The concept of a Massively-Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) being developed by Bioware is enough to make any RPG fan salivate. Add to that concept the Star Wars universe and a multitude of fans emerge from every corner of the inter… er… galaxy, hoping that someone finally manages to “do it right.”

I have a love/hate relationship with the idea of a Star Wars MMO. Star Wars: Galaxies was the first MMO I played long-term, starting fairly early during the second BETA phase and playing up until the death of the game (that’s a long story, and one I won’t subject you to in this article) with the release of the “Combat Upgrade that didn’t actually happen and instead became the NGE edition… or something like that.” There were a lot of aspects of the game that were excellently designed, and although somewhat mediocre in implementation the game was still quite fun to play. When The Old Republic was announced I had no interest, the bitter taste of Galaxies still causing me to throw up a little (figuratively, yes, but the thought was there).

Fast forward a little, and I finally played The Force Unleashed. While not even remotely similar in concept, platform, or developer, the game was enjoyable enough for me to be open to the idea of playing another Star Wars game again. I decided to start looking into The Old Republic again, giving Bioware the benefit of the doubt because, quite frankly, I have yet to be disappointed by one of their games that I have played.

As I have been looking over the information I’ve become intrigued. I like the idea of having an immersive and rich story in any game, and Bioware is certainly one of the kings in this arena. I’m concerned about how the game will feel still, especially since the plan is to allow most of the content to be played solo (then again, Galaxies and World of Warcraft can be played solo and enjoyed as well, so my concern is more that it may feel like a single-player game with an online component and not an MMO), but that is something I won’t know until the game launches.

How about you? Are you even remotely interested? Do you plan to play for a little bit no matter what and give it a chance? Could this be the MMO that causes you to leave others behind?

I’m going to end up giving it a shot, that much is certain. I’m interested in playing Sith/Empire predominantly, but plenty is subject to change before the game is actually released. I’m starting to get anxious… I just hope Bioware doesn’t let me down like Sony Online Entertainment did…