Rating: 
Summary: Fun when it works
Review: I was a little worried about being overwhelmed going into the beta test for Star Wars Galaxies as I had never played an MMORPG before. Much to my surprise, the system was easy to learn and the interactions with other players were relatively enjoyable.-Skills & Advancement-
Pro: The open-ended skill system allowed me to pick-and-choose the skills best suited to my playing style, while allowing me to bypass areas which didn't interest me. Another plus was the ability to shift my character's stats to better reflect the direction I wanted my character to go. In essence, a player can start the game as one type of character, and totally change to a different type whenever they want to try something new.
Con: Advancement was a little too fast-paced and left me wondering how much long-term playability there really was for the game. -Combat-
Pro: The fighting system is easy to learn and (in theory) allows players and/or groups to devise tactics targeted for any situation through the use of skill-earned techniques.
Con: Combat is far from realistic. The terrain has little-to-no effect -- you can shoot through the ground allowing you to hit enemies on the other side of hills. Melee vs ranged attacks are just as contrived. Unarmed brawlers can hit gunmen from enormous distances. This was done in attempts to balance the two types of fighters, but in a galaxy with blasters, I debate whether they *should* be balanced. -Crafting-
Pro: Just about everything in the game can be crafted by players and can be tweaked in a number of ways by experienced crafters.
Con: Starting is very slow and it can be almost impossible to actually make a profit from anything before you have mastered the skill (with clothes being the possible exception). -Stability & Performance-
This is where the game fails a little. It seems to have a tough time handling instances where large numbers of characters gather in one place. On some occassions, the FPS dropped to the low single digits making anything short of walking difficult. The system for buying and selling items only seems to work right about half of the time, and catching a shuttle to another city can be a lot harder than it sounds. I trust the developers will have most of this ironed-out soon, but at this time, it is obvious that Sony rushed the game out rather than delay the release further. I liked the game a lot, but there is much room for improvement.
Rating: 
Summary: I was a Beta Tester, and this game is atrocious.
Review: As a Beta Tester for Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided, I had the unique opportunity to play and test this game for months before it reached store shelves. The experience was NOT a pleasant one. Some may cry that these are sour grapes, but I assure you that this game is far from finished, and does not in any way feel like a true Star Wars Universe. Indeed, it's little more than Everquest with a Star Wars modification applied; the characters look like they're from Star Wars, as do the vehicles and Droids, but that's it. The missions are still pointless "go kill this big monster" as you desperately try to get Experience Points to move to the next level, and on, and on. As for the Civil War that's going on, you could've fooled me. You see a few Stormtroopers, some rebels, and that's about it. The missions are the same as the non-faction missions, except you get faction points that can be redeemed for weapons and whatnot. Whoo. Hoo. All in all, this game still has serious bugs and a lack of content. Perhaps after the Space Expansion is released, with vehicles and rideable creatures, player created missions, and player-created towns, along with expanded content, this game will be worth buying. But buying it now just means you'll be paying to be a Beta Tester.
Rating: 
Summary: just awsome
Review: I sat in Betine this afternon for the end of beta party. Easly 300 players all together. Dancing, playing music, setting of fireworks. This party was more spectacular then any 4th of July i've ever been to. Even with so many players, fireworks shuting of. The lag was talerable. I've never seen a game so relistic and i've never been so eager to play. I gave it a full 5 stars.
