User Reviews (1 - 11 of 79)

Show these reviews first:

Highest Rated
Lowest Rated Newest
Oldest Most Helpful
Least Helpful

It is your destiny...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 101 / 161
Date: June 05, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I have followed the progress of this game since the Electronics Entertainment Expo of 2001 in May, and I have only progressively been more impressed since. Think about it; where else can you blast stormtroopers, crush Rebel scum, or, if you are lucky or skilled enough, seek out a Jedi hidden amongst the galaxy to train you in the ways of the Force? Thought so.

And if you would rather just live in the Star Wars galaxy, hang out in a cantina with your friends, and maybe go hunting every once in a while, that perfectly fine. This isn't so much a game as much as it is an environment; the game developers made this world for us to live and play in. You might be suprised at how many friends you can make while playing.

Star Wars, from the very beginning, has always been known for outstanding visuals, and this game is no exception. Not only that, but this game is very flexible. The minimum requirements of your computer's hardware are relatively modest, but the graphics engine is so scalable that no card on the market today can play this game with all of the features turned up to the max.

Traditional MMORPGs (Massively Multiplay Online Role Playing Games) point back the the genre's past; all the characters pick from one of about a half-dozen "classes" that define the skills your characters will learn in the game. All players have to earn experience by killing creatures or players in the game. Star Wars Galaxies will be different. Experience is awarded based on skill use; not killing enemies. This means that a medic can heal people and gain in skill, the way it should be.

Grouping with your friends will be easier than ever. Because there are merely skills, and not "levels" for your character, or avatar, a new player is not a severe disadvantage when trying to play with a veteran player. In addition, players can designate themselves to be placed into a "I help newbies" database that new players can use to search out someone willing to help them learn the ropes in the game.

The economies of past games have been paid really, only lip service. Money was worthless and skilled players could become self-sufficient, making the idea of a collective economy pointless. In Star Wars Galaxies, no one player can accumulate all the skills necessary to supply all of his needs; he must work together with other players to get his weapons, armor, medical packs, and food. Besides stores and direct trading, there are 'bazaars' where players can put an item onto a market network where players can browse through and buy what they want. Item decay will ensure that players will need to replace or maintain weapons and other items, hopefully creating a more stable economy, and one that is fun to work with.

One would be remiss if they were to neglect the incredible player customizing tool available when you first create your avatar. More variables than ever allow you to adjust hair color, style, eye color, shape, nose size, shape and width, body type, height, ears, neck, and enough other features that if one wished to, they could create a reasonable approximation of themselves in the game. Of course, cosmetic things like tatoos, hair and eye color will be adjustable in the game, via the "image designers".

All in all, this is one game that can bring the online game to the masses; plus... where else can you crack "I've got a bad feeling about this" or "May the Force be with you" and get a positive reaction?

Live the greatest Saga ever told...........................yours.
-Lucas Smith

FRUSTRATION! -- FRUSTRATION! -- FRUSTRATION!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 48 / 67
Date: July 31, 2003
Author: Amazon User

SO MANY PROBLEMS:

* Things that do not work as stated: many professions and items are plain broken.

* Horrible LAG at times, up to 20-30 seconds or even a minute at times to execute a command.

* Inexplicable server crashes and losses of connectivity -- frequently; and then it will take a half-hour to get back into the game while the server loads.

* Server rollbacks -- Lost data, lost experience, missing inventory items (lots and frequently): don't get too attached to anything.

* Virtually DAILY bug patches both at the server and client ends. Yes, you're paying them to beta test their stuff. What a deal Sony has going on!

* Currently 2 hours of DOWN TIME on the servers for maintenance EVERY DAY.

* An entirely worthless and apathetic Customer Support (sic): buncha DMV rejects. Every email I have from them, after I've sent a detailed complaint, gets a useless "form letter" response. And FORGET finding them in online group chat.

* WHERE'S COMPLETE DOCUMENTATION? The manual is horrible, more interested in being Star Wars-y than informative. Customer Support (sic) while telling you to READ THE MANUAL for any and all help you might want, is happy to tell you out of the other side of their mouths that there are new and undocumented commands. Yes, that's right: YOU CAN'T HAVE ALL THE RULES!

* A gigantic amount of game-related information is simply unavailable in the game. The best source of game information is not the game, but from fan sites.

* /bug reports are NEVER answered. At last check, there were over HALF A MILLION bug reports filed. Amazing! The game's a month old! Now they've put a cap on how many bug reports you can send. What? Is 500,000 bug reports too embrassing that they have to limit adding more?

And this list doesn't touch on any of the MANY problems with the game itself --

* WALL-TO-WALL TEDIUM,
* NO SENSE OF STAR WARS EPIC,
* GOOFY PLAYER ECONOMY,
* VERY LIMITED ROLE-PLAYING,
* ARCANE INTERFACE,
* BROKEN GRAPHICS (things floating in mid-air, standing next to a giant cube that says "Default Appearance" on it, magically moving waypoints).

