Gamespot Hands-On Reveals New Info

Well, it appears the deluge has started!  Gamespot has posted a new, extensive hands-on with the game at about 8:30pm EDT. It’s unclear if they got an early-hands on this week, or if this took place a few weeks back at the EA London press event.

There do seem to be some story spoilers in the article though, so if you click through, be warned!

At any rate, here’s some of the highlights:

• “As we found, several classes are linked by their initial starting area and quest sets, though their differing powers and combat styles make playing each one a unique experience” – This seems to indicate as expected that certain classes are paired together on certain starting planets. But what’s interesting is that they seem to share at least some quests in these areas, which seems counter to what we’ve known so far.
• “Yes, the Twi’lek are playable” – species # 3 confirmed! Twi’lek.
• The Trooper resource system is “ammo” as opposed to previously seen action points. It’s unclear if that literally means you can run out of ammo, or if it’s just a metaphor for the resource system in place.
• “In the case of the Imperial agent, we played as a member of the Chiss race–a species of self-reliant, blue-skinned, red-eyed humanoids that aren’t normally prone to direct acts of war” – Playable species #4 confirmed! Chiss.
• Hunter’s Mark for the Imperial Agent – “From cover, the agent gains the snipe attack, which deals tons of damage, as well as the laze target skill, which marks a target and makes it much more vulnerable to damage–not unlike the Hunter’s mark skill from World of Warcraft.”
• There seems to be a “conversation bonus” to talking things out as opposed to just shooting.
• We finally see a Smuggler in the wide brim hat ;)

One thing’s for sure, this is just the beginning… I’d count on seeing more sources overnight and over the weekend revealing, or at least having their own take on these things, ahead of the official start of E3.

Even though it’s summer, it looks like Christmas for fans of The Old Republic!