Following its paid subscription model going down about as well as a droid in a cantina, Jedi-bothering World of Warcraft clone, Star Wars: The Old Republic, has gone free to play.
I'll admit that I was there on Korriban, day one, credit card in hand, grinding my way through those first tedious quests with my pureblood Sith Sorcerer (who to this day I regret not calling Paul Daniels) and getting about 10 fps until I turned the shadows off. My tenure as the Emperor's right hand man was short lived, however; I used my 'free' 30 day subscription and played for about an additional two weeks before giving up, mainly due to how frustratingly slow progression through the game was. The repetitive nature of the combat didn't help matters; hammering your 'Force Lightning' hotkey like a man possessed while watching wooden, disjointed combat animations, that to be fair do a serviceable job of out acting Hayden Christensen, is only fun for so many parsecs.
More's the pity that it hasn't worked out up until now, as there's no denying that it's a wonderfully rich universe in which to set an RPG, MMO or otherwise. The stories of the original two Knights of the Old Republic games and accompanying comics and novels are so well told and awesome in scope that they make the original trilogy seem quaint by comparison. Which is cooler, Grand Moff Tarkin's camp menace aboard the Death Star in A New Hope, or The Sith Emperor performing a forbidden ritual that consumes the force energy of an entire planet, leaving it little more than a hole in reality, and himself a being of limitless dark power as described in Old Republic prequel novel, Revan?
I suggest that any budding Jedi with mid range or above PCs that find themselves with a little time on their hands between Imperial entanglements give it a go, now that it can be enjoyed, in a limited form at least, for gratis.
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