Did this game deliver on the hype?

This:

They said that endgame combat wasn't going to revolve around a bunch of players beating on one giant mob. Umm... no check.

They said they knew the difference between sandbox and theme park and that they were going to find a happy medium between the two. NO CHECK. This is the most linear game ever.

They said the game wasn't overly instanced. Umm... other than Guild Wars this is the most instanced game ever.

They bragged about the billions of different customization options, totally obfuscating the fact that, in reality, your options are two genders, each with 4 human bodies with human faces, and different skin colors and hair styles.

They advertised how the consequences of your decisions were going to totally make this better than a SPRPG because there was no save button. Then they waffled and put in light-side / dark-side markers and the ability to escape-out and re-do any conversation if you don't like the outcome.

They said there were "huge open worlds that go on and on..." making it sound like the terrain was open rather than designed like a maze to hand-hold you from quest hub to quest hub.

They said being a "grey" player would be just as viable as being full light or full dark.

They said a lot of things that were either false or deceptive or got changed later.

nope, not at all.

No.

It did not.

Its a good game, but in no way did it live up to the hype.

I FEEL they suceeded in bringing true story to the MMO genre, but thats about ALL they really lived up to. Everything else feels like the same old thing.

All those things are great for an altoholic like me. I really believe that most of the people upset are people that want to play one character and one character alone. But I've always wondered to what end?

Raiding to get bigger numbers to do more raids to get bigger numbers? This is somehow more fun than playing a new character which plays differently and may give you a different experience. Especially here where choices like class, gender, light/dark have real consequences to the story.

I agree, but I really don't know what it is people want when they say innovation. Consider cars. No one would argue that cars have seen massive innovation since their invention in the early 20th Century. But most of the darn things still run on gasoline (petrol).

One of the biggest innovations in cars was the addition of seat belts. But that was an incremental change that didn't change much about the overall structure of the automobile. But it's probably one of the most important developments ever for cars.

Likewise, SWTOR innovates in that it creates a real and meaningful story around your character. In most other MMORPGs, your player is an adventurer, seeking fame and fortune for no better reason than to seek it. In SWTOR there's a point to all this killing ten rats and raiding the [raid boss] for [raid loot].

Good post.thanks for the info.

personally i didnt know about these issues , can only say i enjoy the game currently.

But given the issues you raise , what a different game it would be , and better.

No game will deliver on it's hype, that's why i'm always the pessimist about video games.


I went in to this game with no expectations and what i got was an oversimplified KotoR with a cheap mmo element tacked on it.

Lots of things COULD have been inovative, they just didnt do them.

I could go on and on about the illusion of "choice" in this game. WHen no matter what choice I make I essentially end up at the same outcome whats the point?

Quests can be inovative too. Not just kill X mob, or click X clicky object laying on the ground. Ive seen plenty of inovative quests in some of the smaller MMOs. Tracking missions, where you have ot actually scout an area and track down a target, gathering clues to find your next route.(WOuld be great for a Bounty Hunter), its already been done in MMOs.

One MMO I played had a town you could build up with resources, then you had to defend it against raiders/looters that attacked in increasing waves.

It had motorcycle races. THose were actual quests.

It had puzzels you had to solve. SWTOR has a few puzzles, but not that many to be honest. And non of them are particularly challenging.

It had random ambushes from your enemies. You could never predict when they were going to happen. You could be at the bank and someone would try to assassinate you.

"Hype"? Yes it achieved it's goal.


Fulfilled "Expectations"? Not even close.