Something I’ve been watching with some interest across the course of the last year or so has been the developments of SWTOR, or Star Wars: The Old Republic. Which is the upcoming MMORPG from Bioware, set several thousand years before the events of the original Star Wars films, and several hundred years after the Knights of the Old Republic game – one of the finest Star Wars games.

All eight classes have now been announced for the game, take a peek.

Trooper
The Trooper, an elite soldier of the Republic. Big guns, advanced guns, heavy armour, no fancy schmancy Force to help them out.

Smuggler
The Smuggler, think Han Solo blatantly. No reliance on the force, lots of sneaking, surprise, hiding behind cover. Possibly one liners, I’d hope so.

Jedi Knight
The Jedi Knight, hard to really make a comparison – as these Jedi are big on heavy armour and waging head first into heavy combat. Reliant on their lightsaber and a range of Force abilities to aid them in the thick of combat.

Jedi Consular
The Jedi Consular, these are to my mind, traditional Jedi, all flowing robes, wisdom and cryptic commentary. These Jedi whilst using lightsabers are more reliant on ranged Force abilities, and being mindful of their approach, not charging head-first into combat.

Bounty Hunter
The Bounty Hunter, take your pick from comparisons, again slotted into an evil Sith hugging role rather than a more mercenary one. Again heavy armour, big guns, also less traditional and more bespoke weaponry and defences.

Imperial Agent
Sneaky, deceptive, reliant on range and high tech gadgetry. No real comparison springs to my mind, but makes a good offset for the lack of a real comparable Trooper option whilst filling a very different role.

Sith Warrior
The Sith, seeing legions of these warriors will seem unusual to anyone unfamiliar with the Knights of the Old Republic games, but the red lightsaber will be all too familiar. A mix of frontline savagery and dark side Force abilities, these are the opposites of the Jedi Knight class.

Sith Inquisitor
The counterpart perhaps to the Jedi Consular, but given the opposite nature, these ranged Sith focus more on destruction and torture.

It’s still unclear when The Old Republic will be released, but the game does keep looking better and with Bioware insistent on their devotion to strong personal story elements, it does sound terribly tempting even for someone who generally find the grind and repetition of MMOs fairly tiresome.

Take a peek at the official site below for more information and videos.

Info & Links
Star Wars: The Old Republic – Official Site