And -- WORST OF ALL -- their primary focus is NOT in fixing these problems, but in coming out with new features. STUNNING!

I have really tried to like this game -- but enough is enough. What a waste of good money.

*SIgh* I don't know what to say...

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 23 / 26
Date: May 07, 2005
Author: Amazon User

It started as a game of skills,(one of a kind on the PC gaming market) as you moved up in the skill tree, you were given more enhancements, more moves, more excitement. When you mastered a tree, you had all the powers and could do basically whatever you wanted, go fight some tuskins, go hunt, succeed. It was pretty cool. It was even fun to group up with a bunch of friends and do the harder missions. It was different. You had a choice of soloing it, or grouping up to get some extra XP. It was fun. Roaming around the different planets and seeing the different creatures, different landscapes, the graphics were pretty amazing. I played this game with a bunch of people, form 16-45. It allowed all ages to immerse themselves in different ways. We had armorsmiths, weaponsmiths, I myself was a master dancer for quite sometime and really enjoyed it. I even got married in game in front of the whole cantina.

I have a lot of memories. Fond memories. But they are all gone now. Those skills I worked so hard for, are gone, master dancer, it means nothing now, all my friends they are gone, including the character I married. Why you ask?

Well a new upgrade was released, it was called the Combat upgrade. it changed that cool skill based system into a level system, (you can find those with EQII and WOW,) it put so many limitations on the game that many of us have left. We have begged for information from the development team and management, but we do not receive any information. They have literally ignored us. Then they tell you the consumer whom have never played this game that the "community" loves it. *sigh* some do, but most don't.

If you want a level up game go try WOW or even Guildwars, better graphics and less bugs. If you must have Star Wars, try one of the other games, this one is very sick and in need of alot of help. It will be a waste of money to pay them $15.00 a month when you can get Knights of the old republic and only spend the $50.00 that one time.

Just some advice for the consumer. It was a great game, but all the professions are gone. The excitement is gone. Most of all, the fun is gone.

A SW Fan & Gamer

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 18 / 20
Date: May 11, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This game was great at one point but has been completely redone. It is more like EQ2 & World of Warcraft now. If you are looking for either of these games with a Star Wars feel this is it right now. If you have to get this game I would not get the collector's edition. Its not worth the extra money and all you get are some funky glasses you can wear ingame

Do not be too proud of this technological terror....

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 61 / 126
Date: November 11, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Star Wars: Galaxies has been a terrible disappointment for me and every single other person I know who made the mistake of buying this game.

This game is the result of a number of risky game design "experiments" by lead designer Raph Koster (of Ultima Online notoriety). Namely:

1. Provide players with no playable content. Roleplayers will make your game go.

2. Completely abandon "loot". Make everything in the game available to brand new players. Enforce equipment "equality" at all costs.

3. Create a Star Wars world that has no space or vehicles in it. Players should be happy to jog.

4. Remain devoted to the Pokemon concept. Allow pets to dominate in all aspects of the game, leading all characters to become creature handlers.

Play this game only if you want a clinic in how not to design a computer game. This one is still half-baked and months away from approaching a playable, stable state. Even at that point, this is one of the worst games of all time, due to SOE's completely pitiful effort at game design.

I came to this game with 15 friends from the real world and from other games. 2 months later, 100% of them had cancelled. The game is the laughingstock of the industry!
Avoid this game at all costs!

No where near it's potential

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 10 / 11
Date: January 01, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Eh... I still can't belive I'm reviewing this but to give the back ground I have. I'm a 25 year old gamer and I favor strongly First Person Shooters such as Halo and Halo 2 and games such as Jedi Outcast along with the X-Wing series having never played a MMORPG before I came in giving it a sort of biased opinion first I'll start with the Pro's of this game.

PROS

-Look of the Planets: Naboo and Tattooine especially the look and feel from the trilogy is there in terms of the looks of the buildings.

-Community: This varies from person to person but upon finding the right 'nitch' You can find yourself REALLY enjoying this game.

-Player Based Econemy: The Players are the ones that set this econemy not the game. While it does have many "money sinks" the simple fact that you have some form of control over prices make things real nice. Prices can be overinaflated or straight cut throat. The only way to find a good deal is look around.

-Options to pay for playing. As you know this game charges a access fee. You can pay every month, 3 months, 6 months or yearly or just buy a game card which is worth 30 or 60 days.

Con:

- Buggy still in areas of the game. While alot has been cleaned up you can tell when you pass some server bounderies when running through towns. Running this game on any less than DSL is not recomended.

- The GRIND: Profession Grinding is one of the hardest aspects of this game. It can take forever it seems but with help you can aleviate the grind factor with help from friends. The Jedi Grind if you have the ambition for it be prepared for that is the worst of all the grinds. (can take 1-2 years estimated to reach Knight Status and that's not counting if you get killed by Bounty Hunters during your grind.) This also takes up ALOT of your time the casual gamer it could take months to master a profession.

