Cheap Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided (Software) (Windows 2000, Windows Me, Windows 98, Windows 95, Windows XP) Price

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Customer Reviews of Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided

Beta Tester's Thumbs Up.
Star Wars Galaxies wasn't made for *them* it was made for you - that's if you're an older gamer, roleplayer, casual gamer, or fan of the movies. *Them* are the d00dz that probably chased you off any MMORPG you've ever been curious enough to try.

The interface is straightforward and easy to make sense of - with the mouse alone you're in good stead to start your adventures but there's also much depth in systems as you learn. Character creation offers a dazzling variety of graphical options and once you get into the game there are even more ways to customize your appearance. This is a skill, not class, based game and a given character can learn all the beginning skills of different professions he's interested in but over time he may want to cash some back in to make room for specialized abilities. There's good in-game help and community support features if you're seeking for Roleplayers, Newbie Helpers or just other folks Looking For Group (LFG).

Careers include combat oriented classes like Marksmen and Brawlers who can evolve into specialties like Pistoleer, Teras Kasi martial artist, Combat Medic, Commando or Squad Leader. There are support classes like Medics and Doctors or even Bio-Engineers (that can create beasts in the lab!). Adventuresome Scouts can evolve into Rangers or Creature Handlers among other things. There's a very real Tamagochi element to creature AI and how you treat your beast will effect how well he follows orders or how healthy he becomes as he grows. There are entertainers like Dancers and Musicians who have great animations and can produce entertaining flourishes to spice up dances or songs - they can also coordinate and work as groups. And there are all kinds of artisan specialities like Tailor, Weaponsmith or Droid Engineer - even Architect! Artisans experiment with schematics and seek out the best resources to make items or component for more complex items they can sell through the automated Bazaar system, through personal vendors in shops or face to face with clientel.

There is a war on though, and few folks will pass up the chance to be a Rebel operative or an Imperial enforcer. How much conflict you want to be involved in is up to you. A player can elect whether to be covert (only able to engage NPCs but safe from other players) or overt (pure 24/7 PvP) and is able to switch back and forth at a recruiter after a suitable waiting period. You can get rank, items, training, droid or even NPC troops and vehicles from your faction. For those who shy away from even covert status there are spawned 'battlefields' for PvP with no serious consequences (loss of items or death) if one is just looking to experiment or for a diversion. These have been described by Devs as mini-games of CounterStrike with bases and temporary battlefield faction perks. Just pick a side...

There are houses, mansions, harvesting and mining structures to buy. Furniture and decorations, as well as more functional items like crafting stations and vendors, are available to be placed inside permanent facilities. Factional characters will have bases and fortresses they can erect as well eventually.

Eventually tools will be incorporated for player cities and politician character classes (that can be elected and in return build 'municipal' structures like hospitals and starports unavailable to architects) and the next big supplement is the Space Expansion which will bring adventurers to the stars.

If you think I love this game you're right. The power differentials are minor enough that even beginning characters, and casual players, have an important place in things. More experienced artisans rely on their lesser fellows to supply important component parts. Even a weak combatant is welcome in a group of veterans because he's still capable of using his skills in ways to support the group.

This is a game for everyone except hardcore powergamers. If you live to spend your entire waking life online in order to 'beat' a game, and systematically mine out all content, and think that griefing the helpless or dominating the weak is the point of MMORPGs - you're not going to like SWG. There is a hearty PvP component but it is elective. The most important components of gameplay can't be mastered by walk-thru's from stratics or abuses of macros - they're dynamically spawning POIs in the wilderness, not static camps, (though there are Star Wars 'theme parks' based on important locals like Jabba's or The Emperor's Retreat on Naboo - these offer canned missions that are more involved than the usual NPC based ones) and the interaction between players to build communities based on cooperation for mutual advantage. SWG is a game for the rest of us - the naive and the jaded and those with a realistically limited time to play games - who've been waiting for a MMORPG to finally get it right.

Or as a Wookie friend of mine puts it "ROOAAARRRRRRRR!"

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Galaxies
This game is very addicting. If you are a fan of RPGs, or Star Wars, this is for you. If you have a boss who doesnt like people showing up late, asking to leave early, or calling out "sick", you should pass on this game. :)