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Rob gives us the lowdown on the events in Union Square for the launch of the latest from Bioware.

Star Wars: The Old Republic is BioWare/EA’s attempt to overthrow the current MMO giant, World of Warcraft. As a person with minimal exposure to MMOs I can honestly say that I would rather wield a lightsaber than a regular ole’ sword any day. That said, I decided to venture out to BioWare and Gamer Grub’s Best Buy Star Wars: The Old Republic release event in Union Square in Manhattan on a chilly Monday night. I went home loaded up with Star Wars goodies, PB & J Gamer Grub, and a scratchy throat.

As I waited in line with my photographer/brother in law, Beasy and his buddy Dave, I questioned my fellow nerds why so many of them preferred to play in the ancient era of the Jedi and Sith, rather than explore the shaky ground of post-Return of the Jedi continuity, which, at least in this writer’s opinion, seems to be the more exciting time in the history of the Jedi. The reasons were many; chief among them that Papa George (Lucas) has yet to establish this timeline for the fans. The weakest reason was probably that “it’s cool.” Nevertheless, I seemed alone in my position as we all slowly froze to death outside of the monument to consumerism that is Best Buy – Union Square.

Once in the store, Beasy and I began making our way toward Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk, co-founders of BioWare. I’m not going to lie, I was a tad nervous. These are the guys behind what is probably my all-time favorite video game franchise, Mass Effect. We were handed bags of Gamer Grub by the handful, and as I write this, I munch away, thoroughly enjoying the blend of salty and sweet. I was expecting something vile and fried. Instead the flavors are powerful and work in harmony together. Then again, how do you mess up PB & J? Assuming you don’t use orange marmalade, of course.

Arnie Jorgensen and other members of the Old Republic development team were on hand as well, happily signing everyone’s limited edition lithographs. I knew that I wanted my “Art of Mass Effect” book signed by the doctors, as well as my limited edition copy of Mass Effect 2. Apparently undaunted by the overzealous security guards barking that “They’re only signing one thing,” Dr. Muzyka said “We’ll sign whatever you want,” signing everything in gorgeous silver sharpie. He then handed the goods to Dr. Zeschuk, who was all too happy to sign. I commented on how awesome Dr. Zeschuk’s tattoo is (his fresh ink in celebration of The Old Republic’s launch), and he confided that it was, in fact, real (presenting his scabbed shoulder as proof).

Thanking everyone, I made my way to the rows of television screens where the game itself was on display. After watching the opening cinematic to the game itself, followed by videos of gameplay, I have to admit, I was enthralled. While there were no gameplay demos on display, there were plenty of activities to partake in, including a photo booth where lucky fans could “Jedi”-ify themselves with lightsaber and robe. There were also music and contests hosted by Hot 97 (New York’s premier hip hop radio station), and though I questioned what hip hop had to do with Star Wars, I was just happy to sit back and watch the fans go into a geektastic frenzy as midnight approached and they got their hands on the game itself. After talking about the issues of murky textures and slow down found in the demo, people seemed genuine in their fervor when it came to cancelling their World of Warcraft subscriptions and embarking on a galaxy-wide role-playing adventure, guided by George Lucas and the magicians at BioWare.

An evolving world, gorgeous, sumptuous visuals, powerful storytelling. Multiple avenues for exploration. These concepts are just about enough to make a non-MMO player like myself (I dabble in Champions Online from time to time on Steam) join the fight against the Sith, since it seemed that everyone at the event was going to be Sith. Seems the Jedi could use some help.

World of Warcraft offers an epic and varied world. The world of Star Wars also offers this. Whether The Old Republic will overthrow the reigning MMO champion remains to be seen. However, sales don’t lie: "Today represents an amazing milestone for BioWare, EA and Star Wars fans everywhere and we are confident it has been worth the wait," said Dr. Ray Muzyka. "The support and resources going into Star Wars: The Old Republic are not ending today. The innovations we're bringing to the category are just the start of a journey and ongoing investment in our players that will grow, evolve and transform based on player feedback over the weeks, months and years ahead."

As EA and BioWare prepare to build a money pit like Scrooge McDuck, fans everywhere can now embark on a galactic crusade against the Jedi or Sith in Star Wars: The Old Republic, available for digital download through EA’s Origin service, or on store shelves everywhere games are sold.