- Overall Fun Factor staying. Initial reaction upon joining up was "Wow" Look at this. and then I began exploreing. After about 3 months I had found most of the area's of importance and began to fall into what many described as the mudane game life. "Go to mission terminal select a mission and run it. Defeat it and return to mission terminal. Rinse and Repeat."

Getting Credits (currency in SWG) is simple to get if you know where to go and how to get it at the moment. But alot of the con's are reflected on how well your community is.

If you have a strong group of friends while running through the mundane you can be laughing your rear off with friends as you joke around in guild or group chat which I've done on occasions.

-Server Instability: Many times servers have crashed with no explanation.

-Greifers: There are those in game who hunt on the weak for there own enjoyment. If you are PVP (Player vs Player) oriented then be prepared for this. If you become a Jedi you are Forced to do this.

-Lack of Material: Within a year of game time you can EASILY run through a vast majority of the "material" in game.

-Difficulty Ranges from to Easy to Insanely Difficult(JTL Related) The Ground Game involveing Player vs Enviroment can be to easy and at the momanet just about anything can be soloed if you grind the right professions and recive a doctor Buff. This is to be resolved in the Combat Revamp coming sometime in 2005.

Jump to Lightspeed which is the first expansion throws the player into space and is based on a twitched based system. With in game issues (lag and occasional mission glitches) some Space Missions can be notoriasly insane to almost impossible to defeat without a large group helping.

Overall this game seems to be a so so. It has it's hits and misses like any game and only the true Star Wars Fan I think could truly enjoy this game. The Collectors Edition for it's current price listed on Amazon is not worth it figureing what you get for it. You can find the traditional edition now for 20-30 dollars.

The opportunity to live in the Star Wars Universe...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 11 / 15
Date: June 26, 2003
Author: Amazon User

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.

Star Wars a galaxy of no content

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 9 / 11
Date: February 05, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Well I have to say when I first got this game the first few monts were fantastic I had an awesome time leveling up my character hanging out with friends online and enjoying the game. Then suddenly I realized that after playing for 3 months I was doing the same thing I had been doing for the past 3 months just with harder monsters and no interesting stories and quests.

With all of my friends loosing interest due to lack of interesting entertaining content such as epic quests a solid galactic storyline and no space expansion I found myself bored and the game felt more like a job then a game. The game is designed beautifully but if you like to play rpgs to take part in moderately deep and interesting quests then this game is not for you. However if you like to make your own life this game is for you

There are also some major balance issues with character classes massive amounts of nerfs going on during the game and more. I must say that this game has lots of potential but it just does not have a high fun factor and replay value. Which is why I cancelled my account as well. I may check this game out in the future once a few expansion come out and more interesting engrossing content is added such as quests that take weeks to complete and are very rewarding with items and the story that unfolds. Until then this game will stay on the shelf where it belongs and won't be coming down anytime soon. If your looking for an MMORPG with more story I would sugges everques FFXI which has quite a nice storyline system and the upcoming World of Warcraft which has lots of potential in the content department.

Great Game...for a day or so...

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 7 / 8
Date: October 20, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I'm a big Star Wars fan, and couldn't resist buying this game. The graphics were great, but everything else was simply either broken or not there. Gameplay is far below average for an MMORPG, there is practically no player interaction except when someone needs something. The PA (Player Association) system was a great idea, except that the features it grants players hardly ever work. The GuildChat option to talk to your PA buddies is down a 1/4 of the time, and they've already had 1 major incident were all PAs were disbanded. On top of many, upon many bugs in the game, the PvP is pointless since there is 1 class that can decimate all others in 1-2 shots. And if your one of those being lured in by the hope of getting a Jedi character, buy Jedi Academy, because it is unlikely that even the people who have been playing since first day of release will open their Force-Sensitive Character Slot for at least a few more months, and even if they did, whatever they did to do it has nothing to do with how you do, its completely random. There is no Jedi you can go and talk to and all of a sudden you become a Jedi, you must complete a series of tasks (which are designed to take months to complete) of which noone is told what they have to do, to open the Force-Sensitive Character Slot, and only that character is capable of becoming a Jedi. Its a total rip. If all of that appeals to you, then this is your game...

Do NOT buy this game

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 8 / 11
Date: May 28, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I'm on dialup, and the game said it can be played on dialup. Well it can't. After 50 straight hours spent downloading the patches, I finally got to start the game. It was as boring as boring can be. Plus, at dialup speed, just forget it. I complained to Sony and they were "gracious" enough to refund my monthly subscription money. But I'm still out the $20 I paid at Walmart.

I'd give this game negative stars if that was an option. No use rehashing what the others have said. The missions are pointless, unrealistic, take forever to complete, and grant you very small rewards.

This game is a complete STRIKE OUT.

Review Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Next 

Actions