Star Wars: The Old Republic – The Review. Includes The Story, So Far.

The Great Galactic War

The Great Galactic War took place between 3,681 and 3,653 BBY and resulted in the deaths of thousands of Jedi and Sith as well as the ravaging of numerous star systems. The 28 year long war began when the Sith appeared out of nowhere and began a blitzkrieg style assault on Republic forces and star systems.

During this time, the Sith took control of Korriban back from the Republic in a surprise assault against a barely defended station which was guarding the planet. Once they had Korriban, they had access to ancient Sith artifacts, teachings and the tombs of the ancient Sith lords such as Ajunta Pall and Tulak Hord. This gave them a considerable edge in morale and a place from which to stage attacks against the Republic.

A video trailer showing the assault on the Republic forces at Korriban can be seen below.

While the Republic politicians argued over power and who would be protected by whom, some of the Jedi set out on their own to attempt to counter the advances of the Sith. This is the only thing which stopped the Sith from sweeping over the entire galaxy and annihilating the Republic. Without the Jedi, by the time the politicians has stopped fighting and come to a decision on what to do, it would have been far too late.

The war seemed to be a back and forth affair for some time until the Sith forces’ long laid plans began to come to fruition. The Mandalorians entered the war on behalf of the Sith and began blockading trade routes, starving people and cutting off military supplies, and infiltrators in the galactic Republic, now believed to have put in place centuries earlier, helped the sith to win some key battles – including the surprise invasion of Coruscant and the destruction of the Jedi temple there during the treaty negotions on Alderaan – which forced the Republic into signing the Treaty of Coruscant, effectively declaring the Sith Empire the victor and giving them territory, as well as forcing the withdrawal of all Jedi and Republic troops from contested worlds.

The video trailer showing the destruction of the Jedi temple on Coruscant can be seen below.

The Treaty of Coruscant was a significant event in that it led to half of the known galaxy being controlled by the Sith and demanded that republic forces not engage Sith forces in combat. Any violation of this treaty by the Republic would result in a swift and brutal retribution at the hands of the Sith Empire. The resulting cold war was a very tense stand off between the Republic and the Sith, with most warfare coming by way of proxy, rather than open combat between the two sides.

And this leads us to our “present day” state.