“Can you get smarter by playing video games?” That question right there is why this article exists. It (the query) forms the subject of hot debate among concerned parties. From parents to educators, and children, none are left satisfied when discussions on this contentious issue are made. Don’t believe me? Well, try searching “gaming and smart.” Then, scheme through the suggested articles to see the conflicting views people have. You will be baffled! Back to the question; well, gaming can really make you smarter. Studies have concluded that gaming significantly boosts memory, increases brain function, enhances kid’s problem-solving skills. Moreover, it increases the attention span of an individual, encourages spatial reasoning, fosters social skills, and promotes strategic planning. Nonetheless, there is a lot of negative this and that to justify the detriment that gaming inflicts on the education process. Do not let that fret you. Below are proven ways to…
thoughts
Giant Crazy Wishlist for SWTOR- What Would You Wish For?
If you could have any features you wanted in SWTOR, what would they be? What features would you be willing to pay for if they added them to the game? Some SWTOR Reddit users have a nice thread going on about their SWTOR wishes. Everything from the practical to the ridiculous is coming out in this thread and Here are some things being mentioned in the conversation: A legacy-wide companion menu for crew skill maintenance. A legacy-wide bank. Twice as many missions available inside the crew skill selection. A way to have one companion designated for conversations while another companion is physically summoned. I’d like to be able to watch huttball while I’m queued for warzones. Legacy companion summoning. Generate a companion with the same class, items, and name as another character in your legacy with a default set of abilities associated to that class. LEGACY IGNORE. If I put…
Is SWTOR On the Decline?
Reports claim that SWTOR loses 400,000 subscribers since February. Some will say that this is a good indication that the game is dropping and that players are losing interest. But is this really true and are these numbers a good indication of the popularity of the game? It only makes sense that in the first few months of a game launch, there will be higher numbers as people try it out and share it with friends. Then the numbers will drop a little and balance back out as long term players continue to enjoy the game. Attack of the Fanboy brings us an update: Bioware’s Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO has seen a drop-off in subscribers in recent months, to the tune of around 400,000 lost since February 2012. Earlier in the year, EA reported that roughly they had roughly 1.7 million subscribers in February, and yesterday reported that…
Episode 4 of SWTOR News
This is a special episode of SWTOR news focusing in the current subscription numbers released by EA and what they really mean. There is a lot of talk about SWTOR, how it compares to WoW, and how it compares to other MMORPGs. This brings up the age-old question of whether or not it can be accurately compared to other games. We’ve talked about it before here on the site but I think what it really comes down to is the sheer fact that while you can compare certain elements of SWTOR to certain elements of other games, it simply isn’t accurate at all to compare the entire game package itself to another game because there has yet to ever be another game just like SWTOR. Since it stands alone in its genre for how and what content in presented, it wouldn’t be fair to make an overall comparison- positive or…
Thoughts & Solutions to World PvP in TOR
Recent events in SWTOR have led to a great deal of conversation about PvP in SWTOR and PvP in games in general. This is an age-old debate and you can never make everyone happy in a video game, especially in PvP aspects of it. However, there are certain things that can be done to ensure a better game experience for the players and honestly, some games just severely fail at doing so. Death Fist has some ideas about solutions to World PvP in SWTOR: To be frank, no game has nailed World PvP. And some games, like Warhammer Online, died because they couldn’t provide a meaningful, competitive World PvP game for their customers. Sadly, it doesn’t look like BioWare learned the BIG World PvP lesson from Warhammer – gamers will always travel the path of least resistance to achieve their goals. Ah, isn’t that the truth? As gamers, we depend…
SWTOR Review and Cool Stuff from ZAM
Have you had enough SWTOR reviews yet? Now that the beta testing phase is over and we are counting down the days to the eventual launch of the game, it’s a great time to read over all the good reviews and previews we can find. We’re going to continue to bring you some of the best ones, as well as our own SWTOR guides and strategies to keep you informed and entertained before launch- and beyond. In yet another SWTOR review, we have this from ZAM.com. This is a very long 2-part series of a review/preview of SWTOR based on their beta experiences. Editor-in-Chief Chris Tom talks about what makes SWTOR unique and gives some final thoughts on his experiences. He says: “Yesterday, I went in-depth with SWTOR’s story and gameplay, as well as how it all fits with the MMORPG genre. Today, I’ll be talking about some of the…
Mirrored Classes According to MMORPG.com
Michael Bitton from MMORPG.com has been sharing their own opinions and updates about SWTOR. Recently they wrote about five “not-so-great” things about SWTOR. This is actually refreshing with all the good news going around and all the hype about the game. Seeing negatives keeps the balance and it keeps it real. No game is perfect, even if it seems close. However, they later admitted that they forgot one important thing on their original list so they wrote a new feature and dedicated it all to this one omission- mirrored classes. Here’s what they had to say about mirrored classes: Having mirrored classes generally implies that each class has a counterpart on the opposing faction, but in Star Wars: The Old Republic this idea is taken quite literally. SWTOR’s class mirrors are actually not just extremely similar, but identical. For example, if you’ve played a Smuggler, you’ve played an Imperial Agent,…
Massively Has Some Early Thoughts on SWTOR: SWTOR Preview
Massively had a few things to say about SWTOR and they offered us all this “early thoughts” piece the other day. As far as first impressions go, this one was fair and many gamers want to hear the An excerpt: “I was taken aback by BioWare’s lifting of the NDA on Star Wars: The Old Republic last Friday. Few of us saw that coming. I highly suspect that wasn’t when the devs originally intended to drop the NDA.” Ok really Massively? Because I predicted that one the day before it happened… But anyway, on to their impressions: “I am happy to tell you that I have a Sith Warrior and Sith Inquisitor on Dromund Kaas and Smuggler on Nar Shaddaa with a peppering of other characters on various other planets. I have PvPed alongside one of the best PvPers I’ve ever met, and I have plenty to talk…
Will the Novelty of SWTOR Stand the Test of Time?
