Star Wars:the Old Republic has been hyped as everything you wanted from Star Wars: Galaxies,
and then some. Based on the amazing trailers this game had, it holds a lot of
promise to be just that. Seriously, watch this trailer and thistrailer and tell me they’re not better than anything
in Episode I and II. Unfortunately for some of us (like myself, a Mac owner),
we will be PCd out of experiencing this promising game, as it is currently (and
likely forever) only available on the PC platform. As a fan of both of the
Knights of the Old Republic
games, I was excited to see that this game is based in the ancient Star Wars
galaxy, and in the spirit of the single-player BioWare games. Since I lack a PC, I
was also excited to see that an “Art of” book would be available for the game.
I suppose this shouldn’t come as a surprise, it’s a chance to make more money.
When it
comes to the actual artwork, the book is quite rich in the areas of
environmental design and character creation. The book does a great job of
providing captions for the art, which video game art design books often lack.
It also features some great images and insight into the selection and
production of the various character classes like bounty hunter, agent, smuggler
and Sith warrior. The game locations are similarly well explored, with features
on planets including Korriban, Corellia, Hoth and Hutta. Unfortunately, the
book is somewhat lacking when it comes to artwork for spaceship and creature
designs, which personally I enjoy a lot. Not that they are completely missing,
but definitely not covered in as much detail as characters and locations.
Overall,
the Art and Making of SW:TOR is filled with rich, full color illustrations and
in-depth insight into the production of the game. A lot of artwork can be found
on the official Star Wars: The Old Republic website,
so if you don’t feel like forking out the cash, or you aren’t a fan of printed
material, you do have other options. If you enjoy the added information, or if
you just want something that will look pretty (pretty geeky!) on your coffee
table, this book is worth the price.
The Art and Making of Star Wars: The
Old Republic is available
now through Amazon,
Barnes and Noble and other book sellers everywhere.
