After three years of interminable waiting, we've finally had the opportunity to dig into BioWare’s upcoming Star Wars MMO. Even while we now get going on our final game release characters, weeks ago four Game Informer editors spent dozens of combined hours during the game's beta exploring different character classes populating the Sith Empire faction. We discovered a gigantic game whose scope and ambition are hard to overstate. Combining the traditions of World of Warcraft-style questing and cooperative multiplayer with the storytelling, character depth, and voice acting of other BioWare games like Mass Effect and Dragon Age, The Old Republic is poised to reshape the MMO landscape. Every one of us who played the game found dramatically different experiences to be excited about; flip the pages to the character class you’re most excited about, or explore each journal for the full picture. And keep an eye out in the coming days and weeks as we continue our coverage of this long-awaited game.

[This feature originally appeared in Game Informer issue #224]

Bounty Hunter
By Tim Turi

Ever since I was a kid watching The Empire Strikes Back, I’ve wanted to be Boba Fett. Unfortunately, few worthwhile opportunities have cropped up that allow me to satiate my lust to become a ruthless bounty hunter in the Star Wars universe. That’s why I passed up the glitz and glamor of the Sith’s ancient weapons and hokey religions when creating a new Empire-affiliated character in The Old Republic. Despite being on and off with World of Warcraft since launch, I don’t have as much MMO expertise as my fellow editors here – but that couldn’t stop me from strapping on a jet pack and following in the footsteps of Fett.

I decide to shake things up right out of the gate by creating a male Zabrak bounty hunter. After tinkering with a variety of horns, tattoo patterns, and skin tones, I am left with a beefy Darth Maul look-alike named Vladok who is sure to intimidate his marks.

My prologue quest begins by immediately sticking a hook in my mouth with a simple mission: become notorious. This task becomes more complicated when I learn I must gain sponsorship by a Hutt gang lord named Nem’ro so I can enter a bounty hunter contest. Having seen Return of the Jedi, I know dealing with Hutts is sticky business involving dubious loyalties and Rancor-baited trapdoors, usually in that order. I’m given my first assignment by a distressed mother – her husband has kidnapped their son in an effort to spare him from the Sith academy. The fully voiced conversations help me become invested in the intriguing task, and while I may have found the woman’s plight touching, the credits are why Vladok agrees to help.

To complete my journey I must trek across the gang war-torn city of Jiguuna on Hutta towards the spaceport. My first instinct is to jog past the warring factions like the nonpartisan mercenary I am, but as soon as my mouse cursor indicates hostiles, Vladok’s eyes turn as red as his skin. I have my savage attack routine down within minutes. I hit my foes from a distance with a rapid volley of blaster rounds, fire a missile to disperse the crowd, then move in for the close-quarters damage. My favorite bounty hunter ability is easily the rocket punch – a jet pack-propelled shoryuken that sends enemies flying like womp rats at the business end of a T-16’s laser cannon. The Old Republic’s hotkey-focused combat is simple and satisfying. Each move has a distinct visual effect on enemies, so you don’t have to waste time rereading ability descriptions to figure out how one blaster attack varies from another.

One of the things I was most impressed by while hunting down bounties and decimating legions of goons was that I never once ached for a lightsaber. Many might predict the undeniable coolness of the Jedi’s path will result in swarms of Skywalker-wannabes flooding The Old Republic at launch. However, the sheer might and diversity of Vladok’s abilities staved off any potential midichlorian envy.

I manage to cut off the father and son before their departing flight. The father reveals that he was a Sith cadet in the past, and that the merciless training facility on Korriban nearly killed him for not making the cut. He tells me he won’t risk his son dying like he almost did. Cowardice breeds cowardice, and Vladok can smell it. Playing off my sympathies, the husband seems confident I’ll take his side. No dice. Through a series of simple dialogue options, I decide then and there that Vladok is a bounty hunter who sticks to his employer’s contract no matter the moral cost. As the father’s lifeless form collapses next to his son, I feel a tinge of remorse, something I never thought an MMO would be able to deliver. I don’t have long to dwell on it though; Vladok and I have credits to collect and a slimy Hutt to deal with.

[Next up: The Imperial Agent]