User Reviews (101 - 111 of 241)

Show these reviews first:

Highest Rated
Lowest Rated Newest
Oldest Most Helpful
Least Helpful

Such a Sad Shame

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 14 / 16
Date: May 03, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Greetings prospective buyers of SWG. Let me start by saying I was a Star Wars Galaxies veteran. I played from launch til right before the first "combat revamp". I was a master Teras Kasi, almost-Master Creature Handler.

It is interesting, and disturbing, to note that these two professions NO longer exist in the game. Imagine that. Devote a year and a half to two professions that you love, and they are ripped away from you, because they did not fit into the "vision" the developers had for the game.

First rule in making a good MMO imo is that you figure out what your vision is BEFORE you release the game, BEFORE thousands of subscribers sink time and effort and emotion into the game.

I left the game prior to the first set of combat changes. It was not intended to be permanent. Just a bit of a vacation. I now play Everquest 2, another Sony Online game. Shortly after the infamous "NGE" or New Game Enhancements went live on SWG, I went back and tried it again. Even though I love and am addicted to EQ2, nothing can replace that first MMO experience. My memories of SWG are fond ones, I felt (and still do, inspite of the steaming pile of doo the game has become) that SWG is my virtual home away from home.

But I was to discover upon my return that it is home no more. It is a pathetic wasteland, an empty ugly shell of what was once a place of great potential. I can NEVER go back. (The sick part is, because of SOE's station access, if I attempt to cancel my subscription to SWG, I lose half of my characters in eq2 LOL... so I'm still paying for this waste of a game)

That same day, I revisted the SWG community forums. There was a letter from John Smedly to the community, explaining the reasons behind the NGE, the removal of many beloved professions, the horrible fps style of combat.. in short all fo the sweeping and sudden changes that were thrust upon everyone. On that day, there were over TWO-HUNDRED pages of replies from players so disgusted by the changes, so angry and hurt and feelgin BETRAYED, demanding and begging for a return to what was. Or at the very least a compromise.

The number of pages on that thread has continued to grow.

What is my point you ask?

When you sign the EULA, you agree that the game is owned by SOE, and they can make any changes they see fit. Ok fine. And yes, the point of running a company like SOE is to make money. BUT... anyone who has devoted time playing and developing a character in an MMO knows it often is more than "just a game". For thousands of faithful customers to be so disregarded, simply for the motive of bringing in fresh meat.. it's disgusting and I warn anyone thinking of buying this game.. DON'T!... Not only for reasons of poor customer service and the huge pile of dung they carelessly dumped on their veteran customers, but imo, the new SWG is a horrible game. Just horrible. No other word to describe it.

At any rate, if you must buy it, then make a promise to yourself that you will NOT get attached. The development team and PR team of SWG's branch of SOE does not care what you think, how you feel, how much you love the game.. all they care about is $$$$$. As long as you are prepared to accept that, you might do just fine when they rip the game from underneath you and force it and you into a 180.

Horrible Horrible mess

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 15 / 18
Date: November 25, 2005
Author: Amazon User

They started with the best franchise any developer could hope for, and ruined it.

Never mind the reviews, just look at the simple facts and judge for yourself.

THEY CONSOLIDATED 32 PROFESSIONS INTO 9!! That is fact. This should first and foremost be a huge warning flag for anyone considering this game.

THE CURRENT CONTENT ONLY TAKES YOU TO LEVEL 30!! Another fact. Your character caps at level 90. The first 30 levels are quest based and after that you are on your own to kill thousands of creatures to level your character. SOE promises more content, but this fact alone demonstrates the unfinished state of this now re-written game.

THE FORUMS ARE A DYSFUNCTIONAL MESS OF NEGATIVITY!! Just take a look yourself. 95% of the threads are negative ranting and raving. In the past there was much intelligent discussion on how to improve the game. All of it was for not. So now the players just scream.

SOE LIES!! Here is a fact, profession revamps were being worked on untill the announcement of the NGE. These professions had been on the chopping block the entire time, and SOE told no one. They announced this core game change 2 days after thousands of players bought the Obi Wan expansion. How would you feel if you just spent $30 on an expansion, just to have your profession deleted a few days later? Example: Creature Handler.

There are some facts. Judge for yourself.

Star Wars Galaxies, Poor Community Relations

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 15 / 18
Date: December 17, 2005
Author: Amazon User

So, I played Star Wars Galaxies from launch through June of 2005 when the infamous combat upgrade forced me to go back to such games as City of Heroes and World of Warcraft. I returned in the beginning of November 2005, determined to give this new NGE a chance, and activated a new Access Pass account just in time to begin the Test Server beta process.

