Star Wars: The Old Republic Preview

GameSpy is next in line with some firsthand impressions of Star Wars: The Old Republic, which one would assume originate from the press event LucasArts hosted earlier last month.
My hands-on time revolved around the Sith Inquisitor, a character focused on manipulating the dark side of the Force. My naughty little Inquisitor shocked enemies at range with bolts of Force lightning, stunning or dealing direct damage as the situation merited. I came in with the misconception that this would be a strictly ranged character, and instead found that my Inquisitor was more than capable of dealing out plenty of punishment up-close with a lightsaber. The Inquisitor makes use of a powerful ability to call up a vortex of energy which incapacitates a foe, making it a cinch to deal with groups of enemies at once.

The short quest sequence I embarked on found me taking orders from a nasty Overseer that needed me to handle some business at a local excavation, where a terrible ancient technology lay buried. The fully voiced quest text included the familiar Mass Effect-style dialogue wheel options, so I could convey some of my own personality within the confines of these canned interactions. The quest was the sort of typical MMO stuff you'd expect: Kill a few bad guys, trigger some interactive objects, and make it out alive to collect a reward from your benefactors. Still, it was quite entertaining, once I got a firm grasp of the hotkey-driven combat interface and the ins and outs of the Inquisitor class.