Star Wars Galaxies: Honest Opinions

[Droo]

Basically, I was wondering if you guys who have played or are still playing Star Wars Galaxies would give me a mini-review of the game in your own words. I'm just looking for general opinions with pros and cons. Since I haven't even looked at it yet but am fascinated since generally, the consensus here seems to be noone likes it and in other gaming communities they really love it.

Being a major Star Wars fanboy, I'd love to play this game for real but I'd like some guidance, words of advice, warnings and what have you from anyone and everyone in the know when it comes to this game.

Many thanks in advance.

[Gurney Devries]

People should also state which other MMORPGs they've played in the past. In my experience, people who've never played an MMORPG before will always find the first one they play to be fantastic, since they have no grounds for comparison. This is why people still play Everquest even now.

I've played Asheron's Call, Asheron's Call 2, Final Fantasy XI, Everquest, Ragnarok Online, Ultima Online, and Star Wars Galaxies. Plus a handful of smaller MMORPGs like Planeshift.

I tried to keep an open mind when I downloaded the trial for SWG. Even if it wasn't the absolute best MMORPG I would ever play, I figured I could still have fun playing with members of this forum and SA. The SA community even has a whole little town of their own, which sounded exciting. However, I was sorely disappointed when I actually started playing.

The graphics are passable: Not bad, but nothing to write home about. I did like the character creation, allowing you to not only change common things like hair style physique, but to age your character as well.

I found the interface to be abhorrent - easily the worst I've ever encountered. The learning curve is quite steep. It took me a while just to figure out even the most basic things and, even then, I found movement and combat to be counter-intuitive. Quests were tedious and uninteresting. Leveling seemed to be a treadmill from day 1. The worlds were sparse and just didn't feel very alive.

Really, the only positive thing I have to say about it was that it had a pretty good character creation system. Otherwise, it's probably the worst MMORPG I've played. Even if it didn't have a monthly fee, I feel that there are better, free alternatives. If you absolutely have an uncontrollable urge to see Darth Vader standing in place or maybe to get poisoned by a Sarlaac, then I suppose you can derive some enjoyment from the game.

If you're interested in trying out other MMORPGs that may be worth your time, I've heard nothing but good things about City of Heroes. The original Asheron's Call is still immensely popular, as well. I thoroughly enjoyed the year or so that I played AC2, but I'm afraid that the community is rather small at the moment.

[Syriande Blue]

The only online game i have played is Dark Age of Camelot and that is a awsome game if you love medieval/fatnasy genres, i play it form time to time and have a top level cleric there but its rare i get on these days.

[Charley]

I don't play MMORPGs because I'm worried about catching Nerd.

[Marcus Telcontar]

Dude.... you RP online. You caught The Nerd years ago.

[Garret Treborn]

I have played.

Everquest
Dark Age of Camelot
Star Wars Galaxies
Final Fantasy XI
City of Heroes

Out of those 5, in my personal opinion, galaxies is by far the worst and Dark Age of Camelot is the best. I dislike Final Fantasy XI strongly as well, but EQ, DAOC, and COH are all good games. COH just has no longevity because it's unbelievably repetitive. I'm not saying that most MMORPG's aren't, it's just that CoH is more so then all the others. And FFXI = BORING

If you aren't accustomed to MMORPG's in general, I would agree with Gurney in saying that you would probably like it. The general consensus, as far as SWG goes, is that veteran MMORPGers don't think much of it at all. This is not true for everyone, but alot of them.

[AmazonBabe]

It's true I haven't played any other MMORPG before, but I have enjoyed SWG. I won't say it's my most favorite game ever, but there are some things about it I really like.

I enjoy the interaction with other people, going on missions together, or just sitting in a cantina or camp ground and chatting. I remember one time I spent a good two hours doing nothing but chatting with a group while on a hunting expedition. We set up camp to heal our wounds, and while our wounds had been healed for some time, we kept on chatting and telling stories. If anything, the game is great for socialization.

I also like how you can choose however your character will look like. Even in game, you can find an image designer to continue changing through-out the life of your character.

Graphics are decent enough where it's somewhat impressive. But I wouldn't cal it drool-worthy. Also, the learn curve for the game is indeed very steep. But once you have it down, it's easy enough. Practice makes perfect.

There are a few things that bug me, not so much about the game itself, but customer service. I don't know what pod they grew from, but they aren't the most helpful at times. It's a shame really.

Anyhoo, that's all I have for now. I don't want to give a full review until I've tried some other MMORPGs. The next one of my list is WoW, which has so far been hailed as absolutely awesome by everyone I have spoken to that has played it (and some of these guys have even played SWG).

So, hang in there for more of my opinion once I start WoW (whenever that will be).

[Garret Treborn]

Next on my agenda is EverQuest 2. Looks and sounds so much better then WoW. I will of course play WoW before I pass final judgement, but right now EQ2 looks more appealing.

[Gurney Devries]

Rie, you just proved my point. :)
I enjoy the interaction with other people, going on missions together, or just sitting in a cantina or camp ground and chatting. I remember one time I spent a good two hours doing nothing but chatting with a group while on a hunting expedition. We set up camp to heal our wounds, and while our wounds had been healed for some time, we kept on chatting and telling stories. If anything, the game is great for socialization.I've done exactly that playing every MMORPG. And yes, it is fun. But that's why I said that someone who's never played an MMORPG before will always be enamoured by their first. It's a new experience: Being in a persistant world, being able to go questing with your friends and having bragging rights for your level 51 whosamawhatsits. But there can be a lot more to it than that. I love the socialization aspect, but I'd also like a solid, fun game to back it up.

