Star Wars: The Old Republic Preview

This Star Wars: The Old Republic preview gives a quick look at what can be expected from Bioware Austin’s massively multiplayer online role-playing game!

The game is based in the Star Wars universe and is currently in development by BioWare Austin and a supplemental team at BioWare Edmonton. The Old Republic was first announced on October 21st 2008, at an invitation-only press event.

Two tie-in novels, Star Wars: The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance by Sean Williams and Star Wars: The Old Republic: Deceived by Paul S. Kemp, will cover the story behind this title and the game is rumored to hit shelves sometime this year as a PC only title.

Take a look at this Developer Diary in which the staff at Lucas Arts and Bioware discuss the upcoming game!

The story and setting of The Old Republic are explored in this developer diary.

The combat of the game is discussed in this video.

Check out the last developer diary in which the worlds are explored

Here is the gameplay footage from Gamescom 2011.

Or have a look at this developer walk through of the Tatooine level; under the blistering sands lies a mysterious research facility!

Key Features of Star Wars: The Old Republic

Here is a list of key elements that will be available in Bioware Austin’s Star Wars: The Old Republic, based on news and announcements made so far.

The Old Republic will not dramatically diverge from the traditional MMORPG gameplay formula.

Emphasis on Story
BioWare intends to put a large emphasis on the story element of the game, something that the company feels is lacking in other MMORPGs. Players’ choices will permanently open or close storylines and affect players’ non-player character companions. Every character in-game, will feature full voice dialog with a system similar to that used in the Mass Effect series.

Gameplay Elements and Classes
Several gameplay elements differ between the factions, such as story and available classes. While each class in The Old Republic will still favor a particular play style, customization combined with companion characters will make for having a class be able to tackle many different situations.

Planets and Moons
The Old Republic will feature many Planets and Moons: Alderaan, Balmorra, Belsavis, Corellia, Coruscant, Dromund Kaas, Hoth, Hutta, Ilum, Korriban, Nar Shaddaa, Ord Mantell, Quesh, Taris, Tatooine, Tython and Voss are all included.

“Tunnel Shooter”
Players will be able to fly their spacecraft. A tunnel shooter, otherwise known as a scrolling shooter, is a flying game where the player is on a predetermined track. Game play includes moving right and left on the X axis and up and down on the Y axis; however, players won’t have control of the speed of their space craft.

PvP
It has been revealed that PvP will occur in war zones – either Jedi vs Sith or Republic vs Empire.

Take a look at the Gamescom 2011 trailer!

Eagerly anticipating this game? Don’t forget to leave a comment and share your opinion.

Be sure to check out our Star Wars: The Old Republic Screenshots & Star Wars: The Old Republic wallpapers!