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Courage and ‘Hope’

June 16, 2010 by

Last year was absolutely EPIC at E3. The cinematic trailer for The Old Republic was a masterpiece. The Sith assault on the Jedi temple on Coruscant in ‘Deceived’ has to be seen to be believed. No one doubted that Star Wars: The Old Republic was going to be epic before that trailer.

After it? There was such a huge response that the SWTOR website crashed. Everyone was looking forward to E3 this year. But then Lucasarts and Bioware did it to us again – I expected a meal and they gave me a five course, full service banquet. They were not content to give us a new trailer, no…

Players will have personal starships. Oh did I not say that right? PLAYERS WILL HAVE PERSONAL STARSHIPS!!!!! Ah! I very nearly went in my pants when I heard that. I don’t CARE if there is space combat now. Knowing Bioware and Lucasarts, if they have starships, there will almost certainly be more to do with them that use them as houses. But I don’t care now. I get my own personal Republic Gunship! YAY! The images were just so cool, and the bits of PvP footage rocked as well.

But then, on the heels of that… They rocked my world. I have so few words. I am almost unable to type, I was so dumbfounded. If you have not seen the ‘Hope’ trailer, do it. Now. You will not be sorry. Spoilers follow this so watch the trailer first.

Oh my god. I have never been a huge fan of Jedi. They were too overpowered, too strong, too fast, too tough for normal people to beat. Sith likewise. Can you possibly imagine someone like Darth Vader falling to a Rebel Alliance trooper? I couldn’t. Until now.

The setting, Alderaan. All Star Wars fans know about Alderaan, the homeworld of Princess Leia, the world destroyed in Episode IV by the Death Star to make a point. The cinematic opened with peace, and then, darkness. The Sith of course as is their wont, invade and destroy. The only thing in their way? A small force of elite Republic Special Forces troopers. But cannon fodder these guys are NOT.

The Sith in charge of the attack on Alderaan is the same one that later lays utter waste to the Jedi Temple – Darth Malgus. This is at the start of his career, he doesn’t have the mask yet. But after the ending, we know why he wears it. I am amazed he survived at all. I guess hate makes a good anaesthetic.

The Republic set an ambush for Malgus and his troops. They don’t have the personnel to fight him one-on-one. So they fight guerrilla style. And when the narrator said ‘For the Republic’ I very nearly jumped out of my chair to charge myself. Dark Side of the Force, ha! Meet grenade launcher, heavy repeaters, thermal detonators and courage! They were swatting black robed forms right and left until Malgus himself entered the act. But even the kind of courage that the troopers had, has its limits. I was stunned when the senior trooper got his tail kicked by Malgus’ Force lightning.  When he was kneeling there about to be killed, I was almost in tears. And then she made her entrance.

I said I never cared for Jedi, and that is true. They always seemed too over the top. But the consular who dropped into the fight made my day. She wasn’t the focus of the battle, but she kept Malgus busy long enough for the troopers to win. She wasn’t invincible. Malgus was obviously better with a lightsaber than she was, cutting her double bladed one in half. She was powerful, I mean, come on! How many people can block a lightsaber with a bare hand? I think it was the same kind of thing Yoda did when he faced Dooku and Palpatine’s Force lightning in Episodes 2 and 3. A lightsaber blade is energy right? That means it can be deflected with great effort. Maybe a bit over the top, but it was very cool to see.

And then the TROOPER saved the day. How many times does a lowly trooper save a mighty Jedi? And how he did it… Omg, that was epic! The look on that Sith Lord’s face was just priceless. I mean I can see the guy thinking…

‘This Republic scum is pathetic! Tackling me, trying to hit me with his hands? Sheesh… How stupid can he be? Wait a moment, what is that in his hand??? A GRENADE!!!’