Now, I am not one of those people complaining of the loss of professions and associative changes to the game. Admittedly, the game needed some serious help if it was to last. Whether or not Star Wars Galaxies last another 2 years is anyone's guess at this point, and only time will tell.

This, instead, is about the Community Relations between SOE and the SWG player base. Namely, the Community Relations Manager, Mr. Kurt "Thunderheart" Stangl.

Checking his posts, one would think he actually performs his job as a community to developer liaison well. However, if one closely checks the threads he started for technical issues, one would see that his answers cover only the most basic problems with the game. When it comes to the more serious problems, he regularly refuses to even acknowledge their presence.

Take my example.

I have the $25 Rage of the Wookie and the $30 Trials of Obi-Wan expansion. As far as the Obi-Wan set, as seen with Mr. Torres on G4 recently, the expansion is indeed broken. Not only does Obi-Wan not spawn for the players, thus making the principle behind the expansion unplayable; but the expansion is rife with spawning issues (multiple MOBs spawning "stacked" and attacking en-masse when a player believes there are only 1 or 2), necessary named MOBs not spawning for 4+ hours or more, and many quests that cannot be completed due to a wide variety of bugs.

As far as the Rage of the Wookie expansion goes. It is even worse off.

Having had quest reward experience added to it in the December 13th, 2005 Publish 26 update, Kashyyyk is now even more broken than Trial of Obi-Wan. MOBs spawn inside terrain and buildings and are non-attackable. Attackable MOBs refuse to recognize damage dealt to them, and hit for far above their levels. Mission that send you into Kashyyyk space to complete are also broken, as just as on the ground the enemy ships refuse to recognize damage dealt to them, and hit for far above their levels.

And those, and more, are in the beginning Kashyyyk quests, making the expansion all but impossible to explore. One of those quests are key to unlocking the Etyyy Hunting grounds, also making that portion of the expansion unplayable.

Between Thunderheart (SWG Community Relations Manager) and Brenlo (Global Community Relations Manager) two threads were started for the same topic: post technical problems with SWG. Brenlo, Thunderheart's superior at SOE, clearly stated that we could cross-post between the two so that it would be sure to be seen and sent on to the development team.

For 2 days I posted the problems with Kashyyyk. In the case of Mr. Kurt "Thunderheart" Stangl, surprisingly the only Moderator that seems to be posting any reply to technical issues at SWG (making the rumor of a massive CSR lay-out/firing seem all the more true), he would instead post canned replies to issues about Flamethrowers, or post joking responses in off-topic "for fun" threads, or congratulate players on interesting "Star Wars Game Play Xfire Videos".

Constantly, the main issues with SWG, the ones that made the core game and the expansions unplayable due to game breaking bugs, went without response. Not even an acknowledgement and that it would be passed on. Mr. Stangl instead felt it better to play around with community members that openly and lovingly supported the NGE and did not post major bug reports.

When questioned about this in a thread, the thread was deleted. No insults, no flames, a simple question as to why time could be spent in that regard, but not on the important issues. When, obviously, I had his attention, and asked for an answer to my issues, I was banned from the forum for "Cross Posting."

The problem with Star Wars Galaxies lies way beyond the bugs in this NGE, but also within the Community Relations Team, particularly Kurt "Thunderheart" Stangl and his refusal to seriously address the core issues with the community; and more importantly those trying to support the NGE and getting stonewalled by way too many bugs.

To those considering trying Star Wars Galaxies, consider these points:

1) The core NGE game, quests 1-30, are bugged at too many points. Missing named MOBs, inaccurate waypoints, the game not recognizing a quest has been completed, missing rewards. Publish 26 claimed to have fixed over a dozen of these bugs, but in reality fixed only a few.

2) After the new NGE quests are completed, players have 2 choices. 1) Hunt random creatures ala Eq1 and Eq2 for minimal experience or 2) unless you purchased the old "Total Experience" set for SWG, pay an additional $25 for the digital download of Rage of the Wookies to continue performing quests, which are the (usually) least painful way to level.

3) Since Publish 26, Rage of the Wookies is basically unplayable. Attempts to get these game-breaking problems acknowledged by Community Relations to pass on to development have been completely ignored. Furthermore, Quests that have been broken since its initial release around May 2005, are finally being promised to be fixed between January and March of 2006. Nearly a year, and a complete game revamp, later.

4) After Rage of the Wookies, its time to purchase Trials of Obi-Wan for an additional $30 to complete your leveling from 80-90. Unfortunately, this expansion is also broken, and MOBs spawn stacked, quests (again) cannot be completed, and Obi-Wan himself is so bugged many cannot get him to spawn.

