Last evening, I finally decided to take my Inquisitor into the Knights of the Fallen Empire expansion for SWTOR.
For just an hour or two, you know.
After playing for what seemed just a little bit of time, I looked up and realized it was 5 AM.
Um, oops.
And the worst part? I wasn't even tired.
The expac itself? Good. Really really good.
They cover the "how on earth you end up in 5 years in the future" fairly well, and that led to a classic Star Wars-esque getaway. Even then, the first several chapters felt like they flew by.
I'm not going to review the expac, because I don't want to keep saying "I can't talk about this because of spoilers!" But I will say that the pacing is great, and the gameplay + story sucks you right in.
As I've remarked before, I've a great tendency to play light side characters. However, due to the events in the first chapter, I've got more balanced in my outlook. Even so, I expect that over time I'll likely skew light side anyway, but the events in that first chapter were too fresh in my mind for me to not go dark on a couple of occasions.
It was kind of odd, however, seeing companions from other classes showing up in my Inquisitor's story. Yes, I'm fully aware how the story works in KotFE, but there's a huge difference between knowing that it happens and actually seeing it happen.
Until I played SWTOR, my experience with Bioware has been limited to Baldur's Gate 1 and 2, and Neverwinter Nights. There's plenty of story in those D&D games, but not unlike an MMO the mechanics can drag out the story somewhat. With the KotFE expansion, however, the story moves at what I like to say "the speed of plot", disengaging from the game mechanics and instead emphasizing the story itself. That doesn't mean that the story supplants game mechanics entirely, since you still need to fight, choose your companions, and make decisions, but Bioware really decided to de-emphasize the standard MMO mechanics to tell the story the way that they felt it should be played.
I still love the original game for SWTOR, especially the class stories, but I find myself really falling in love with this expac.
Oh, and for those people who whined that "there's nothing to do" after they blow through the first six chapters or so, go chill somewhere. Yeah, I get that you want the story to keep going, but it's not like you don't have instances to run, ops to run, dailies to do, and all sorts of other things to tinker with once you've caught up to where the story is current.
Me, I'm happy that the expac turned out better than I hoped it would.
Maybe I ought to try the Dragon's Age games after all. Or Mass Effect.
But man, I also like to get some sleep in....
For just an hour or two, you know.
 |
| High Justice Vaylin from the Knights of the Fallen Empire. Free hint: do NOT mess with her. (From swtornetwork.com.) |
After playing for what seemed just a little bit of time, I looked up and realized it was 5 AM.
Um, oops.
And the worst part? I wasn't even tired.
***
The expac itself? Good. Really really good.
They cover the "how on earth you end up in 5 years in the future" fairly well, and that led to a classic Star Wars-esque getaway. Even then, the first several chapters felt like they flew by.
I'm not going to review the expac, because I don't want to keep saying "I can't talk about this because of spoilers!" But I will say that the pacing is great, and the gameplay + story sucks you right in.
As I've remarked before, I've a great tendency to play light side characters. However, due to the events in the first chapter, I've got more balanced in my outlook. Even so, I expect that over time I'll likely skew light side anyway, but the events in that first chapter were too fresh in my mind for me to not go dark on a couple of occasions.
It was kind of odd, however, seeing companions from other classes showing up in my Inquisitor's story. Yes, I'm fully aware how the story works in KotFE, but there's a huge difference between knowing that it happens and actually seeing it happen.
 |
| I'd read this warning several times over the past few months, and hesitated. I'm glad I went back and tinkered around a bit, but I shouldn't have been so worried. (From pixelkaffe.com.) |
Until I played SWTOR, my experience with Bioware has been limited to Baldur's Gate 1 and 2, and Neverwinter Nights. There's plenty of story in those D&D games, but not unlike an MMO the mechanics can drag out the story somewhat. With the KotFE expansion, however, the story moves at what I like to say "the speed of plot", disengaging from the game mechanics and instead emphasizing the story itself. That doesn't mean that the story supplants game mechanics entirely, since you still need to fight, choose your companions, and make decisions, but Bioware really decided to de-emphasize the standard MMO mechanics to tell the story the way that they felt it should be played.
I still love the original game for SWTOR, especially the class stories, but I find myself really falling in love with this expac.
Oh, and for those people who whined that "there's nothing to do" after they blow through the first six chapters or so, go chill somewhere. Yeah, I get that you want the story to keep going, but it's not like you don't have instances to run, ops to run, dailies to do, and all sorts of other things to tinker with once you've caught up to where the story is current.
Me, I'm happy that the expac turned out better than I hoped it would.
Maybe I ought to try the Dragon's Age games after all. Or Mass Effect.
But man, I also like to get some sleep in....
You held out long enough!
ReplyDeleteMaybe so, but given that I'm replying at 2:50 AM, you can guess it's been another sleepless night so far.
DeleteI did chuckle at the appearance of a certain Nautolan, however. If only Nic knew....
Was that really her? She seemed vaguely familiar but I thought I was just imagining it since all Nautolans kind of look the same...
DeleteI hovered over the Nautolan, particularly after who we met on the shadow outpost, thinking that I'd bet it's another person from the past.
DeleteShe's a long long way from home...
Aw, damn. It's not Thea, but Ria. Damn.
DeleteGlad to read you're enjoying KOTFE so much. It was the same for me!
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to storytelling, I would argue that Mass Effect has a similar drive, although the setting is of course very different. I can't recommend that game enough. It has the movie-like/filmic (is that a word?) way of storytelling in common with KOTFE.
I've also played Dragon Age and loved those games as well, although they are, again, very different. Great games if you're a fantasy fan. :)
I know some of the story behind Dragon Age --I have the pencil and paper RPG, and it makes for a good system-- but I've always been reluctant to get sucked in like this. Going to bed at 5 AM on a regular basis will wipe me out.
DeleteBut still, the temptation is there. Kind of with The Witcher III, which looks good and some people who I would never have pegged for an RPG fan are playing it. Although I've seen The Witcher described as an RPG with HBO scenes in it.
The Witcher is tempting me as well, although it may be a tad too violent for me. I haven't found the time to try yet another game, though, and I have plenty of stuff to do in the ones I play now. Maybe one day...
ReplyDeleteI've been thinking that it might be too violent --and too obviously sex filled-- as well, but I also know that you have to seek the latter out, just like in a Bioware game. The major difference between the two is that The Witcher is so much more over the top in that regard, hence the HBO reference.
Delete