I'm definitely going to give World of Warcraft a try, if there's a free trial. I'm just a little worried that, like SWG, Blizzard is going to rely on the name to sell the game. Still, they put a lot of polish into their games, so I'm trusting that they'll be above that. And, while there's tons of arguments about whether or not Guild Wars qualifies as an MMORPG or not, I still think it's one of the best online games I've ever played. It really eliminates the tedium these types of games tend to present by offering lots and lots of distractions. It also does away with much of the grief inherent in MMORPGs. Also, I spoke with several developers of the game (Ex-Blizzard people), and they're all very cool and very helpful. I'll be buying it the day it comes out, for sure.

[Darth Viscera]

Rie likes SWG because it allows her to do things like buy/try on a completely superfluous quantity of clothes, decorate her house, and then travel to another planet and buy more clothes.

My house, on the other hand, is decorated thusly: 1 chair, 1 couch, 1 bed. I own 1 set of clothes.

But then, I have about 7 suits of armor total and probably 50 different weapons. So I guess Rie is as obsessed with looking good for that rancor that's about to eat her as I am obsessed with killing it in the most timely manner possible.

Eh, it's an okay game, but rather unenthralling. As with all the MMORPGs I've experienced, it's often times boring and repetitive once you get over the initial confusion. If I were you, I'd wait until October 26th, then buy Jump to Lightspeed, join our squadron, hop onto teamspeak, and spout catchphrases in a street urchanesque english accent with the rest of us and see if we hit anything. Actually, I'll be the wookiee.

Or maybe I have 2 chairs.

[AmazonBabe]

I'm definitely going to give World of Warcraft a try, if there's a free trial. I'm just a little worried that, like SWG, Blizzard is going to rely on the name to sell the game. Still, they put a lot of polish into their games, so I'm trusting that they'll be above that.

From my understanding and from keeping up with their news reports and whatnot on WoW, Blizzard is planning on having an open beta at some point. Might be closer to November when it happens, but that's just sepculation.

I'll definitely post about it when I see it coming though. :)

As to the name and polish, I really do have confidense in Blizzard to release a good game. They have yet to disappoint me. I mean, I remember when they were about to release a game (I think it was a 3D shooter or something to that effect for WarCraft), and practically before the release, they just stopped it all together cause they said it would just suck. I mean, they have no qualms about pouring money into a game, and realizing if it's going to suck, they'll pull it.


And, while there's tons of arguments about whether or not Guild Wars qualifies as an MMORPG or not, I still think it's one of the best online games I've ever played. It really eliminates the tedium these types of games tend to present by offering lots and lots of distractions. It also does away with much of the grief inherent in MMORPGs. Also, I spoke with several developers of the game (Ex-Blizzard people), and they're all very cool and very helpful. I'll be buying it the day it comes out, for sure.

I too will be getting Guild Wars, especially as it was developed by ex-Blizzard ppl. II do have to be honest, that while the open beta they had was fun, it didn't wholey impress me much. But I still enjoy games where I can play with other ppl.

[Tear]

Originally posted by Marcus Telcontar
Dude.... you RP online. You caught The Nerd years ago.

:lol That was great.


I think what it basically boils down to is personal taste. Everyones opinions and tastes are different so unless your tastes are the same as someone posting on these boards their opinions are just..info munchies.

So play the game yourself and find out if you like it or not. I think most if not all mmorpg's have a free trial period.

[Droo]

Thanks for all the feedback, guys. I feared as much and I think Shawn's post summed it all up for me. Despite my advice, my friend still went ahead and bought it and is now playing it all the time. I found it quite funny when I heard someone ask him if he had figured out how to open his backpack two days after he'd been playing. Says it all really.

As for me, personally, I think I'll wait for World of Warcraft. Especially since I've just fell in love with Warcraft 3. :D

[Senator Carter]

Originally posted by Darth Viscera
Rie likes SWG because it allows her to do things like buy/try on a completely superfluous quantity of clothes, decorate her house, and then travel to another planet and buy more clothes.

My house, on the other hand, is decorated thusly: 1 chair, 1 couch, 1 bed. I own 1 set of clothes.

But then, I have about 7 suits of armor total and probably 50 different weapons. So I guess Rie is as obsessed with looking good for that rancor that's about to eat her as I am obsessed with killing it in the most timely manner possible.

Eh, it's an okay game, but rather unenthralling. As with all the MMORPGs I've experienced, it's often times boring and repetitive once you get over the initial confusion. If I were you, I'd wait until October 26th, then buy Jump to Lightspeed, join our squadron, hop onto teamspeak, and spout catchphrases in a street urchanesque english accent with the rest of us and see if we hit anything. Actually, I'll be the wookiee.

Or maybe I have 2 chairs.

I had to buy a Large Generic house a month or two ago, just so I could store my wardrobe...:( Guess making friends with a tailor was a bad idea...they keep convincing me to buy things. :\