I laughed out loud when I saw that. High and mighty Sith might be tough, but raw courage can take them down if given the chance. Admittedly Malgus was still on his feet and the trooper was not. But it gave the Jedi time to recover and prepare to hit Malgus with the Force. And THAT is the whole point of this. Teamwork wins wars. Individual prowess means nothing, it is working as a team that makes such things possible. Sith are mighty combatants, true, but if they fight as individuals, they can be taken down, albeit at a massive cost in lives. And that was what won the battle for the Republic, the Jedi and the soldiers of Havoc Squad working as a team to fight and die if necessary.

If you notice, the Jedi’s arrival allowed the troopers time to regroup and fight back effectively. And that means more to me than any special effects or showy force powers. She was not the prime focus of the battle, she was there to keep Malgus occupied until the soldiers, the common foot slogging soldiers, could win the day. Smashing Malgus into the mountainside was almost an afterthought. This was after he had been burned by incendiary grenades, showered by blaster fire, and had a grenade go off in his face. No wonder he wears a mask now…

I found myself crying at the end of that trailer, and I strongly doubt I was the only one as the Republic fleet came to the rescue. It was… I truly have no words. It was epic was about the best I can do.

Such a game as Star Wars: The Old Republic is shaping up to be will be good no matter what. But if THIS is what we can look forward to, such surprises, such epic stories, such… sheer scope and grandeur… Such… Star Wars!

I personally think we have a contender here. We have something epic that may finally, after so long, live up to the franchise.  It may finally be Star Wars. Oh, by the way, the website crashed again, I read something about 25000 hits in about ten minutes or something like that. I have occasionally had my doubts. But now I truly have ‘Hope’…

And we have personal starships!!!!!! YAY!!!!

Over to you, what do you think of this announcement? I know I am going to watch the trailer again. And again, and again.

Filed Under: Events, News, Opinion Tagged With: , , , ,

Hope: the new SWTOR trailer

June 16, 2010 by

Today saw the launch of the second cinematic trailer, and like the first it’s a tasty piece of art. Hell, it’s more than that, it’s a piece that evokes the same level of excitement that the movie releases did for me – it’s a tight, dramatic 5 minutes that further tweaks the excitement levels. Plus getting to see a Jedi hold off a lightsaber with her bare hand tops it off nicely don’t you think?

Edward will be dissecting it for TOROZ in the next day, but just for posterity, here’s the link to watch it on the SWTOR site, or you can watch it here:

Also, am I the only one that thought it felt very much like the fall of Boromir scene in the Fellowship of the Ring?

Filed Under: Machinima, News Tagged With:

Twi’lek, Chiss and E3 predictions

June 12, 2010 by


With the E3 Games Expo imminent, the pre-expo information has picked up in a big way. One of note is an in-depth piece over at Gamespot.

Although a playable Rattataki race was confirmed back in May, I don’t believe Twi’lek and Chiss have been confirmed prior to now. The article also contains some great descriptions of initial quests for each class as well as some more detail on game mechanics. One thing’s for certain – the next seven days will see the biggest influx of SWTOR information to date.

With my crystal ball fired up, here’s a couple of predictions for E3 and Bioware / SWTOR:

1. There’ll be no change to the launch window although hints may be dropped on things progressing well.

2. Indicative pricing will be announced.

3. There’ll be some in-depth display of game mechanics, limited to initial stages of the game.

4. A boss fight will be shown.

5. PvP combat will be shown.

What say you? What are your predictions for E3?

Oh, and one other thing: we have someone on the ground at E3 chasing SWTOR news for us. No guarantees but watch this space for some interesting info in coming days.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: , ,

Sith Sunday – SWTOR in the news

June 7, 2010 by

1. On the Bioware side of things, the latest instalment (part 22) of the Blood of the Empire webcomic is out.

2. From the TOROZ forums: if you want to see how high the bar has been raised in regard to Guild promotion videos, then check this one out.

We’re also just a little bit proud of our contribution to the Hitler meme, with a video on him discovering the upcoming SWTOR launch.