As we draw close to the biggest beta weekend in the history of SWTOR, we take some time to look at all the things that make SWTOR great. It’s an awesome game from a popular title wrapped up in a pretty bow with all the bells and whistles. The amount of polish that has been added to the game is the one thing that sets SWTOR apart from other MMOs that have come before and will likely come after as well. Without this polish and the Star Wars name, it’s just another MMORPG and for many gamers, that’s nothing so special after all. It’s the little details that make all the difference in SWTOR. The voice acting, the animation and of course, the story are all things that make this game stand out from so many others in the market. They make you feel that your character is more important…
The Unofficial SWTOR Girl Gamers Thread- and Why it’s Not for Me
San Diego Comic-Con 2008. Photo Courtesy of Jason Scragz For those unaware, there is an “unofficial girl gamers” thread on the SWTOR forums. It’s in its 4th incarnation last I checked and is garnering thousands of replies. From this thread has also grown a number of girl-gamer websites for female SWTOR fans such as SW Girls started by Amonette. There’s even a girl SWTOR Wiki. No, I’m not kidding you… It’s the go-to place if you’re a female planning to play SWTOR who wants to hook up with other females but it’s not for me. I just like to play my game my way and meet people along the way, regardless of their sex, race, religion or other affiliation. To me, it just doesn’t matter. This got me thinking about the whole gamer-girl thing and how the video game industry has evolved over the years that I’ve been a gamer….
Should SWTOR Drop the NDA Already?
The NDA, or non disclosure agreement, on SWTOR is what prevents testers from talking about certain aspects of the game when they play it. These types of legal agreements are in place to protect a company’s creative licenses and for a game like SWTOR that is highly based in story, it’s to be expected. MMORPG writes in a column that they believe it just might be time to drop the NDA already. They think since beta testing is being offered to basically everyone, that it’s time to drop the NDA. They write: “Recently, BioWare concluded their largest Beta Test Weekend yet, and they’re already in the process of revving up for a final big smash of a Beta Test Weekend. If you thought this past weekend was big, well it looks like everyone who has signed up for Game Testing, as well as those who never bothered, will have a…
SWTOR Draws in Non-Star Wars Fans
You’ve heard the buzz about SWTOR. I’ve heard the buzz about SWTOR. Games are talking about it in other MMORPGs. They’re talking about it on the news, on Twitter and even on their lunch breaks at work. But what you might not know is that SWTOR is even drawing in the non-Star Wars fans out there. A perfect case in point is this story from RipTen, “Star Wars: The Old Republic, You Have My Attention”. It’s a fun editorial from Jensen Walker, stating why the author was not previously a Star Wars fan but is intrigued by what SWTOR has to offer. The first reason is not a surprise- BioWare. Many RPG fans are BioWare fans so it’s no surprise that BioWare will bring in a lot of players for that fact alone. But this isn’t enough on its own to have the author playing SWTOR or we would have…
Intergalactic Intel: Community
Looking for Friends! Rafe is a 20 year old, who lives in Tennessee. He plays complex characters and always challenges people to do their best. Zach is a college senior in digital animation, from California, his nick name Heal-bitch-2000. Gene is single mother of three. She spends her time in Stormwind recruiting for her guild while working full time. What do these people have in common? Every week we’re willing to sit down in front of a computer The key to having fun with any MMO, or any game for that matter, is community. Everyone starts off with the one real life friend on their buddy list. Maybe one or two people they’ve been introduced with. But usually they are on their own. While not a bad way to start an MMO, but when I tell people you should try an MMO. I really mean is gather a group of…
SWTOR: Why it Must Succeed but Why It Must Also Fail
Over on Massively, we found an excellent read on why The Old Republic must succeed, but also why it must fail. It’s a Soapbox column with some very valid points about TOR. It begins: “Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week’s writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you’re afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column. So there’s a game coming out called Star Wars: The Old Republic. Maybe you’ve heard about it once or twice. It’s no secret that a lot of people are excited to see what BioWare’s long-anticipated title will do once it’s finally released. The title has had a huge amount of time and money poured into its production, extensive voice acting, countless demos and revelations and debates… all without having yet amassed a substantial playerbase. What happens…
The Old Republic vs. Knights of the Old Republic 3
The first Knights of the Old Republic game in 2003 was, as a few people may already know, the first thing that really got me into Star Wars; to this day I still remember the amazed feeling of awe I had when I first set foot on Taris and looked at the beautiful city landscape, the shining sun in the game adding to the mood of the setting. The feeling was really cinched when I reached the ultimate twist in the game; that you are in fact Darth Revan, the apparently dead Sith Lord who was betrayed by his (or her) Apprentice, Darth Malak. There’s never been anything that’s really been able to replicate the epicness of this game – even the sequel, penned by game company Obsidian, wasn’t quite as good. I’m one of the few people who thought that The Sith Lords was actually a great game; sure,…