Rating:
Summary: Beta was fun, Gold will be better
Review: I have been a player in the SWG beta test for two months. Though I don't yet have the public release version, I was playing beta just last night and can definitely comment on it. The non disclosure restrictions have been lifted, or I wouldn't be writing this. Those who aren't familiar with the MMORG (massively multiplayer online roleplaying game) concept should be aware that they are always works in progress. You aren't buying a "finished" product, but an invitation to join an evolving roleplaying universe. SWG has good points and bad points. I'll give you a list of each. Good: 1) The skill based experience system. This is a real departure from the standard MMORG format. No more D&D clone classes and levels. SWG does have professions, but don't mistake these as character classes. They are just convenient ways to group skills together. You can (and probably will) have more than one profession. My character had skill boxes in 6 different professions when beta ended, and that isn't even close to being a record. 2) The emphasis on crafting and the player economy. Crafting is difficult; created items have a wide range of stats, and making better quality items requires a lot of thought and significantly more game time than [others]. There are still major bugs in the crafting system, but the developers made a lot of progress in the final month of beta and I expect most of the remaining holes to be closed soon after release. 3) Combat is cool. The developers have come up with a variety of special moves you learn as you advance up the skill trees, learning how to efficiently use them gives the game a nicely tactical feel. There is even an entire profession, squad leader, devoted to learning special skills that let you lead groups of characters into combat more efficiently. What I like most about combat is that it is optional. I hated playing a cleric in Everquest and having no way to advance my healing skills without leaving piles of dead bodies behind me. In SWG, medics can (and must) advance their healing skills solely by healing people. 4) The graphics are stunning. The flowering bushes on Corellia actually have butterflies flitting about them; they look so real you feel like you you ought to be able to bend over and inhale the fragrance. The spiky grass in the Agrilat swamps looks so intimidating I find myself unconsciously walking around the patches even though I know that the're just there for visual effect and won't actually hurt me. 5) The automapping is very handy. The search functions are potentially nice, if a bit buggy at present. The appearance customization options for your character are excellent. A large chunk of the crafting system is dedicated to making clothes, if cool threads are your thing. The bazaare is a sweet feature, private vendors are even better. The player vs player combat rules are well thought out, letting players participate in PVP to the extent they want to. The TIE fighter sound effect is awesome. Bad: 1) Inventory management is primitive. All non-container items take up 1 space, wether its an earring or a rocket launcher. Stacks of resources all take 1 space regardless of wether you have 3 units of ore or 30,000. Click and drag does not work reliably; you usually have to try several times to grab an item so it can be moved to a different container. 2) Combat can be boring, especially solo. Once you have figured out the optimum uses for the special moves you have, combat degenerates into a grind of: "select target, shoot, shoot, shoot, loot target, repeat." Grouping is more interesting, partly because you have someone to chat with and partly because group dynamics make optimizing tactics more challenging to figure out. 3) Crafting is a grind. Getting enough crafting experience points to advance to Engineering 4 would take making about 150 novice level blasters; you would be lucky if you could even give away 10% of these, much less sell them. Fortunately, there are a lot of things besides blasters to craft. Still, you should stay out of crafting if you're worried about acquiring carpal tunnel syndrome. 4) I find the sound disappointing. The develpers could have put in a lot more Star Wars theme music. Musicians are a big part of the game, but when you listen to them they all play exactly the same music. Explosions, creature roars, and other effect sounds are generally a bit lame (except for the TIE fighters). 5) Trandoshan swimming faster than Mon Calmari is annoying. Being unable to find water standing in a river is ridiculous. There are no starships. There are no speeders. There aren't any vehicles at all, and you can't ride tamed creatures....The maps need graphics that do a better job of conveying topographical information (hills and ravines). Mon Cal arms and legs look dorky. All and all, I like the game and will definitely be playing the public release heavily. The SWG universe is just too atractive to miss roleplaying in, and I have been following the progress of this game for over a year. As for the collector's version...I want my character to become a distributor of medical supplies (read: drug dealer,) I've got to have those cool shades...
Rating: 
Summary: I took part in the beta test phase, and...
Review: ... although the game was fun, it lacked staying power: too often it was a space version of EverQuest - hunt the monster, kill it, get experience. Also, the game is not ready to release - there were many bugs/exploits still in the game that will be exploited by all the beta players who know about them - at least until they get fixed. This means all the beta players will be Masters of their chosen profession in 2 weeks, while you are still hitting bugs with a stick... The skill progression idea is excellent, and they deserve credit here - very well done - but the professions available need some expanded... do you want to be a chef or a tailor?? Yes, some people do, and good for them, but the masses want to be Jedi, smugglers and bounty hunters.. Which brings me to the most painful part... YOU CANNOT PLAY A JEDI!! At least, not out of the box. You must unlock a special 'force sensitive' ability, which the developers hint at taking approximately 6 months to do, and the path to do this is different for every player, so don't think you'll be able to find an online guide on "How to become a Jedi". I understand why they did this (1000 Jedi running around is not 'realistic'), but its a big turn off for many people. If you are a die-hard Star Wars fan, wait 4-6 months for more content to be added, because at the moment the content is only hunt/kill. If you want to play a Jedi, wait for Knights of the Old Republic to come out... I wanted this game to be so much more...
