Star Wars: The Old Republic redux
E3 2009: Star Wars: The Old Republic demonstration
Hands-on: Star Wars: The Old Republic (I linked to this before)
So, we now have Storm Troopers (surprise!), Bounty Hunters, Sith, Jedi and Smugglers. I think it sounds like fun:
The Smuggler is another ranged class, and it was said that they had to find a way for a second ranged class to be iconic in its own way and very different than the Bounty Hunter. Han Solo continued to be the inspiration. The Smuggler uses a unique Cover system, gaining bonuses from finding safe and advantageous places to fire from. You choose a target, and the system points out things for you to hide behind or use to your advantage. Using proper Cover not only offers bonuses, but opens up added abilities for you to use as well.
The goal of the Smuggler is to play smart. Using every advantage you can, keeping the enemy at a disadvantage, and avoiding direct fire in any way possible. The Smuggler, just like the Bounty Hunter, was forced into melee combat to show how the class reacts. The dirty style of fighting didn’t go away at all. The Smuggler just takes a cheap shot, then tries to get back at range. I suspect this class will be using a large number of stuns and similar effects.
One of the things I’m critical about regarding WoW is the way we interact with our environment – we usually don’t. The closest we get is a right-click to activate, though some boss fights rely on putting your back to some rocks or columns, or using basic cover to dodge an Area of Effect blast.
This sounds like a much deeper approach.
PS WHO DOES NOT LOVE THIS VIDEO? It’s like watching a movie trailer. Even if you don’t like video games, it is highly enjoyable.
Argh. KOTOR games? Super fun. This? Looks super fun as well. But it drives me crazy that fashion and technology don’t improve at all in the 3500 years between TOR and the movie timeline. Same robes, same blasters, everything. I get the notion that they want it to still be Star Wars and don’t want it to tread on the existing canon, but seriously? They couldn’t think of any way to improve the design of Star Destroyers in 3500 years?
Maybe I’m just being pedantic :P