically this is a typical IGN review. Ignore the obvious issues in your original review, then one month later claim the issues are major. This guy in the article basically said you had might as quit at end game until more story is added.
Just another IGN article review where they give a 9/10, then try and back track that score.
Perhaps people will scrutinize reviews more from now on. Perhaps.
"Censorship is never over for those who have experienced it. It is a brand on the imagination that affects the individual who has suffered it, forever." - Noam Chomsky
In one of this reviewer's positive statement about SWTOR, I think he completely summed up the primary reason why I wound up not liking SWTOR:
I'm no longer making my own fun by treating the world like a toybox. BioWare's story leads me back to the beginning, and I have no idea where it'll push me from there because I'm not driving the action.
That's exciting for an MMO. I've felt the same way in plenty of single-player games, but never online with others around.
The reviewer is basically saying that being led around by a story in an MMO is "exciting." To be honest, I didn't see this at all. It felt no different to me than an SPRPG, and in fact, was often inferior to a story driven SPRPG experience.
After all, in an SPRPG, the story gets delivered in a fairly consistent manner without much need for grinding or boring side quests unless you feel like it. But in SWTOR, you are FORCED to grind or do side quests in order to advance the story.
I honestly just do not see how this is better than an SPRPG.
The problem with SWTOR (IMO) is that it is a lackluster MMORPG and a lackluster SPRPG, and neither of these parts work together to make a better cohesive game.
Are you team Azeroth, team Tyria, or team Jacob?
What do you expect? Instead of coming up with a new mmo design, one that is coherent with Bioware's style, they just copied and paste (with errors included) the EQ-WoW formula.
Perhaps it's time we stop supporting the status quo and start supporting gaming companies who are:
[uh-rij-uh-nl]o·rig·i·nal
adjective
1.
belonging or pertaining to the origin or beginning ofsomething, or to a thing at its beginning
2.
new; fresh; inventive; novel: an original way
"Censorship is never over for those who have experienced it. It is a brand on the imagination that affects the individual who has suffered it, forever." - Noam Chomsky
I doubt that. Look at the reviews that games like Warhammer, Aion, SWTOR and others have gotten. None of them deserved the high scores and people defended the scores like no tomorrow. Only after the fact do people realize these games scores were bloated to high heaven.
And so did some of the uncritical. I always expected TOR to be a two- to three-monther, and I'm having a blast in the game. I still think it's a two- to three-monther but that doesn't change how much I love it now. Or how I'll recommend it when I'm done with it. I can see how it would be disappointing for those who expect anything else from modern MMOs though.
When TOR loses it's hold on me I'm going to play Vanguard for a month for a change of pace. After that, I dunno. Probably CO for a bit. All MMOs are flawed and overhyped, we should know this by now, so why be upset when they turn out not to be The One? There's loads out there and they all offer a bit of fun for a month or two.
this acceptance of a 2-3 monther MMO, just reinforces game companies like Bioware to keep pumping this type of game out. If SWTOR is a 2-3 monther (which IMO it is) then it needs to be a B2P game. not a MMO with a monthly sub.
I pretty much agree but wouldn't it have been nice to be wrong? To have a game that keeps you enthralled or wanting to login on a long term basis?
Can't say I'm surprised about what SWTOR has to offer. Really the only thing that caught me off guard about this game is how imbalanced population wise the factions are.
1. For god's sake mmo gamers, enough with the analogies. They're unnecessary and your comparisons are terrible, dissimilar, and illogical.
2. To posters feeling the need to state how f2p really isn't f2p: Players understand the concept. You aren't privy to some secret the rest are missing. You're embarrassing yourself.
3. Yes, Cpt. Obvious, we're not industry experts. Now run along and let the big people use the forums for their purpose.
MMO companies will still make more money if they make games that can retain players and if we see the two- to three-monthers coming and play them anyway won't change that - high retention will remain a lucrative gap in the market.
I don't believe that game exists or will ever exist now. Certainly not for me and probably not for anyone who has played MMOs for five years or more. We've played them to death. We will never again have the sense of wonder from playing in a persistant world with thousands of other players that we had when these games first emerged. It's not an adventure anymore.
But that's not to say that there isn't a bit of fun to be had, just as long as you can accept that you will almost certainly never feel that magic again.
As for faction balance, I knew way, way back that the Empire would be as popular as it is. Everyones likes to pretend they're a badass.
I'd cut away the story to reveal the actual game. As much as the presentation of the story is nice and all, it's still just 'fluff'. You could replace it with text or with actual movies acted by Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. At the end of the cutscenes however, you're back to playing the game and if the game isn't up to par then it doesn't really matter how good the story is.
It's like putting an amazing story into a game like Space Invaders, lots of aliens, heroes fighting back and fore, then that scene ends and you're back to moving left and right shooting at steadily advancing aliens. If story is the main selling point of the game then why even sell it as a game at all? Remove the game and just have an interactive story book.
It's like putting an amazing story into a game like Space Invaders, lots of aliens, heroes fighting back and fore, then that scene ends and you're back to moving left and right shooting at steadily advancing aliens. If story is the main selling point of the game then why even sell it as a game at all? Remove the game and just have an interactive story book.
If they added a cinematic story to Space Invaders, you'd have a point. They didn't add a cinematic story to Space Invaders. They added a cinematic story to a theme park mmorpg set in the Star Wars universe.
Saying the game without the story is sub par makes no sense because the story is the game. What would the Star Wars movies be without the stories? Random action sequences with some special effects. The new movies would be random action sequences with much flashier special effects.
I haven't read the review but it sounds like they got that bit of the review right. When the story ends, players will probably find something else to play unless BioWare gives them something to do beyond the usual end game stuff.
I can not remember winning or losing a single debate on the internet.
wait hold on a second.......they weren't?
http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/339443/Video-FollowUp-Guide-For-Enhancing-Graphics-and-Performance-in-SWTORSorry-still-Nvidia-Only.html