5) Community Relations, your main source of getting bugs across to the development team since in-game CSR has consistently failed to deliver, apparently feel their time is better spent in jokes and lighter discussions, leaving much of the core game bugs without acknowledgement.

To the consumer base, this is not always typical of Sony Online Entertainment. The Community Relations Manager for Matrix Online, known as Walrus, is in constant and regular communication with the player base for problems within the game and regular updates. He usually strives to keep communication open and constant, as he should, and even went as far as to give the player base his first-hand experience with the upcoming Combat Revamp for MxO.

Blackguard, as well as the technical support team at the Everquest 2 forums, are another great team for keeping in contact with the community, helping with game related issues, and generally keeping communication open.

As is typical for SWG Community Relations under the management of Kurt "Thunderheart" Stangl, however; the game is lacking in concrete communication, acknowledgement of serious game related problems, and professionalism.

Which is a shame. A shame that I have chosen to cancel my Access Pass accounts, and the multiple accounts purchased throughout my corporation, due to Mr. Stangl's actions in regards to Star Wars Galaxies. While that also cancelled my MxO and EQ2 accounts, unfortunately I cannot justify sending monthly revenue to SOE after being treated the way I have been by their SWG Community Relations Manager.

Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Undecided

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 12 / 13
Date: February 08, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Well I'm going to start by saying this. The game was at least a 3 out of 5 overall when it first released. Sure there were some bugs, and had they stuck with the original combat system, they would have been squashed and you would have a half decent game by now. But no, SOE had to mess with it. Granted, I don't think SWG was the best MMO by any means at the time, but it had an element of fun.

I beta tested this game. I was one of the testers screaming my lungs out, begging SOE not to release it at its current state. However, me, and about 10,000 others couldn't convince them of that. A little over a year ago, they completely revamped the combat system for the first time, changing animations, adding in new moves, weapons, and altering the professions a little bit. Most of the player base hated it, and begged them to revert. Well, after realizing the new system wasn't really quality, what do they do? Do they go back? Nope! They completely revamp the game a second time! Changing everything, from professions to weapons. Everything that anyone had done before November of 2005 was made void, and a whole new system was implemented. I actually grabbed my installation disks to give it a shot. At the first glance, the tutorial was amazing. You see Han Solo, and actually talk to him as well as C3PO, R2D2, and Chewbacca. There is full voice over for the tutorial, as well as some very neat features. But the only problem is, the actual game wasn't like that. After arriving down to the planet, there wasn't that much difference in the game, other than the faster paced combat and new quest system.

I'll tell you the main problem with SWG, is that the core game is broken. You can only modify an engine so much. Adding or changing content will not change the core mechanics of the game. I completely blame Sony Online Entertainment. Lucasarts tried and tried to step in, but Sony wanted to do it their way or the highway. I will say this though, Star Wars is to big of a franchise to not have an MMO. So mark my words, if Star Wars Galaxies is put to rest, and shut down, it will be picked up by another developer. Let Mythic, Blizzard (doubtful), or even Turbine give it a chance.

To sum it up, Galaxies at one point was a decent game, but has been corrupted by so many problems, it's at the point of no return.

Do Not Buy This Game

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 12 / 13
Date: January 02, 2006
Author: Amazon User

The changes made to this game in November, the New Game "Enhancements" are simply a poor attempt to copy World of Warcraft--except they forgot to copy the parts that work. It's bug-ridden. You apparently can't level past a certain point unless you purchase the latest expansion, according to the forums; I honestly don't know because I cancelled one account because of the NG"E" and stopped playing the other while I wait for my vendors to be bought out. They only allow you to have 2 characters per server, while other games allow you to have a lot more.

Bottom line: if you want to have fun, don't buy this game. They removed fun because it wasn't "Star Warsy"(tm). If you want a fun game, I'd probably suggest World of Warcraft, even though I don't like the game (characters are too ugly for me). Guild Wars is a nice little game without a monthly fee. City of Heroes/Villains is a decent game also. Plus, there are a lot more MMO's coming out in the coming year. Don't waste any money on this one.

Buyer Beware: MMOFPS, no longer an MMORPG

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 16 / 20
Date: December 08, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This latest version is so poorly designed, developed, and coded, I scarcely know where to begin.

First, a quick background on this reviewer. I have been playing SWG since its launch over 2 years ago. I founded and lead the largest guild on my server, including two player Cities. Also, I was one of the very first Jedi unlocks in December of 2003.

