The Old Republic

I've been a fan of Star Wars for a long time. Not until just a few years ago did I find Star Wars video games actually enjoyable. I think the first Star Wars game I actually liked was Star Wars Jedi Knight II - Jedi Outcast. Games that came out before that I think were too limited by the capabilities of computers at the time. Jedi Outcast was probably the first game that was able to make the graphics of the game actually contribute to the games success and not detract from it. After that game I played other Star Wars games such as Jedi Academy, Rebellion, Empire at War, Knights of the Old Republic I & II, Battlefront I & II, and The Force Unleashed. Each of these games had good and bad aspects to them, but for the most part were enjoyable for me.

The most successful game for the Star Wars franchise has probably been Knights of the Old Republic. This was a role playing game put out by BioWare, the company that has since made the highly successful role playing game Mass Effect. LucasArts is returning to BioWare to try to relaunch the Star Wars universe into the Massive Multiplayer Online (MMO) genre. If you're not sure what that genre is, just think of World of Warcraft, easily the most successful MMO ever. It seems LucasArts is betting on the capabilities of BioWare to overcome their previous failures in the MMO genre. Here's a short preview video BioWare has put out about the new game, Star Wars - The Old Republic.

While this video does make the game look promising, there are a few glaring questions I have before I would jump on the bandwagon, ready to buy this game. Some of these questions are left unanswered in the game website's FAQ section.

1. What are the system requirements for Star Wars: The Old Republic?
-From the game website's FAQ:

We will detail specific system requirements closer to the release date.

2. How much will it cost to play Star Wars: The Old Republic?
-As price is the primary reason I never played World of Warcraft, how this game is priced could have a drastic affect on my decision to play it or not. Again, from the game website FAQ:

Pricing for Star Wars: The Old Republic will be determined and announced at a later date.

3. Will this be a solely PC based game or will this also be playable on console systems?
-I've since moved away from PC's for most of my gaming because of the costs of keeping a PC up to date on hardware. Buying a console is cheaper and all the games for it are designed for that specific set of hardware. In my opinion, console gaming delivers a much better experience for the end user.

Anyways, I guess I'll just have to wait and see on this game, but for now, the potential is there for a great game.