G-4 had a 30 minute hands on interview with the lead game designer of SWTOR at E3. I watched the whole thing live. The release date is "spring 2011." I have to say, I wasn't that impressed with the mechanics. However, that's based on limited knowledge of the game and just what I could glean from a 30 minute interview.

The graphics looked great. However, I thought they should have taken advantage of that time to show how this game will be different from every other MMORPG out there. Instead they show a boss fight with the standard Tank, healer, and dps. It looked like any other boss encounter in WoW to be honest. They also showed a starting zone that looked like Durotar, but instead of boars, there were non-aggroing humanoids. They tried to hype up having your own ship, but I did a little research and the rumors are that the ship is static. I hope that's not true.

They discussed the Jedi / Sith factor and explained that the classes would have balance. The Dev explained that A smuggler could have just as much power as a Jedi if you assume that the smuggler is the "best smuggler ever." I can see that, and you have to remember Jedi have varying amounts mitaclorians (sp). Some will be more powerful than others.

I am still hopeful this game lives up to the hype. I have to admit that I will probably play this game no matter what, but I just didn't see anything in the "hands on" that makes this game stand out. If you have "On Demand G4 TV," you can see the Interview in G4's coverage of E3.