Riding Hyperspace Into SWTOR
Lagwa has an excellent article on the wait for Star Wars: The old Republic and their take on the hype/anticipation buildup. A great read, and for the most part, I tend to agree. We’ve seen this stuff a thousand times before — get your expectations too high, too unrealistic, and it doesn’t matter how the game actually ends up, it’s going to suck for you. What especially caught my attention is that he commented on a possible parallel marketing strategy-slash-hype train to Warhammer Online. This is s a perspective that’s worthwhile to examine, although I don’t think SW:TOR’s current buildup exactly mirrors Warhammer online. WAR came out of the gate swinging. These guys had a hype machine to match no other. They called out everything MMO gamers railed against, said they had a better way. There were videos, big personalities, high production values. Prominently displayed on their front page was…
Genocide and Jedi: why the Sith may be right in Old Republic
arstechnic has a great interview with Daniel Erickson about who the real bad guys are in Star Wars: “The one thing you’re never going to hear is ‘make the bad guys less interesting.’” I’m sitting in an out-of-the-way room of Lucasarts with Daniel Erickson, who keeps swinging back to one topic: why the people we’ve come to hate in the Star Wars universe act as they do. He’s given this some thought; as the lead writer on Star Wars: The Old Republic, the upcoming Star Wars MMO, it’s his job to help tell both sides of the story. In our time together we discuss the extended universe, he makes the case for Grand Admiral Thrawn, and explains how the Jedi attempted genocide… and why the Sith may just be right. While we’re on the topic of the extended universe, he brings up the Thrawn trilogy by Timothy Zahn. “Thrawn is…
Is SWTOR worth 2 million users
Yesterday IndustryGamers reported that, according to one analyst, EA are looking to get 2 million subscribers when Star Wars: The Old Republic releases next year. Many have since speculated that EA needed this amount of subscribers for the game to break eave. In a genre where only one game has ever exceeded two million subscribers at $15 per month, that’s a very high standard to put yourself up against. Then again, we are talking about Star Wars, beloved by geeks the world over. We’re also talking about BioWare, who have blown many gamers away with the awesomeness of Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age: Origins. Over at massively they discuss this matter in further details. A a really good read I recommend to check out: Two million is possible worldwide, right? The other issue that I’m hanging on is the fact that 2 million subscribers is a far fetch for…
Star WarsThe Old Republic: What are YOU most excited about?
Hello everyone! This website has been running since 2008 and we thank you all for supporting us thus far. We have seen some major advancements with the game and we will be posting some more content from the developers themselves! We have been talking and we really want to get into touch with the visitors of our site. We definitely want some more interaction so expect to see some interactive posts in the coming future! So the question I want to ask to you all today is this, what are YOU most excited about for Star Wars: The Old Republic? Is it the awesome gameplay that we will experience? Is it the questing? Which class are you most excited to play in? How much time will you spend trying to master the game before others do? 🙂 Tell us ANY of your thoughts! There is so much to look foward…
Can BioWare Put The RPG Back in MMORPG?
You can’t help but wonder whether BioWare’s upcoming MMOG, Star Wars The Old Republic, will be able to port the same roleplaying aspect their successful single player games are known for to a new platform. Tentonhammer Have an excellent editorial about this: With story based MMOGs, I had hoped games would give us direction and purpose without losing the ability to make choices. Alas this was not to be–most current quest-based games give you little more than a choice between taking a quest or not taking a quest. I want to take a quest to kill a target and then be faced with the decision whether to actually kill them or let them go. Either way, there could be consequences for my actions. Let me piss off an NPC and have to face him or his minions later. Let me refuse to take a quest from an NPC vendor and…
I’d Actually Play An Imperial Agent, And Here’s Why
As much as I’ve always liked Star Wars, I’ve certainly developed a wary attitude toward the over-saturation of certain, erm, iconic figures in that universe. If you were ever to compile all of the fan-made Star Wars costumes that exist today on the internet, I guarantee you that the breakdown would be something like this: 23% Darth Vader 22% Boba Fett 54% Princess Leia in a Gold Bikini 1% Misc. Bikini Leia and her stunt double nap in the Tatooine sunshine It’s not that I don’t think that Vader and Fett aren’t cool; they are, for various reasons mainly relating to their outfits. But their popularity is way, way out of proportion to what they’ve actually done to earn it. Pop culture and fandom is funny that way. We fixate on something that looks cool and might have been cool, 20 years ago, and elevate it to infallible worship. This…