Star Wars: The Old Republic gets a release date

One of the most anticipated MMO's has finally received a release date. Was expecting a longer wait sometime next year, but looks like there will be a new big MMO to try out before the end of the year.  Bioware has been patient with the development of their first MMORPG, which is great, so I'm really hoping that this triple A MMO will be as ground breaking as they say. 

Update your calendars, Star Wars: The Old Republic comes out on December 20 and December 22 for Europe. They also announced the payment fees:

• 1 Month Subscription: $14.99 (£8.99/€12.99)
• 3 Month Subscription: $13.99 per month (one-time charge of $41.97/£25.17/€35.97)
• 6 Month Subscription: $12.99 per month (one-time charge of $77.94/£46.14/€65.94

Each copy of Star Wars: The Old Republic will have a 30 day free subscription, just like any other MMO. After that, you'll have to go with either one of the 3 options after the free month.

The game looks pretty sweet, but the fact that the gameplay feels a bit similar to other big MMO out now leaves me worried. Is the solid story telling enough to give Bioware a successful MMO title? well, we got only months left to find out.

[Source: Gameinformer]

DC Universe Online going Free to Play

Sony Online Entertainment announced that their adapting the now famous Free-To-Play model to DC Universe Online. No surprise there since a few months ago they brought the server count to 4. They say the change isn't because of the reduced players in the game, it's just a better business model to maintain the game. Whatever the reason, playing an online game for free is always a welcome change.

There's going to be three types of plans for DC Universe Online - Free, Premium, and Legendary

Free Players will have access to pretty much all the 1-30 content including raids and alerts, but of course have a lot of restrictions like cash limits and only having 2 character slots, you can't trade, you can't auction, and more. The usual restrictions for free players in MMO's that encourages you to buy stuff.  There will also be adventure packs and DLC which you will have to buy.

Premium Players has a little bit more freedom, just a bit. If you spend at least $5 or more in the game your instantly placed as a Premium Player.

You have a higher cash limit, the option to auction now, 6 characters slots to use, you can trade items only, and more. For only $5 to become a Premium Player, I think it's worth the investment if you really want to try out the game. Free Players are just too limited.

The last one is the Legendary Player. Which is pretty much access to everything. DLC, adventure packs and all will be free, but for a monthly fee of $15.

I have the game on the PS3 and was just curious how an MMO can work in console. Well that curiosity just lasted a month and didn't even pay for the second month. Wasn't too impressed with the game. While it was fun at first, but as you progress to the end content I didn't get the urge to improve my character and enjoy raids. At the same time, they didn't have that much end game content. Since it's free to play, I'll give the game another try, see the changes when they launch the new Free-To-Play model.

Check the official website for more information, they also provided a FAQ.

[Source: VG247]