Alex Reviews...

Star Wars: The Old Republic Beta (again)

I got invited to test The Old Republic again this weekend, which successfully defeated my attempts on getting ahead of my coursework but hey; what can ya do? (rhetorical: do not suggest that I stop playing games and concentrate on my degree, I am well aware of my failings as a human being)

I had been hoping to continue my journey as a Smuggler from my last beta testing, but for some reason the server that my dashing hero was traversing the galaxy on was nowhere to be found, so I started anew with a Jedi Knight. There didn't seem to be a whole lot of difference between this weekend and last weekend, though the game didn't seem as laggy and the characters didn't take as long to load - which is neat, however in some cases certain NPC characters would lose their features and instead look as if they had been submerged in a black oil before walking outside, which looked cool in some respects but obviously wasn't meant to happen. Anyway, the reason I wanted to let you know I have been playing the beta again is because, I definitely didn't get as much satisfaction out of playing the Jedi Knight character as I had when I played as the Smuggler. I think it's just because to play a Jedi, you have to be a Jedi. It was great when I finally earned my lightsaber, and being able to use the force to convince characters to do your bidding is a neat addition to conversations, but I still knew that if I really wanted to be a Jedi Knight character, it just wouldn't feel right to not be the upstanding beacon of hope and honour that the universe needs in these dark times. Not like the Smuggler, who could give a rats ass about hope and honour, was just trying to make his way in the universe, but had a heart of gold deep down. It's the general reason why people prefer Han Solo over Luke Skywalker - Luke, and the Jedi Knight, are obviously heroes, so you expect them to do the right thing and be very noble about it. Han Solo and his Smuggler grouping, you don't really know what to expect from them, but you know that when it comes down to it they're the real heroes that burst in and save the day (see Han's rescue at the end of A New Hope). I like the idea of being a Smuggler who will help missions that aren't ethically dire (like saving a child from murderers) for a price, but still has a code of honour that he won't cross. But, the sacrifice is - no force, and no lightsabers.

So I guess the decision is, what would you rather have? 

Jedi - lightsaber, force, inherently good (unless you want to be an evil Jedi) and so unfortunately rather unsatisfying dialogue

OR

Smuggler - guns, witty dialogue, free reign over choices, but a long distance fighter.

Hmmmmmm.