Star Wars Galaxies, Post-NGE

Many people across the vast virtual lands that make up the internet know of, or may have even played, Star Wars Galaxies(SWG), the Star Wars-based MMORPG produced by Sony Online Entertainment(SOE). For the majority that played the game before the New Game Enhancements(NGE) was implemented, it is generally agreed that the game was made a crap-fest that wasn't worth playing at all.

But, before we get to deep into that, lets have a bit of my history of the game.

I started play Star Wars Galaxies in the seventh grade, and continued to play it daily until sometime in my Sophomore (10th) year, and continued to play it off and on until the end of my Senior (12th) year.

This means I started playing when I was 12, and stopped when I was 17. I haven't resubbed to the game since I've turned 18 (in July of '10). This isn't because the game isn't good, I mean it has to be at least decent to keep me around that long. Though a good guild and friends is what mostly did it, but that's what does it no matter how good an MMO is.

So, I have 5 years experience with the game. You could say I grew up, or matured on Star Wars Galaxies. I started playing typing like your typical 12-13 year old ("hey guyz, wats up? i was wunering if u culd giv me som monee?"), and got to the point that I am at now.


Even though I have played the game since then, I haven't seriously played since earlier 2010. So, I think I have enough experience to give you all a decent idea on how the game was, how it is, and where it's going.

So, now that we have my history out of the way, lets talk about the game. This is a review of post-NGE SWG, so I wont be getting to deep into the history of the game (I probably should have cut down on the contents of my history though :S)


The Review:



It's true that Star Wars Galaxies became a total piece of crap right after the New Game "Enhancements". It's true that SOE made a massive mistake when they decided to go through with the NGE, right after a new expansion was released. It's true that the game will probably never recover from the storm of hate that SOE brought down upon it. But it's also true that the game is now starting to go in the right direction.


That's right. The game isn't the same crappy game we knew right after the NGE. I stuck around and I got to find out first hand. Sure, the game isn't as good as it was post-NGE, but it sure isn't a bad game. Not at all. It's a great game.

There are a number of features that never went away or were changed when the NGE hit. The graphics are the same, except for the combat animations and effects are slightly different. The game still has, in my opinion, the best housing system out of any MMO, hands down. Crafting and resource gathering are still a unique system, and thought crafting changed, resource gathering didn't (for the most part). Space, often called "The Space Game" as it was such a complex part of the game, it was often considered a seperate part of it, was never changed, only added to, in the form of ships and content.

So many of the old stuff still remains. And so many new stuff has been added. Beast Master, to replace Creature Handler and Bio-engineer. Storyteller (something I love) which allows players to make amazing looking scenes using a wide selection of effects (from a fly-by bomber squadron, to force-fields). NPCs, from stormtroopers that will patrol or stand at attention, to Wookiees ready for combat. And props such as stages, landed X-wings, flags and much more.

There is also a new system that allows for players to create their own quest to share with their friends with cash and item rewards set by the player, and xp through special items collected while adventuring that are added to the quest during the quest making process.

The game has come a long way. It's not as buggy, and doesn't feel so much like a new skeleton trying to fit into a skin that doesn't fit to well.

About the only downfall about the game right now is that the population on a lot of server is lacking severely. To the point that servers have had to be shut down and merged with others (though players were given a choice as to which servers their characters would go to).

But, even with the population sagging, the game is continuing to get updates. Whether it's continuing to die or not, I can't tell you, as I don't currently play. But what I can tell you, is that the game is fun and should be played. Don't let thoughts of something past keep you from giving it the try that it deserves. SWG didn't want to the changes anymore than you did, but they were forced upon is, so why let it die, or want it do die, just because of it?




Graphics: 8 / 10

While not amazing, they still look good. I have a few videos on my youtube page, youtube.com/apocaRUFF. You can get a decent idea on what the game looks like on high settings from them.


Sound: 8 / 10
The combat sounds are annoying, but the game is full of Star Wars music that all Star Wars fans love, and the player musician system is quite fun to play around, especially when you have a bunch of people with different instruments in a group playing the same song.

Controls: 7 / 10
The controls, when I last played, weren't the greatest. To me, it felt like it was a hastily put together targeting system that didn't quite fit with the game and only served to make it feel like a game it would never be (an FPS). But, the are usable and seem natural after a few days of using them.

Gameplay: 9 / 10

The gameplay is fun. The only part it lacks in is the combat. And the combat is still fun, but it's not as fun as it could be, in my opinion.

Quest: 9/10

Though the game wasn't originally meant to be a quest game, I have to say that there are a lot of fun quest to do in this game. I enjoyed most of the quest I did, and found the back-stories quite interesting.


Replay Value/longevity: 10/10

The game is full of content, from quest, to crafting, from socializing, to decorating your house(s). You shouldn't run out of things to do for a long time if you ever play the game.


Overall rating: 10/10

Overall, the game deserves the 10/10 I gave it. Some of the individual parts may not be the best they could be, or are lacking, but the whole is amazing.


Final comments:

I'm going to have to say that you give the game a chance. At least play the free trial. I'm quite sure you'll fall in love with at least one thing from the game. It's hard not to when there are so many things to experience.

For my final comment, I'm going to have to say: Don't give up on a game just because some changes are made. And don't avoid a game just because it has a bad past. Things change and they often change for the good.






Thank you all for reading, I'm sorry I made this a bit long. Thanks again!


-Apoca