Now, on to the "NGE":

* Combat is just plain broken. Targeting is severely bugged, and is now no longer turn based, but "twitch" gaming. SOE has completely changed their target demographic 180 degrees from traditional MMO players, to a more console style audience. If you fit this new demographic, you may actually like this game once the bugs are worked out, which given their track record, may be never.
* SOE has for 2 years promised more involvement by the player community in evolving SWG. Then, on November 2nd, it was announced that this latest revamp (NGE) was developed in secret, with zero (0) community involvement.
* All of the crafting professions have been collapsed into a single "Trader" profession. Many of us see this as a slippery slope to eventually either phase out, or put on the back burner all crafting in SWG.
* The User Interface has been redone for NGE, and is too buggy to be playable. Becoming stuck in a combat endless loop, targeting problems, and the fact that combat is now a simple Diablo style click fest with little to no strategy, is a dramatic change for SWG.

I truly wanted to like the NGE, and to keep playing SWG to the bitter end, but this reviewer has had to hang up his SWG hat, and move on to games developed by people that understand their market and their target demographic.

Dont waste your money this is not a real MMORPG anymore

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 16 / 20
Date: November 25, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Dont waste your money this is not a real MMORPG anymore!

No Customer Service

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 17 / 22
Date: December 02, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Before you even think about buying this game, check out the bbb.org and look up Sony Online Entertainment. You will see hundreds of complaints filed about SoE. These complaints range from poor customer service to bait and switch tactics which are illegal.

Players are forced to play just one profession. The Next Generation Enhancements that went live on November 15th, 2005 reduced the number of professions from 33 down to 9. Combat is broken and crafting is ignored by the developers. Complaints on the forums are usually locked and/or deleted quickly. Forget about calling customer service too, the automated system takes you around and around and never connects you a person. If you have any technical issues with the game, tech support always blames your computer for the problem. You will be told to update your drivers, hardware, internet, etc...

I have been playing this game for over 2 years and have canceled my accounts. It's just not worth it anymore.

Not a 5-star review

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 13 / 15
Date: January 04, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I see several of the 'five star' posts that say "the veteran players are just whining" but this is just a tactic to attempt to convince new people that this game is good, and the developers are not the issue. If you look closely at what they say, it's surprisingly blatant salesmanship. Dumb azz quotes like "My money is well spent here" "It's well worth the low monthly subscription fee". Any review that says those things is a fake-worthless-lie and not a review at all, just a dumb spam advertisement.
Let me explain more clearly.
Everyone likes to see character advancement; be it in gear and weapons, or in skills and levels. Everyone also likes to feel a sense of ownership of their own character and its belongings. Anyone who works with a group and obtains an item, always has a feeling of accomplishment or achievement.
When the developers of SWG 'state' that they care about the game and are working to make it better, but then go and do the opposite of what 99% of their current paying subscribers are telling/screaming at them to do; it's just stupidity.
When they repeatedly change the entire game to something else, it totally destroys people's sense of ownership of their character.
When they cheapen or give-for-free the rewards that many many people worked hard for it slaps people in the face. When you log on in the morning and find that you can no longer use any of your current armor or wpns anymore because your class has changed or was deleted, its amazingly depressing.
You have a feeling of ownership and pride for some little online memento.
When the developers just flat out say: "Tomorrow we are going to erase everyone's character and if you want to continue paying us you all will have to choose one of these nine classes" It's just stupidity.
People know that the dumb user agreement states that the game is subject to change and nothing is owned by the players, and its all property rights of Sony, Blah Blah Blah. But they don't expect to pay for the game, expansions and monthly user fees and then just have it all changed to something they did not buy; or even never work in the first place.
Many people worked hard to build up a character or guild and the developers just don't care. It's obvious that they don't listen to current paying subscribers. All I hear from them is that dumb line they say about "people" loving the new upgrade after they get used to it.
The reason so many people are saying this game is one star is not because the game idea itself stinks, but because all of the emotional/social rewards have been removed and its just too frustrating when you think you are accomplishing something and then lose it all due to a bug in the programming. If rewards were not important we would all be just playing PacMan still. In that game you always start over. There is no end because you are always starting over. Nobody expects there to be any rewards.
In SWG people expect and are promised lasting rewards, then after a bit they also see it all thrown in the trash and are told to start over.
No paying subscriber wants to be part of that. No informed purchaser should ever get involved in it either, especially when it's just about guaranteed to happen again or even to be canceled completely.
That is why this game is one (zero) stars

do not buy this game

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 10 / 10
Date: March 08, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Sony Online Entertainment took an Empire Divided and destroyed it slowly. They had 2 major "upgrades" The first was not good and the last one called the NGE completly changed the game so much so that they release these new "starter kits". The servers are empty and anyone who has played will tell you the same thing. to keep away.

Review Page: Previous 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Next 

Actions