4. From the official forums: Did Darth Vader’s suit restrict him? You can nominate your guild’s website for an award, the Val Stormwind Fan Fiction continues growing, and to prove SWTOR players have a great sense of humour, check out the Justin Bieber vs Miley Cyrus thread.

5. Don’t forget there’s an upcoming Clone Wars virtual world, which will be browser-based.

Filed Under: News

Hoth and Sith: a big fortnight

May 30, 2010 by

On the Bioware side of things it’s been an interesting fortnight. Last week it was the announcement of Hoth as one of SWTOR’s planets.

The reaction has been overwhelmingly positive and rightly so – it’s one of those iconic planets that deserves some in-game love. How can you beat a desolate, cold planet with starship wreckage everywhere?

This week it’s the fleshing out of the Sith Warrior, with the confirmation that there are two advanced classes: Juggernaut and Marauder.

Bioware have released a 90-second video to give a sneak peek:

What’s encouraging is the ongoing growth in gameplay footage seeing the light of day. It’s expected to some extent as development matures but still not a surety.

So for those of you rolling Sith Warriors – does the updated Holonet entry give you much food for thought? And how many people are keen on exploring Hoth? I somehow doubt I’m the only one.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: , ,

Playable species – some small peeks

May 14, 2010 by

Bioware have given some European sites a peek of a section of SWTOR previously unseen. As discussed here and here, it was a quest involving a Rataki (so yes species can be selected, it’s just uncertain how many / what the boundaries are) bounty hunter on Hutta.

The response has as usual been mixed. The main gripe seems to be graphic quality although from what I’ve seen it doesn’t seem too shabby to me.

Thanks to the ever vigilant Darka for the heads-up on this one.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: ,

Sith Sunday – SWTOR in the news

May 9, 2010 by

1. The President of LucasArts, Darrell Rodriguez, has resigned. There’s apparently no impact on SWTOR with this announcement.

2. The Guardian in the UK asks: what Star Wars tie-in games would you like to see?

3. From the SWTOR Forums 1: for those who can’t get enough of rhyming couplets and the like, there’s now a poetry and limerick thread.

4. From the SWTOR Forums 2: the official Australia / NZ thread continues to grow

5. This could become required reading for potential SWTOR guild leaders: The Guild Leader’s Handbook. It appears fairly WoW-centric but I’ve ordered a copy so expect a review in the future.

6. In official news – the second issue of Blood of the Empire is now out.

7. Don’t forget our own forums: there’s a steady population growing but there’s certainly room for a few more!

Filed Under: News Tagged With:

SWTOR: more inhabitants announced

May 7, 2010 by

Another fairly meaty announcement by Bioware on at least some of it the inhabitants for SWTOR. More specifically, six have been identified on the Holonet

Trandoshan (Humanoid), Gormak (Humanoid), X2-C3 Imperial Astromech (Droid), AR-34 Enforcer (Droid), Gundark (Creature), and Salky Hound (Creature).

For me, the population of a given area in an MMO is so important for the playing experience, and the rich lore of Star Wars ups the ante on this further. The six shown today, on top of others announced to date, seem to bode well for this aspect of the playing experience.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: , , ,

We Don’t Need No Wimpy Bad Guys

May 4, 2010 by

What makes a game great? Is it the graphics? Is it the story? I don’t know about you, but for me, the most rewarding part of a game is beating the bad guys. In any game, whether it is a board game, a pen and paper Role Playing Game, an arcade game or a video game, nothing really tops the feeling of satisfaction when you take down a powerful enemy. Enemies are important in games of all kinds. In some types of game, such as chess, they call the enemies opponents, and you still do your best to outmaneuver and destroy him, her or it. But it is in video games that we really get to show our tactical acumen and skill. We can do things in video games that would get us at the very least arrested in real life. If you did half of what you do in video games in real life, you would be a mass murderer on par with people like Hitler and Pol Pot. But it’s okay, because it’s just a game.