Rating:
Summary: EverQuest in Space
Review: I think SWG is a missed opportunity. It's not fun. It's not innovative. It's not really even Star Wars--it's a generic level-treadmill RPG overlaid with Star Wars graphics textures, names, and sound effects. Take EverQuest. Replace the races with Star Wars races. Replace the monsters with random beasts and a few Star Wars critters like Womp Rats, Ewoks, Banthas, and Rancors. Replace the cities and continents with Star Wars cities and planets like Mos Eisley and Naboo. Replace the classes with general skill groupings with names like "Scout". That's Star Wars Galaxies. What's missing, then? Anything that even remotely *feels* like Star Wars. There's no adventure. No excitement. Jedi may not crave these things, but I sure do. I want to blow up Imperial bunkers. I want to race speeders. I want to defend a hidden rebel base from Imperial Walkers. I want to blast Stormtroopers as I dash into my ship, then roar into space and pull a few maneuvers to lose pursuing TIE fighters. I want to use the Force. SWG does not deliver these things. Alas. I think Mike Krahulik (Gabe of "Penny-Arcade") said it best: "At one point on Tatooine I was standing next to a mission terminal waiting for my turn to use it when I saw a large wookiee run past me firing wildly over his shoulder as a tiny crab no bigger than a dinner plate chased him through town. How sad." How sad indeed.
Rating:
Summary: SWG, i played it for 9 months, i know
Review: I started beta-ing this game way back in October of 2002. And it has come a LONG way. I still think they should have released it later, but i'm sure the bean counters were pushing the developers. Anyway, if you have the system to play the game, DO IT! You will not be dissapointing. This is one of the deepest delving and pleasing games i've ever played. The profession structure is setup so that you can meet 15 different smugglers, and never meet the same one with same skills/equipment etc. (unlike EQ) You can be a bounty hunter, and an expert chef! You can also ally with rebels, imperial, and later on, criminals!
This allows for faction perks, like weapons, uniforms, and NPCs that you can command to fight for you (stormtroopers!) Space expansion should be out before xmas, with vehicles, and new things are set to be implemented as early as July through free patches (new planets, player cities, etc) Don't be a fool, get in on the ground floor!
Rating:
Summary: Happy Beta Tester
Review: Ok I have been playing the beta test and must say even if it was $30 a month to play this game I would do it, getting together with 40 or more ppl taking down a tusken fort was the greatest, haning out in cantinas, and going places with my R5 was cool also. If you have ever wanted to be a part of star wars this is your chance ppl can talk to me while I play this game and its like there not even there i'm so caught up in the action. Even if you not big into games get this one, as to the fact I havent played games for at least two years cause they bore me. well thats all changed. SWG is the best
Rating:
Summary: Be waiting for two years for this game
Review: I'm in Beta and I love SWG.
Rating:
Summary: The opportunity to live in the Star Wars Universe...
Review: I am a beta player, and now that the NDA has lifted I can share my feelings. So far, I'm terrifically impressed. Of the MMOG's I have played, this is well rounded with a nice balance between crafting and combat. The graphics are lovely, and the freedom and open-endedness of the game are excellent. I've ordered the collector's edition and a regular copy (no sunglasses for j00, wife). I will be playing for quite some time. There are caveats. It is an online role-playing game, so don't expect a dedicated plot that will make you the hero of the empire. If that's your thing, try Knights of the Old Republic or Jedi Knight II. A MMOG is also a dynamic universe. Expect to see patches and changes. Take the message boards with a grain of salt, and if you don't think you can handle anything less than a flawless product, don't pick it up on launch day. SWG is different from many previous MMOGs in that you are limited to a single-character per server (unless you unlock the force sensitive slot). This forces a lot of interraction between players. That can be a good or a bad thing. Be warned. The force sensitive slot can be unlocked by your character's actions in the game. Once that slot is unlocked, you can create a second character who may eventually be able to become a Jedi. No one managed to unlock the FS slot in beta. It is estimated that there will never be more than a handful of Jedi on each server. If being a Jedi is your only motivation behind playing this game, it is not a guaranteed thing. Be warned. If it sounds like I'm focusing on the negative aspects of the game, that's not my intention. I think this game is going to have a lot of appeal and a great lifespan (especially with the planned expansions), but I also believe this game isn't for everyone. I will, however, be there on Day One.
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