Further detailing the Imperial Agent, the sixth known class for Star Wars: The Old Republic, developer BioWare and publisher LucasArts have unleashed a few brief clips of the operative's ranged combat tactics in action. First up, the energy shield:

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Next, we've got a look at a laser dart and Orbital Bombardment... Read more

The "Imperial Agent" is the sixth class to be revealed for Star Wars: The Old Republic, joining the Trooper, Smuggler, Jedi Knight, Bounty Hunter and Sith Warrior classes.

"The Imperial Agent always has the right tools at the right time," BioWare community manager Sean Dahlberg said of the gadget-heavy class in a forum post. "They use abilities of subversion and subterfuge to infiltrate and assassinate enemies of the Sith Empire with deadly efficiency. Players who choose to be Imperial Agents in The Old Republic will see the underbelly of the Empire in a whole new light."

While BioWare's announcement of the class lacked any screenshots, IncGamers soon rectified the situation. As before, there's been no official word as to when BioWare's anticipated PC MMO will launch or what business model it will use.

The Force-using, droid-tossing, and lightsaber-swinging ways of the Jedi Knights are detailed in these new screenshots from BioWare's upcoming Star Wars PC MMO. There's still no official word as to when Star Wars: The Old Republic will launch or what business models it will use, though beta signups are still open.

How do you build a planet without terrain? The BioWare artists working on Star Wars' galactic capital of Coruscant attempt to answer this question in their quest to recreate the worlds of George Lucas for The Old Republic MMO.

If you can't wait to get in there, fly around in your car, and see what happens when you jump off the tallest building, don't forget beta regiistration is still open.

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Developer BioWare and partner LucasArts today opened beta signups for their anticipated massively multiplayer online role-playing game Star Wars: The Old Republic.

For a chance at testing the PC MMO before its as-yet-undated launch, those interested will need to register at the game's official site, select the pre-release testing option from their account page, then fill in the necessary details and "submit a system scan."

"Testing will be an ongoing process, and spots are limited, so people need to sign up early to give them the best possible chance of getting selected," wrote LucasArts.

On the heels of today's trailer release, BioWare has also posted some new screenshots of The Old Republic's depiction of universal capital city Coruscant. Also uploaded is some new concept art for the Star Wars MMO, which looks fairly close to the final product.

Those who attended PAX this year might already have met the planet Coruscant in this trailer for BioWare's MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic, but now those who stayed at home are also treated to a gander at its glittering spires and seething underbelly.

Not even a Jedi could forsee when the fully-voiced PC MMORPG will be released.

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LucasArts today officially announced the "Sith Warrior" class for BioWare's Star Wars: The Old Republic.

The dark Jedi marks the fourth announced class for the upcoming MMO, following the Bounty Hunter, Smuggler and Trooper.

"Though the lightsaber is the Warrior's primary method of attack, he also uses his dark command of the Force to paralyze, terrify, and kill," says LucasArts of the class. "Protected by heavy armor and his powers of intimidation, the Warrior wades into the thick of the fight and unleashes pure hatred and fury to eliminate all who would stand against him."

Click through for video of the Sith Warrior in action:... Read more

Still not sure what to make of The Old Republic? After watching 20 minutes of this walkthrough from the recent GamesCom convention, you'll probably have a pretty good idea of where you stand. Of course, The Old Republic is BioWare's upcoming Star Wars MMO. The focus with this one is on creating a more singleplayer-like experience, while still including all of the standard MMO trappings.

Click through to check out the footage:... Read more

The organizers of the 2009 Penny Arcade Expo announced the official exhibitor lineup today.

Headlining the list is BioWare's MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic, which will be demonstrated live in public for the first time. Also in attendance is Ubisoft, with Assassins' Creed II and Splinter Cell Conviction.

"PAX IS SO GREAT," said Robert Khoo of Penny Arcade. "SO GREAT."

Indeed. The full exhibitor list follows:... Read more

The latest dev diary for BioWare's MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic describes the challenges and payoffs of fully voicing all of the game's in-game NPC characters.

Such a massive undertaking requires plenty of voice actors, a dozen dialogue writers, and special voice directors, which hilariously must combine real-world dramatic guidance with the Star Wars lexicon.

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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