So I got into the Old Republic on Friday and I have been playing it a lot. Here are my thoughts on the game and some information about it if you are looking into playing it.

Story: Hands down the best part of the game. I have a level 18 Sith Inquisitor and a level 11 Imperial Agent and both of the stories are interesting and fun. As a Sith Inquisitor I was a former slave who has been captured by the Sith and has to go through the Sith trials to become and apprentice under a dark lord. Now I'm an apprentice, and the plot has me carrying out my masters evil plans to gain the power of an ancient sith lord. The plot is filled with moments of betrayal and murder and for a person who 100% always plays a good guy in video games, I am having a hell of a time murdering and torturing anyone in my path.

The Imperial Agent plot is much more 'gray' in terms of what is right and what is wrong. I am working for a secret empire group trying to get specific factions to work towards the empires favor. I haven't gotten into the greater details of the plot but it seems like there will be a lot of sneaking and sabotage going on. Overall the stories are enjoyable and make for a great time when none of your friends are on to play with.

Combat: Standard mmo stuff here, but much, much faster. Instead of pulling one npc at a time you are pulling three or four. All the attacks have fairly quick cooldowns, mana (or force, energy) recharges pretty quickly during combat as well. There are no mana potions or food, every class has a'recharge' ability that brings your heal and mana back up to max within 15 seconds (out of combat of course). This all keeps the game moving really quickly because you rarely have to stop to heal and you can kill many enemies at once. Besides that, be prepared to hit 2,3,4 or whatever your favorite hot key combo is, over and over again.

Companions and Crafting: I was really unsure what I thought about companions when they were first announced but this is actually another great addition to the game. Companions work like they do in Mass Effect, they will comment on your choices, they have an affection meter, and they have their own agenda/feelings on every situation. They also make soloing a much more viable option if you are more of a solo mmo quester. My Inquisitor's companion is a tank that pulls aggro and deals decent melee damage. Companions also craft weapons for you. You can also send them out on "diplomatic" missions to earn you gifts, heal items, and dark/light side points. These missions work similar to an Assassins Creed Brotherhood/Revelations style, where you send your assassins out to complete quests for you. Its a really cool idea, because if you dont need your companion they can still be earning you dark/light side points, crafting items, and even crafting your gear all while you quest. It makes the crafting addicting and simple as you can craft things while you are in an instance or out questing.

Loot/Dungeons: The loot in the game is really varied. There are a lot of different lightsaber colors, different rifles, blasters, and from what I've seen you can get some crazy looking armor and robes. The dungeons, called "flashpoints are quick to run through and can be repeated constantly. The loot tables seem pretty large so there is plenty of reason to grind them. You also get "commendations" or badges for nearly every single thing you do. There are badges for specific planet quests, pvp, and space quests. These can be turned in for loot as well.

Overall, I'm really enjoying the game. there is a lot more to say about it, but I think I've covered the most important parts. The game is very easy to play, fast paced, and can be played entirely solo. The levling seems fast, it only took me about 22 hours to get to level 18 and the cap is 50. While it is not revolutionizing the mmo genre by any means, after playing through the entirety of The Burning Crusade, I have had my fill of long grinding quests with no story, and 2 hour dungeons. I like that the game moves fast and gives you plenty of options to gain awesome gear. I feel like I want to play through different classes to level 50 not because I'm addicted to skill points or leveling, but because the story, the choices, and the world are really well designed and fun. Anyone looking for an easy-going, fast-paced story heavy mmo can't find anything better than this.