When Bioware released Star Wars: The Old Republic back in 2011, fans of the game praised it for having a stronger focus on story than other MMOs. From class-specific storylines to Companions with their own story quests, SW:TOR had a great launch with numerous high review scores. Unfortunately, once you reached the end of that story, it became a standard hotkey MMO. Many of the players who finished their class stories ended up quitting.

SW:TOR has tried many things to fix this problem. They went Free To Play in 2012 and have released several expansions which added new features to the game: space-based PvP, player housing and guild flagships, new planets, as well as various new small-group Flashpoints and large-group Operations.

But none of these expansions quite captured the original game’s focus on an epic storyline. Bioware hopes to fix that with their newest expansion, Knights of the Fallen Empire. Bioware claims that KotFE will have a renewed focus on cinematic storytelling and bring with it new worlds, new companions, and a storyline that will be affected by decisions you make along the way. So the question now is: did they pull it off?

Star Wars: The Old Republic yesterday released its latest expansion, Shadow of Revan. It features five new story-driven levels, seeing players go head-to-head with the powerful Revan, who is a threat to both the Sith and Galactic Republic.

Bioware and Lucas Arts have annouced Shadow of Revan, an expansion to Star Wars: The Old Repblic. Shadow of Revan offers five new levels of story-driven missions, an increased level cap of 60, new worlds to explore, high-level multiplayer Flashpoints and Operations to join with friends in dynamic challenges and much more. Plus, for a limited-time, all Subscribers who pre-order receive a Class Experience Boost, offering players 12x experience gain through Level 55 with the opportunity to immerse themselves exclusively in exciting class story missions, but only through December 1, 2014.

Get the details of the pre-order bonuses and watch the trailer below!

Hello and welcome back to ZAM's bi-weekly column, The Free Agent. Our mission, as always, is to answer the question "Can gaming REALLY be free?"

Last time on the Free Agent we covered Duel of Champions, a TCG set in the famous Might and Magic universe. Despite having to live in the shadow cast by the recent Hearthstone Open Beta announcement, Duel of Champions is more than capable of standing on its own so, if you missed it, be sure to check out Episode 19.

But moving on to today's episode: for the first time ever, we're covering a game within a game. Curious to see how that works? Well then by all means, read on.

Pew pew! Everyone loves space combat, which is why BioWare has announced the new Galactic Starfighter expansion for Star Wars: The Old Republic. Available as early as December 3rd, subscribers will take off into 12v12 PVP space combat with multiple zones and gameplay modes.
It will also feature ship customization and 'ground game' rewards to boost your character.

Starting on Thursday, September 12, 2013, active subscribers to Star Wars: The Old Republic will receive the first digital expansion, Rise of the Hutt Cartel, free of charge as a newly added benefit to the Subscriber Rewards Program.

Players who have already purchased Rise of the Hutt Cartel and are an active subscriber on September 12 at 4:00AM PDT (11:00AM GMT) will receive a new title, "The Risen," via in-game mail on or before September 25, 2013 as appreciation for the purchase. Subscribers who have purchased Rise of the Hutt Cartel between August 11, 2013 and September 12, 2013 at 9:00AM PDT (4:00PM GMT) will be granted 1050 Bonus Cartel Coins, which will be granted by September 13, 2013 at 9:00AM PDT (4:00PM GMT), in appreciation for their recent purchase.

Are your Jedi Knight's companions starting to feel a little dated? Does your Bounty Hunter's speeder bike not command the respect and fear you think a proper mount should bring? Republic and Empire players alike have reason to rejoice this week; BioWare has released its 2.3 update for Star Wars: The Old Republic.

Blasters will be armed, targets will be named, and contracts will soon be assigned in Star Wars: The Old Republic. Bounty Contract Week has been announced and the galaxy has plenty of wanted criminals to go around.

Star Wars: The Old Republic Update 2.1 hit live servers today, bringing in a handful of customization features to players including the Cathar; a new playable race!

Rise of the Hutt Cartel is live and SWTOR players are enjoying its sweeping story centered upon the hugely important planet of Makeb. I played it and thoroughly enjoyed it and so did our Senior Contributing Editor Gareth "Gazimoff" Harmer.