Delving into the world of MMOs can be a daunting proposition. More so than any other, it’s a genre that almost seems reserved for a certain type of person. One who knows and understands the terminology, the way each intricate system works, and one who is prepared to lay down a standard fee every single month. That fee can eat at you if you’re not careful. Every day you’re not playing you feel like you should be, just to justify this sceptical subscription to yourself. For newcomers to the genre, it can be a confusing and mesmerising world, completely different to any other gaming experience.

And it’s one I’m becoming all too familiar with. PC gaming has been an aspect of the industry that has thus far alluded me, but after buying a new gaming PC last year I got into it hard, and my wallet took the biggest hit (I blame the Steam sales for it all). So I figured, why not see what all the fuss was about? I dabbled in World of Warcraft and even spent a month with DC Universe Online, but I just failed to see the appeal that so many other people saw; so much so that hundreds and thousands of hours could be mercilessly spent on one single game.

It always seemed like a peculiar phenomenon: immersing yourself in a world of fetch quests and seemingly basic combat. And yet, for some reason, I still wanted in. Star Wars: The Old Republic was the game to tickle my fancy. Perhaps it was the allure of the Bioware name, or my affable relationship with Knights of the Old Republic, but I was prepared to be one of those MMO people: to learn the terminology, the myriad game mechanics, and to put down a monthly fee for as long as I could bare it.

So come release, there I am, in the early access for a Star Wars MMO; A $200 million MMO, no less. And I did what anyone with my mindset would do: I picked a Sith Inquisitor… because Lightsabers. If you’re going to offer me Lightsabers, I’m going to pick Lightsabers, especially if you combine it with Force Lightning - a winning combination no matter which way you spin it. And being an arsehole was immensely enjoyable! Forget about the gameplay, this is a Bioware game after all, so the writing, story and voice acting give it a tremendous pull. While most MMOs deal in text boxes, The Old Republic goes all out, giving you the same kind of presentation and quality as Mass Effect. Sure, it’s not quite at that sky-high level, but it’s damn close, and that means an awful lot.

The dialogue wheel gives you the opportunity to commit to the role playing, crafting a character with your own choice of words and morality-based actions. Being a Sith, I felt it was befitting to be a complete and utter arsehole. Some guy decided to give me grief so I stabbed him in the gut - that’s just how I roll. But more than filling me with deep satisfaction, what this did was give me a sense of overwhelming promise for things to come; an air of excitement for the opportunity to travel the galaxy with this character, and see where this grand, overarching story takes me. My history with MMOs may only be brief, but none have ever grabbed me in this way and given me such a unique onus to continue and dedicate hours and hours of my free time to this universe.

So I did, with a buddy in tow. During conversations we would interchange with one another, both our abhorrent characters combining to insult our way through the galaxy and maybe even kill a few Jedi along the way. Now I was starting to understand the genre’s appeal, the co-operative nature of it all offering up genuinely pleasing results. And yet, The Old Republic can be a distinctly single-player game if you let it. I recently began using a Jedi Knight to get a taste of the Republic side of things so I’ve been going solo and the core experience has essentially remained the same.

It takes one person to change a light bulb and, as it turns out, it also only takes one person to fetch a bunch of items. That may sound like a slight against the game, and in some ways it is. The combat is certainly gratifying but when so many of the quests are as similar as they are the presence of repetition is always an ominous and looming dark cloud. So it got me thinking about Knights of the Old Republic again, particularly because of the Jedi Knight’s quest line. It’s distinctly KoTOR, pitching your Jedi hero against a menacing Sith threat that places the entire galaxy in peril. That core story arc ticks all of the right boxes, offering the best content I’ve seen thus far, both in terms of the narrative, writing and the quests you partake in. But away from this core adventure you’re still left to clear through each environment, killing wave after wave of x amount of enemies and gathering items till your heart’s content. I’m still playing it after forty hours or so, but it’s the story that propels me forward, not necessarily the gameplay.

And that’s why Knights of the Old Republic is constantly rattling around inside my skull. Remove the fetch quests, beef it up a bit more and The Old Republic could be a new KoTOR, with a much lower budget. For an estimated $200 million cost, this is a supremely risky game, so plaudits must be directed EA’s way for sticking with it. The workload of over 800 developers and 1,000 voice actors is unprecedented, and that number is still rising as Bioware continue to produce more content, all at an ever rising cost. World of Warcraft’s billions of dollars worth of profit is certainly testament to the success of a business model like this, but the threat of failure must be a constant worry for EA and The Old Republic team, especially with WoW’s subscriber numbers dwindling over the past year. Free-to-play games are paving the way forward, and it will be interesting to see if the monthly-fee subscriber model will pay dividends here.

As an MMO newcomer I can still see its flaws. Head to any gaming forum and there’s a high probability The Old Republic discussion will be rife with those on both sides of the coin, talking about barren instanced planets, mundane over-long travel and a disappointing end game. I’m not there yet but I’m willing to keep playing and leveling up to reach it. MMO launches are rarely ever smooth, and while The Old Republic has its issues, it’s been a relatively impressive start. And that gives me hope for things to come. I might not be enamoured with the combat or its distinctly MMO quest design, but I can see the promise it holds. This is a long term commitment for EA and Bioware, and for the user base. It’s in its infancy now and I can only hope it fulfils its early potential for growth, blossoming into something more unique, away from the constraints of WoW’s rule.

Spending significant time with it has certainly been a learning experience. Its story has hooked me in with its expansive arc, and while I may not see the obvious appeal of its gameplay, I can see how it could metamorphose into something transcendent with an ever-growing list of co-operative Flashpoints, and maybe even the PvP arenas. So I’ll keep playing, perhaps against my better judgement, because it’s such an anomalous proposition, completely different from anything else out there. I’m curious to see where it goes from here. It’ll certainly be interesting.