So far we’ve discussed The Old Republic’s factions, classes, locations, space, companions, and crafting, but what about its gameplay? I mean, all of that other stuff really won’t make much of a difference if the core gameplay isn’t up to par. With that said, I am not in The Old Republic’s closed beta, so I can only speak of the gameplay from observation of various things I’ve seen. If I were in the beta though, I wouldn’t be able to speak of my personal experience due to the Non-Disclosure Agreement currently on all beta participants, but I digress.
The only game in Bioware’s catalog (that I’ve played) that comes close to what I’ve seen of The Old Republic’s gameplay is Dragon Age 2. Their main similarities are mostly in their skill bars, in their pacing of combat, and in their conversation systems. So if you want a decent idea of what The Old Republic’s combat will feel like, I would suggest giving Dragon Age 2 a playthrough. Other than that, The Old Republic appears to play very similarly to many other MMOs on the market save for two main differences, its conversation system and the impact choices have on your character.
Just like in both Mass Effect games as well as in Dragon Age 2, conversations are handled with a choice wheel that allows you to respond to different situations depending on how you feel about those situations. The choices will usually include positive / peaceful, negative / aggressive, and neutral responses. Your major choices in The Old Republic, unlike all other MMOs, are permanent. So if you want to be a jerk to a key quest giver, you may want to reconsider. Who knows what will happen if you tick off a certain NPC. They might never speak to you again, leaving you unable to get that awesome quest reward you were looking at. They might even put a bounty on you; it just depends on what Bioware can and will implement into the game. It’ll be interesting to say the least though.
Speaking of, well, speaking to NPCs, all of them will be fully voiced over. So when you’re getting a quest, you will hear the quest giver’s plight and their intended emotions instead of being forced to read it and guess at their emotions. Not only are the NPCs voiced over, but so is your character. This is the first time anything of this scale has ever been done in an MMO. Every interaction between you and NPCs is now a separate performance instead of a block of text. This single thing will be the best attribute to display Bioware’s storytelling prowess, and I simply cannot wait to experience it.
Dungeons in The Old Republic are called Flashpoints, and will likely occur at key points of certain quest lines. They are instanced areas that, as far as I know, a group of four players can enter. When in a conversation with an NPC, each member of your party has a chance to speak and make choices. When an opportunity to speak is given, each member of the party makes their dialog choice as normal. After that, the game rolls a 100 sided dice for each player, and the player with the highest roll speaks. This makes conversations with NPCs even more dynamic as you add more players that can make important decisions for the entire group. In Bioware’s main example of a Flashpoint, both players are given the opportunity to kill or spare an insubordinate ship captain. You may have chosen to kill the captain, but the person you’re with may have chosen to spare him. The captain’s life now depends on who wins the dice roll and makes the final decision. Both choices have drastically different consequences, and can possibly change the quest line’s conclusion entirely.
For the more exploratory types out there, Bioware has you covered too with the Codex. If you’ve played Mass Effect or Dragon Age, you are already familiar with how the Codex works. It serves as a journal that catalogs key events, people, and locations. It also provides the most in-depth account of the game’s background and history. Some Codex entries will even give your character a permanent buff to one of his or her stats with the help of Holocrons you find scattered across the galaxy, so it pays off to explore! What aspect of The Old Republic’s gameplay are you most excited about?
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