With last week's lifting of the non-disclosure agreement, the lid came off and people are writing like mad about Star Wars: The Old Republic. In The List today, MMORPG.com Managing Editor Bill Murphy takes a look at five things that seem to be very popular with fans. Check out Bill's ideas and then let us know what you think in the comments.

Now that the cat is completely out of the bag on BioWare's Star Wars: The Old Republic, we figured it's high time we laid down the ups and downs of the biggest game this holiday season has to offer. Today we'll focus on five things we really found engaging and refreshing about SWTOR, but rest assured that next week we will do the exact opposite and talk about a few things that are less than stellar about the game. Bear in mind that all of these little bullet points are just what we find excellent and also that SWTOR is still in beta and subject to change in the month leading up to launch.

Read more of Bill Murphy's The List: 5 Things We Love About SWTOR.

I agree with all 5. I was afraid having light side actions as a sith would be weird, but the choices make sense, as well as the dark side choices for Jedi. You can easily tell that Bioware has put time and love into their stories.

Id agree with the list

I agree with your lis and i would like to add my personal favorite, the companion crafting. i just love it.

I really dig the scroll text in the load screen that lets you know what your character was currently doing. It is an awesome touch that let's you feel like your character is starring in your own epic. Plus it is nice to have a reminder what missions you are working on if you are an altaholic or don't get to play often.

Originally posted by Dauntis

I really dig the scroll text in the load screen that lets you know what your character was currently doing. It is an awesome touch that let's you feel like your character is starring in your own epic. Plus it is nice to have a reminder what missions you are working on if you are an altaholic or don't get to play often.

yeah thats a great touch

I too agree with the list but would also add a 6th wity Crew Skills. That system is really slick and gives even deeper meaning to your companions.

I might even add a 7th in the muscial score which add a ton to the game as it keys off your acitivities well to add drama to even the more mundane mob fights.

This game has caused me some trouble as I cannot play other MMOs after sampling this. I have quit my others now and find no interest in going back to reading text walls (or skipping rather) for quest info.

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Originally posted by Supersoups
I agree with your lis and i would like to add my personal favorite, the companion crafting. i just love it.

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#5 - No, we do not all agree on that.  The quasi-Clone Wars discussions would not have taken place nor continue to take place if we all agreed on that.

#4 - Everybody being able to read you like a book, removes some depth to me.  I understand how simplified things such as Faction Reputation has changed over the years - but I much preferred the mystery offered by those systems where it was not obvious.  Declaring, Hidden, Neutral... are just more fun to me.  No doubt though, the paths make it more fun than being simply linear.

#3 - Never been a fan of repeatable content on the same character.

#2 - I've found myself moving more and more toward pet classes over the years as I've found myself wanting to play with others less and less.

#1 - No doubt, that for those of us that want this - one can only hope that other developers take note.

@doug I am also having issues playing anything other than FPS right now. I can't wait to get into this game for real and create a character that won't be erased. The musical addition and timing do make the combat seem a lot more intense even in some of the easy mob fights.

I must agree with most of the list.  The graphics are still a bit cartoony for me, especially the character models, but the worlds are very nice.  I really enjoyed my beta weekend and wasn't even thinking about playing SWTOR, but,  after the weekend was up, I found myself unsatisfied with my other game of choice and decided to pre-order the collector's edition.  I'm looking forward to continuing my story in SWTOR.

Originally posted by Lashley

Originally posted by Dauntis

I really dig the scroll text in the load screen that lets you know what your character was currently doing. It is an awesome touch that let's you feel like your character is starring in your own epic. Plus it is nice to have a reminder what missions you are working on if you are an altaholic or don't get to play often.

yeah thats a great touch

And if you're somebody like me who will probably be "alt-y" from the beginning, it can help you re-establish where you're at with a given character.

I'm surprised at how often it updates, as well.  I would expect it to update with every new planet, but I think it updates with every class mission completed.

Spot on with the list.  Great game, looking forward to it.  

1. The fact that its a sci-fi / fantasy universe. Love it.

2. Arrrgh Jedi Voodoo!

3. Story line, this seems so good.

4. Good vs. Evil actually seems to work for a change. Usualy the horde vs. alliance or whatever in other games, are just boring. Here its really evil vs really good.

5. BioWare, always belived they create quality products, to quality fans :)

I particularly like that the companions' reaction to your conversation responses isn't cut and dried.  Republic companions won't necessarily prefer the "good" response, nor the Imperials like the "bad" one.  Some even seem to be based on faction preferences.  One companion may like LS responses most of the time, but may react sourly to your giving an NPC "mercy".

Being someone who has no interest in TOR my opinion means less than others BUT....I HATE even the idea of a companion system. If I wanted pets I would play a pet class. I do not want to be forced into pets. I guess I dont have to be forced though so long as I dont want to do crafting of any sort. Oh wait that removes 2 aspects for me so yea, I'm forced. No thanks.

I wanted to get some stuff done in GW1 for items in GW2 but after a week of playing I remembered how much I hated the henchmen and hero's in that game and stopped playing.

And when next week Bill writes down "5 things we don´t like about SWTOR", then be prepared to read:

"aaah, nooo"
"trololol"
"did we play the same game?"
"this site sucks"
"panda-lovers"
"there are so many good previews"
...

;)

Originally posted by xenogias

Being someone who has no interest in TOR my opinion means less than others BUT....I HATE even the idea of a companion system. If I wanted pets I would play a pet class. I do not want to be forced into pets. I guess I dont have to be forced though so long as I dont want to do crafting of any sort. Oh wait that removes 2 aspects for me so yea, I'm forced. No thanks.

I wanted to get some stuff done in GW1 for items in GW2 but after a week of playing I remembered how much I hated the henchmen and hero's in that game and stopped playing.

You're not FORCED to use em.{mod edit}

I only disagree with #5. It looks waaay too cartoony for me. But I love the storytelling so much I will just have to live with the character models. The environments are very nice tho, very Star Warsy.

I agree with the list in theory, although I reserve my judgment based on actual play-time (this weekend from what I've heard). I do love the idea of ALL classes having pets that provide combat support and storyline depth. I have always hated the concept of some classes having pets and others not having them. To be clear, I don't like playing a pet class, but like the added utility being available if I need it to be.