Dialogue trees during cut scenes force you to engage with the storyline.

The volume of voice work is massive. Kinda like this structure.

The sci-fi setting means you'll ditch the bow for a blaster.

Companions, like Trandoshan hunter Qyzen Fess here, are used in unique ways in SWTOR.

The folks at BioWare did something a little crazy recently--they allowed us to preview the first few levels of the Republic side of Star Wars: The Old Republic at our own leisure (and just in time to steal some buzz from BlizzCon, too). For us, that meant no more guilty looks at YouTube leaks or shouldering our way through long lines at Comic Con; instead, we could trot about the galaxy and pretend that we were that most coveted of species, the SW:TOR beta tester.It also gave us the chance to see if four of SWTOR's most hyped aspects really made the game as unique as we've been hearing--specifically its story, extensive voice acting, science fiction setting, and unique use of companions. They're unique, all right, but are they unique enough?The story (as much as I saw) is every bit as good as I'd hoped. Whether I was smack talking across the bleak wastes of Ord Mantell on my prissy smuggler or pontificating as a holier-than-thou Jedi Consular over the wooded paths of Tython, SWTOR pulled me into its world like no other MMO has pulled me before. Instead of warranting no more attention than being called "that guy over there," quest givers morphed into something approaching real people thanks to the intense conversation options that accompany the pick-up and turn-in of virtually every quest. In the best moments, I even remembered their names. By the time I was trotting through the Senate District in Coruscant, I felt as though I knew my character as well as I ever knew BioWare staples such as Revan or Hawke.That's not to say, of course, that other MMOS have exactly scrimped on story. Lord of the Rings Online has done a fair job of expanding Tolkien's base story for a few years now (and, indeed, SWTOR's storyline divisions into chapters echo the chapters of LOTRO's epic story), and Guild Wars featured an engaging story as well. But with its BioWare-themed conversational choice options, SWTOR takes the story concept and launches it into orbit. Not only does the need to respond to NPCs in the cinematics force you to engage with the storyline, but the need to choose specific responses alters the way other characters interact with you in cut scenes (even if it no longer affects whether your companions will leave you, as it did in early beta builds).Some of these responses are admittedly a little vague. While I was tampering with a courier robot to secure some dirt on an allegedly corrupt Coruscanti senator, the "light side" path had me giving some bogus documents to the person who assigned me the quest. The "dark side" option would have allowed me to give the real documents to the quest giver, who came off as some youthful idealist. One can only imagine what Julian Assange would have thought of this. To be fair, SWTOR's options are always marked with a handy "light side" or "dark side" icon which simplifies these things, but quests such as these would have caused no small amount of headaches in a "normal" BioWare game.BioWare's big claim that each class has a different story is also a little misleading. Sure, each class has its own companions and interactive cinematics, but questing leaves you with the impression that there are only two truly independent experiences for the Republic with some added fluff for each of the four classes. On the Republic side, for instance, Jedi Consulars and Jedi Knights share many of the same experiences on Tython; and Smugglers and Troopers share many of the same experiences on Ord Mantell. And by the time you arrive on Coruscant, most of the quests are shared anyway. Regardless, SWTOR never fails to deliver a great story experience, whether it's in the copious codex entries that impart lore about almost every aspect of the Star Wars universe or in loading screen that reminds you where your character stands in the story line.Story is good and all, but nothing captures the Star Wars experience so well as the jaw-dropping range of voice work needed to bring that story to life. And, for the most part, SWTOR's voice acting is immune to criticism. I've seen a handful of players grumble about the few aliens who speak in clicks and boops instead of the Queen's English, but the general quality is such that I actually prefer the voice work given to my human male Jedi Consular over most of Mark Meer's work with the male Shepard in the Mass Effect games.My minor concerns with the voice acting lie instead with the technical aspects involved. Even with a computer that can handle the game on the highest settings, conversations currently take around three seconds to pop up, which somewhat interrupts the general flow of the game. Even if that's basically a non-issue, it's easy to get overwhelmed by the sheerof voiced content. Sometimes, when I'm just jogging past what I'm sure is a run of the mill "go kill 15 robots" quest, I just want to pick it up and keep running to my original destination. But no, SWTOR repeatedly insists on making me listen to some chump as he sets the task in some world-shattering context, often in more time than it actually takes to finish the quest. Speed-levelers, beware--this is not the game for you.A decade on, I have to admit that I'm not really tired of frolicking with elves and donning a digital robe and wizard hat for whatever fantasy-themed MMO is currently in fashion. Even so, I'm well aware that many players are. SWTOR's science fiction ambiance does much to fill that gap, and the franchise's curious mix of energy swords and laser blasters wears the genre's conventions much more snugly than would-be contenders such as Star Trek Online. Of course, ditching the fantasy setting for science fiction isn't a recipe for a sure winner (just ask Star Trek Online and Star Wars Galaxies), but BioWare seems to have found a good middle ground here that should satisfy many players.This would be a good spot to talk in depth about SWTOR's space combat system, but BioWare won't let us say anything about that for now. So instead I'll just knock how long it takes to get to them. Every time you want to make like the Millennium Falcon, you usually need to run a marathon to get to the spaceport from wherever you're at, then zone into the docking bay, and then run to your ship and zone into it. Then you do some things that I'm not allowed to talk about because of the NDA, and then you run out again to do the same process in reverse. I do love the ship idea since it could eventually lead to customizable player housings of sorts, but, as it is, the whole experience pushes the concept of immersion to its limits.Companions have always been in MMOs in some form or another, but they're usually soulless NPCs whose personality consists of some name from a random generator at best. Not so in Star Wars: The Old Republic. Here, your companions have their own back-stories that intersect with your own, and their perception of you changes depending on how you answer questions in the dealings with other people. In the past, these decisions could send them packing for the farthest star system, but now they just grumble about you on the few times when they're allowed to interject.From a gameplay standpoint, they're powerful enough that they can step in for a player in a flashpoint (or instanced dungeon), even to the point of making a game that already seems a little too easy even easier, particularly if they can heal. I also enjoyed that they help with your professions, since you can send them off to look for supplies while you're hanging around Coruscant or slicing through soloable droids. They even help with keeping your bags empty since you can send them off to sell useless junk while you continue questing far away from the nearest vendor. A friend of mine rightfully fears that they'll be little more than glorified pets later on in the game (once the story options run out), but I was grateful for their inclusion as I leveled. They added just the right "BioWare touch."I should point out that I originally intended for this to be an article to focus on five unique aspects of Star Wars: The Old Republic. I tried, I really did. But whenever I tried to give another aspect its own section (such as how most builds can do decent damage, even healing specs), it seemed like it wasn't so great a departure from what some other games have done in the past. Even here, I can't help but believe that my split of story and voice acting here seems forced.Is this a bad thing? Not necessarily. Perhaps SWTOR shouldn't be judged by the quantity of the aspects that make it unique, but rather by their quality. Much of the rest of the game bears the undeniable influence of World of Warcraft as heavily as a Wookiee wears his fur, and I can already hear the cries of players who'll bemoan BioWare's reliance on aging MMO conventions as soon as the game goes live. But consider this. I'm a person who needs to play multiple MMOs at a time, and SWTOR was one of the first ones that I kept wanting to come back to after I'd stepped away from it.Maybe the Force is strong with this one, after all.Voice work and story take SWTOR a long way, but are these two features, along with the two others mentioned above, enough to get you to pay for a $15-per-month sub?