Plot, story, action, adventure, all of these make games good. Enemies are what make games great. How many of you remember the original Atari Space Invaders? The enemies in that game were about as bright as a box of rocks. But they didn’t need to be, they had numbers and time on their side. Games like Galaga, Centipede and others were great, but they lacked something. The enemies were predictable. Once you knew the pattern, the game lost its challenge. So you went to find another game, one to challenge you.

Games have come a long way since then, and so have the enemies in those games. With many modern games it is hard to believe that the avatars that you shoot at are not real people, they react fast, and are utterly vicious about using whatever they have to take down THEIR enemy which happens to be you. Case in point, one of Bioware’s latest creations, Mass Effect 2. I recently played through on the insanity level of difficulty and it is insane. The enemies work together to flush you out of cover, and use their weapons and powers relentlessly. They are incredibly tough, requiring teamwork to take down simple soldiers, let alone bosses. My only true complaint now; is that after playing through on insanity level, every other level seems simple.

The rest of the game may be utter garbage, but if you have a memorable foe to face and defeat, it will likely be remembered. I still remember the arcade game Solar Warrior, not for the action, which was repetitive, nor for the planets which were boring. But for the sheer number of bad guys, lieutenants and bosses that the game threw at you. Even Force Commander, which in my opinion stands as one of the worst Star Wars games ever made, had some incredible foes to face and bring down. Trying to sneak out of an Imperial base while defecting to the Alliance, WITHOUT having the alarm raised, was a pain in the rear. My favorite games, X-Wing and TIE fighter, had battles with some serious opponents. Taking on a Star Destroyer in an A-wing took hours, but what a sense of accomplishment when the thing finally went boom.

And who can forget the first Star Wars: Dark Forces game? Being swarmed by stormtroopers hurt – a lot! I remember the first time I played that game and wound up on the Executor, a Super class Star Destroyer. All of a sudden, about 50 of them came around a corner! Ouchtime for me.  After that, you have Dark Forces 2, then Jedi Outcast, Jedi Academy, Republic Commando and others. Each time, it is the enemies that stand out. Dark Jedi, Stormtroopers, droids, criminals, bounty hunters, you faced them all. Each required different tactics. I still recall swearing all night at the Rodian snipers on Nar Shaddaa in Jedi Outcast. Or the Trandoshans with the concussion rifles in Republic Commando.

But Star Wars: The Old Republic is going to be a different kind of beast. Multiplayer, by its very nature, add a great deal of complexity to any game. Any time you have a real live person controlling things from the other side, you will have interesting times. You have no idea whatsoever what they are going to do, as the famous “Leeroy Jenkins” scene played out in WoW proved to that raid’s dismay. And facing real live opponents in player versus player combat is always a challenge, because they know the game as well, or in some cases, better than you do. This adds a massive amount of complexity to the game that is missing in any other type of game. First person shooters are a case in point, how many times have you set up, expecting an opponent to come at you like a robot and they blindside you with a sneaky tactic? And in an MMO, well, the complexity goes up a notch further. As does the challenge and the feeling of victory when you succeed.

And that is, in the end, why we play games. To succeed, to win. And that is why we want enemies in games that challenge us. Winning a game against a weak or pathetic enemy is just kind of blah. Facing a horde of low level minions as an endgame just kind of sucks. We want the bad guys to be real bad guys, not whiney fools with a weak spot between their eyes. Facing someone like Darth Vader in The Force Unleashed was just EPIC! Facing the Emperor after that was kind of boring; yeah he was powerful, but predictable. Vader was much more difficult to defeat, at least for me.

So it is the enemies that really make a game memorable. Fighting mobs can be challenging, depending on your level, their level, their resistances, etc. But nothing beats the sense of accomplishment in taking down a difficult boss. People at Bioware have a history of making memorable villains. Sarevok from Baldurs Gate, Saren from Mass Effect, the Archdemon in Dragon Age: Origins, or The Outlander in Jade Empire. Oh come on! How many video game bad guys with such cool dialogue have been voiced by John Cleese?

