While the cinematic trailer for BioWare's Star Wars: The Old Republic got the gaming public's attention during E3, the Smuggler class was one of the real highlights behind closed doors.

Not only is the class modeled on Han Solo--complete with sucker-punch melee moves--but it also introduces the first cover system in an MMO. The game will dynamically assign nearby points of cover, allowing players to jump behind objects during firefights.

The below combat clips, released by BioWare today, presents a quick look at the class in action. For more on The Old Republic, check out our E3 impressions.

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Judging from a lengthy E3 demo, BioWare's Star Wars MMO plays like a Knights of the Old Republic sequel. From dialogue to combat, its production values are on par with the developer's singleplayer efforts--which is saying quite a lot, considering that it's also planned to be a massive, full-featured online game.

Running on live servers back in Austin, The Old Republic already seems like a realized world. In the first segment, BioWare producer Dallas Dickinson ran us through the world of Hutta, beginning the game as the Bounty Hunter class.

BioWare's target is to make this the first MMO to squarely focus on story, and immediately impressive were the dialogue scenes, the first initiated with an NPC quest-giver. The camera cuts back and forth as characters converse, with a minimal, Mass Effect-style radial menu providing the response options. Every scene in the game is fully voice-acted, and the end result is that the MMO plays more or less like a singleplayer experience.

Even more impressive was the addition of a second party member. When talking to NPCs in The Old Republic, the other players in your party will also be participating in the conversation with their own options. So while you might... Read more

Those naughty Sith are at it again, always scuppering the poor Jedis' plans. Or is it the other way round? I suppose that depends on which side you choose in BioWare's fully voice-acted MMORPG. Either way, epic lightsaber battles are promised.

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Developer BioWare today announced that Star Wars: The Old Republic will become the first fully-voiced MMO.

"As you can tell, story means a lot to us," said BioWare co-founder Ray Muzyka, who emphasized the importance of real voice acting in the typically text-dominated genre.

"Not all heroes carry Lightsabers. Some just have the will to fight," begins the description to BioWare's latest class announcement for its upcoming MMO, Star Wars: The Old Republic. The Trooper--a member of the Republic's armed forces--typically moves in "specialized squads," according to BioWare. But for the sake of the MMO, it is of course "not uncommon, however, to see a Trooper engaging enemies on his or her own."

Troopers are protected by specialized armor, and make use of heavy blasters to take down foes--as can be seen in the video below. ... Read more

The slow drip of Star Wars: The Old Republic media continues with this video diary, in which members of the BioWare team discuss and demonstrate the various aspects that go into making each planet "a place that you're excited to go adventuring through."

Release details? Pricing? A Jedi craves not these things. Nor could a Jedi have them, for that matter, as BioWare is still being rather coy about the upcoming PC MMO.

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BioWare and Lucasarts have released new screenshots and concept art of their upcoming MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic, showing the environment of Ord Mantell.

Ord Mantell is a hazardous planet of mountainous plains and volcanic islands currently playing host to a brutal civil war between the Republic military and Separatist guerillas backed by shady crime syndicates--a situation sure to be rife with quest opportunities.

We would love to bring word of a release date but, alas, all we have are pretty pictures.

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BioWare has launched a new series of prequel videos explaining the backstory of the Star Wars: The Old Republic (PC) universe.

Those looking for gameplay will be disappointed. This is a "timeline" of recent galactic events, told by way of concept art and weighty narration.

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It's a little mindboggling to think of how big BioWare has gotten over the past few years.

On the one hand, the company is developing two major RPGs in Dragon Age and Mass Effect 2. That alone would be an impressive showing.

But on top of those titles, BioWare is also tackling a new Star Wars MMO--a project so daunting, and potentially lucrative, that it almost dwarfs the more traditional efforts.

At last week's Game Developers Conference, I caught up with BioWare founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk. While I could have easily spent my limited time asking about just one of the projects, I tried to cover all three with a few questions apiece--starting with the old-school RPG being demonstrated next door. ... Read more

Sure, the Galactic Empire might think that it doesn't need "that scum," but bounty hunters are a beloved part of the Star Wars mythology. That's why they're one of the playable classes in BioWare's upcoming and undated PC MMO, Star Wars: The Old Republic.

