Star Wars: The Old Republic E3 2011

The story takes place in the Star Wars fictional universe shortly after the establishment of a tenuous peace between the re-emergent Sith Empire and the Galactic Republic,^[29] 300 years after the events of the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic games, and more than 3,500 years before the events in the Star Wars films.^[10][30] The Jedi are held responsible for the success of the Sith during the devastating 28-year-long Great Galactic War (which led to the Treaty of Coruscant prior to the Cold War), and thus choose to relocate from Coruscant to Tython, where the Jedi Order had initially been founded, to seek guidance from the Force.^[10][31] The Sith control Korriban, where they have re-established a Sith Academy.^[32] The game begins as new conflicts arise.^[10]
A collaborative effort between BioWare, LucasArts and Dark Horse Comics has resulted in webcomics entitled Star Wars: The Old Republic – Threat of Peace and Star Wars: The Old Republic – Blood of the Empire, the purpose of which is to establish the backstory as the game opens.
BioWare has stated that the game will have a significant focus on the storyline.

There will be a range of playable species for the player to choose from. So far confirmed are Chiss,^[33] Human, Miraluka,^[34] Mirialan,^[34] Rattataki,^[35] Sith Pureblood,^[34] Twi'lek^[36] and Zabrak.^[34] Although Humans can pick any class available, other species have been restricted to only several classes each.

Every class has also two specializations.

• Trooper; Commando and Vanguard
• Smuggler; Gunslinger and Scoundrel
• Jedi Knight; Guardian and Sentinel
• Jedi Consular; Shadow and Sage
• Bounty Hunter; Powertech and Mercenary
• Sith Warrior; Juggernaut and Marauder
• Imperial Agent; Operative and Sniper
• Sith Inquisitor; Sorcerer and Assassin

In Knights of the Old Republic, players were given the Ebon Hawk as a base of operations and a collection of companions to keep the ship lively. As the spiritual successor to the KOTOR series, The Old Republic employs this exact same formula by awarding the player his/her very own starship, in addition to a whole new cast of companion characters. Your starship will be your main form of transporation across the galaxy, and exploration is obviously an important aspect in any MMO. Being a Star Wars game, players can expect to see iconic locales from the core series and expanded universe, and every location features its own overarching questline.
You'll recruit companions throughout the game in much the same way as in any other BioWare RPG, and as briefly mentioned above, approval ratings do come into play. For those unaware of how this system works, your in-game decisions, no matter how small, affect your standing with certain companions depending on their personal values. Accepting a quest to help someone without any payment may not jive with the Bounty Hunter on your team, while that same choice could increase your approval with a more altruistic companion.

The environments in TOR are incredibly grand, though from a graphical standpoint, the visuals are hardly breathtaking. The scale of everything is impressive to look at, and character animations run smoothly enough (just ignore all the creepy expressionless faces). Yet simplified shapes and heavy desaturation give the game a somewhat cartoony appearance, resulting in a World of Warcraft 2.0 feel. On the bright side, this probably means anyone with a half-decent rig could run TOR

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