Probably the most talked about feature unveiled in the past months has been the inclusion of personalized star ships. Each gamer would be able to command, traverse, and interact inside of their own space vessel, adding a new layer to the already expansive scope of this MMO. Included with the ability to pilot your own ship is the ability to partake in space combat.

Unfortunately some of that wind was taken out of gamers’ sails when it was revealed that the space combat would be more of a “tunnel shooter” based experience than something you might find in Star Trek Online. Now we finally have some footage of what the space combat will look like and it is definitely a “tunnel shooter” but boy does it look awesome.

Check it out:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eab0Ys7znH4&feature=player_embedded

What seems as first as a more polished version of Kingdom Hearts’ Gummi Ship levels should take hype for this game to the next level. The amount of mayhem taking place on screen as you are sliding from side to side is enough to distract gamers from the fact that their movement is extremely restricted. BioWare is already delivering such an expansive play experience that this space combat is really just the icing on the cake. When The Old Republic was first announced I think very few people even assumed there would be space combat so its inclusion only adds to the anticipation.

BioWare is letting players really customize their journey through the stars and they know what gamers want to see. Callbacks to familiar locales are sure to be abound in the game, something I am sure the early beta testers are giddy with excitement over. Even the pre-rendered cinematic trailers are beyond amazing it is hard not to become blinded by a too good to be true proposition. When the game finally releases PC gamers will be able to sing this game’s praises until the Tauntauns come home, and you know they will.

So Ranters, how does this footage of the space combat make you feel? Are you more or less excited that BioWare decided to give players their own star ship?

Star Wars: The Old Republic will reveal itself sometime in 2011 on the PC.

Source: CVG