I personally do not think that Star Wars: The Old Republic will lack for epic enemies. My concern is that they may be a bit too easy to beat. The devs talk of soloability and that is a good thing. But I want the bad guys to be uber, so when I beat them I can say ‘I DID THAT!”

Over to you: what do you want in enemies in a game? What don’t you want?

Filed Under: News, Opinion Tagged With: ,

Announcing: TOROZ reader for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch

April 25, 2010 by

I’m really pleased to be able to announce the availability of the TOROZ Reader, an iPhone / iPad application for those interested in news and views about Bioware’s Star Wars: The Old Republic.

You can download it here for free.

What is it?

It’s essentially an RSS reader with two sections. The first is our own RSS feed . The second is titled ‘Other SWTOR News’, and it features a range of SWTOR-related feeds from around the world. There’s only a handful at this stage but we’ll certainly be adding more – there’s been some issues with some Atom and RSS 1.0 feeds on some sites (including Bioware’s site unfortunately), which we’re working to rectify.

Current sites on the app include Darth Hater, KOTORMMO.net, Jedi Archive Online, Mos Eisley Radio and Old Repub.

The ‘Submit a Story’ section is purely a contact form if you want to make contact or follow us on Twitter.

Why wouldn’t I just use my usual RSS Reader?

For some, a broader RSS reader may indeed be preferable. However, we’ve had a lot of feedback that people like a quicker option of a handful of feeds easily accessed. The TOROZ Reader is exactly that. And at under 200KB in size, it’s also doesn’t take up much room.

Can I suggest a feed to add?

Absolutely – just contact us with the details.

Where do I get support for this app?

Right here.

Are there plans to expand the app?

Version 2 is already underway – if you have suggestions for improvement, we’d love to hear from you.

What does the app cost?

Nothing 😉

Who developed the application?

This app is based on the architecture of the Metaverse Reader from our sister site, The Metaverse Journal. I do need to give a huge plug to the developer who created the application from the specification provided. Phillip Street is an Australian iPhone developer and TOROZ contributing writer who happens to live pretty close to me. I couldn’t be happier with his responsiveness and price competitiveness and I’ve already contracted him to work on the next version.

So if you have an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad, give the TOROZ Reader a whirl and critique away!

Filed Under: News Tagged With:

SWTOR combat: extensive new footage

April 23, 2010 by

The folks over at GameTrailers have an exclusive SWTOR developer diary that provides 6-minutes of insight on combat. During that time it shows some of the most detailed combat footage seen to date, covering most of the classes. If you want a really detailed dissection, you might like to check this out.

The reaction to date has been mixed – I tend to think the light saber dueling is a little rushed looking, but I imagine there’s still plenty of work still going on in regards to movement so that it looks better by release date.

One key thing that stands out for me after watching the piece a few times is just how well developed SWTOR is graphically. Sure, there’s not much given away about the user interface or most of the game mechanics, but it’s really starting to look pretty – that does count to some extent.

Anyway, have a look at the video:

Over to you: do you like what you see and does the combat shown make particular classess appeal to you less or more as a result?

Filed Under: News Tagged With:

Sith Sunday – SWTOR in the news

April 18, 2010 by

1. The SWTOR info snippet released by Bioware this week is on the potential infiltration of the Sith into the Jedi order. There’s a nice wrap up from Darth Hater on the info, including some snippets from SWTOR developers.

2. GamesRadar got their hands on part of SWTOR, and have a very detailed look here. They make some interesting point on the fact that no matter how interesting SWTOR ends up, at the end of the day it will be bound by a bunch of bog standard MMO mechanics. For me, that’s not necessarily a bad thing!

3. From our forums: discussions on choosing factions, the appeal of the Republic side and the link between KOTOR II and SWTOR.

4. From the official forums: The SWTOR wish list thread, whether people just want World of Warcraft in SWTOR clothing and an index of useful guild threads.

Filed Under: News Tagged With:
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