Just remember that unless you're paying one, bounty hunters aren't to be trusted.

Furthering the tradition of sporadic media releases, BioWare and LucasArts have released the second developer diary for Star Wars: The Old Republic. The video is packed with story details, confirmation of a Bounty Hunter class, and new footage.

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Still no word as to when the PC MMO will hit, or how its business model will work.

An update to the official Star Wars: The Old Republic website has produced these new screenshots of Hutta, the homeworld of classic Star Wars character Jabba the Hutt.

No word yet as to when PC MMO will hit stores, or how its business model will work.

Tucked away within this "Developer Dispatch" video is our second chance to see BioWare's upcoming Star Wars MMO in motion, including combat and Jedi meditation.

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No word yet as to when the PC MMO will arrive, or how its business model will work.

BioWare has issued a few new screenshots from Star Wars: The Old Republic, one of which features a Mon Calamari. You know, like Admiral Ackbar. The fishy dude that said "it's a trap" in Return of the Jedi and spawned decades worth of nerdy references.

No word yet as to when the PC MMO will hit, or how its business model will work.

Eight new screenshots from BioWare's Star Wars: The Old Republic represent the studio's belated Christmas gift to the public. A release date for the anticipated PC MMO has not yet been set, nor have there been any solid details on the game's pricing.

BioWare has released the first trailer for its upcoming title Star Wars: The Old Republic, the Knights of the Old Republic-informed MMO.

The trailer provides an overview of the project, and includes a decent amount of in-game footage.

The Old Republic was announced in October, and currently has no expected release date. Platforms have also not been detailed, beyond the obvious PC release.

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The first in-game footage of BioWare's upcoming PC MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic will be released tomorrow, December 12, the studio and LucasArts have revealed.

The footage will mark the beginning of a video documentary series that examines the game, which is set in the timeframe of the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic series. It will be available on Shacknews as well as the game's official site.

BioWare and LucasArts have yet to provide a release date for the game or detail its payment model. Earlier this week, BioWare owner EA appeared to claim that the title would be microtransaction-based, but later said that was a misunderstanding.

Update: Electronic Arts has responded to Shacknews, reiterating that "no statements have been made about the Star Wars business model," and attributing Mr. Riccitiello's comments to a misunderstanding.

Original story: Publisher Electronic Arts today classified BioWare's upcoming Star Wars MMO The Old Republic as a "microtransaction-based" title, indicating that the game will include alternative financial models other than a subscription fee.

"We are continuing to stick to the plan relative to building out our direct-to-consumer models which include microtransactions and subscriptions," said EA CEO John Riccitiello in a conference call today. "The recent launch of Warhammer [Online] is a great example of that."

"Other initiatives we've announced, for example [the] Star Wars online MMO, are mid-session games which are microtransaction-based," he continued. "You'll be hearing more about those in the February [conference] call."

Other "mid-session" EA titles include FIFA Online and NBA Street. These games are either provided for free, or for a nominal charge, and are then... Read more

A new batch of screenshots from BioWare's Star Wars MMO The Old Republic have arrived, showing off some new environments, characters, attacks, and beasts.

The studio has yet to say when the anticipated and story-driven PC MMO will launch, though BioWare is "definitely planning" for an an open beta to precede its retail debut.

A console release has not been addressed by the developer. When the oft-rumored MMO was confirmed, BioWare said that it was "only talking about PC" at the time.

Blizzard sees it as "a fact" that BioWare's Star Wars: The Old Republic (PC) will be a great game. From the house of the world's largest game, that's quite a compliment, but COO Paul Sams was quick to offer some advice to the Austin, TX, studio looking to become Blizzard's rival.

Sams warned that BioWare may not be expecting "players smacking them around"--no doubt in reference to an unforgiving Internet public--according to VideoGamer.com. The Blizzard executive also reminded BioWare of the online issues that plague MMO launches.

Star Wars: The Old Republic was finally announced in October

Thanks to the company's Battle.net service, "we had a level of experience that candidly no other game company had and so a lot of the bumps and bruises that we got would have been substantially, monumentally worse," said Sams of the experience of launching World of Warcraft.

Even for the accomplished BioWare, Sams implied that launching an MMO could still be an uphill battle. "You can have a great developer and you can have ... Read more