Rebel or Imperial?
Written: Jan 23 '04 (Updated Jan 23 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: It's the ultimate game experience so far.
Cons: Some immature attitudes to take with a massive amount of salt.
The Bottom Line: Try it. 30 days free... and there are a lot of things going for this well done MMORPG - Travel, explore, become
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| kellyanns's Full Review: Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided for Windows |
Oh the woes of PC Gamers! We complain about almost everything and anything in games, but none as much as the ones called MMORPGs. We don't get enough help, we don't get enough content and we don't have anyone listening to us when something goes wrong... It's all true, but it's still fun because this isn't PONG or ASTEROIDS... my gosh, if you had to play those games, you'd be sending love letters to game makers now.
If you haven't heard of the acronym MMORPG, you're not gaming enough, YET. (or you're playing HALO and waiting for DOOM3 - who isn't?)
Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided is what is called an MMORPG which translated means - Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game.
There are a few that are very successful such games as; The Sims and EverQuest, but none has come closer to our fantasy of jumping onto the movie screen than SWG (as I will refer to the game from hereon).
The first month of SWG is free, that's the good news. To some, the bad news is that you don't start out a jedi or anything like the characters in any of the films. This wasn't the intention of Sony at all. What they wanted to create was a game that even hardcore gamers would find challenging (read; takes more time than most games).
Installing SWG is a test of patience, but after getting to the end of the three disk installation, you will be taken to several screens to start making your character.
The choices here are seemingly myriad, first you choose your character's name and race. You can choose from Zabrak, Mon Calamari, Human, Wookiee, Bothan, Rodian, Trandoshan, Twi'lek.
To see what each of the races look like, visit http://www.starwarsgalaxiesonline.com and look on the right side of the page. It's easier to see the species here than on Sony's official SWG website located at http://starwarsgalaxies.station.sony.com
First you choose your "universe" which is one of about thirty servers hosted by Sony. I chose Tarquinas as my first universe and it's well populated and even a bit laggy at peak times. If you have massive problems with lag, STOP! Go back to the beginning and choose another server. You can have ONE character per server (unless you pay for another account) but you can have one in EACH universe... this might be a good idea in the long run, but keeping track and playing all those accounts take more time than two full times jobs (and a hefty spreadsheet or database).
Next choose what your character will look like. Not only do you get to choose basic color schemes, but you also get to choose more subtle things like the length of your nose and the color of your eyes and even if you have freckles (if your character can have them).
Next, your foray into the the Universe starts with a tutorial that will give you some idea of how the controls work. It's pretty straight forward and the learning curve isn't too complicated. I found it easier than learning other games such as Diablo 2.
You are now in the game proper. You have three "deaths" before you will need to "clone" and "insure" (please do) to avoid massive injury to your character and damage to your belongings respectively. Wounds you receive can only healed by a medic or doctor who either has a medical droid with him or you will need to visit the nearest medical facility. BF or Battle Fatigue is easiest healed in a cantina where there is either a dancer or an entertainer. "Starter Worlds" all have good cantinas... it's best to find all of the major required places and "waypoint" them (ctrl D) so you can find them easily. If you forget or are in a new town, the easiest way to get your bearings to many of the places you will need is the "find" feature (/find in the chat window).
Power gamers/hardcore gamers have the advantage in that they will spend more time in games like this one and advance "faster" only because they are putting more time into their "profession".
So! YOUR profession...the basics are brawler, medic, artisan, entertainer, marksman, and scout. Not a bad lot to choose from. My choice is always marksman, adding medic and artisan as soon as possible.
It really does take a while to move on up in this game, but think of it as more of a two million piece puzzle and you won't get the "dang this sure takes a long time and what the heck am I doing" syndrome.
Another thing to remember is that those are real humans playing those characters and although you may run across some very rude (childish) people who MAY BE children, in all, it's a very cooperative atmosphere and you can make some good friends. Ok, before you start wondering, I have met people from my gaming past in rl (real life) and I am a SAFE person about it... only at gaming conventions of the type that host these things so one must pay to get in. I am always a bit freaked when people "meet" after an online encounter without knowing quite a bit about their meet'ee...sorry safety blurb ended.
OK... now for the fun part. KILL THOSE IMPS! Oops, you may be an Imperial OR a Rebel and you can choose which you want to be. You must earn "faction points" to move up in rank and to be able to do certain things in the game. To earn those points and for almost all other ways of making "points" you will take "missions".
There are two basic mission types, delivery missions and destroy missions so even if you are an entertainer who doens't carry a weapon, you will be able to move right up the ladder in your chosen profession.
Some of the places you will most likely visit are the Great Saarlac on Tattoine, an imperial prison, Jabba's Palace, and many more, plus you can interact with C3PO, Leia, and a few other memorable characters from Star Wars.
Game Hint: If you want to be mainly a PvP (player versus player - in other words you will be dueling against other players...) DON'T become a wookiee. The best are going to be Human, Zabrak and Transdoshan. Yes, there are ways to be a good PvP with almost all races, but these have the most success because of their inherent physical statistics.
There are many aspects to this game. Dueling, quests, social interaction and more, but the real draw for me was the real spirit of cooperation necessary to make this an experience instead of a game.
No, you can't be Han Solo, Leia Organa or Luke Skywalker but this is a game where you will find what you are looking for if you try hard enough.
Oh, and the jedi thing? You have a possibility of becoming a jedi, but the path is not easy and it's certainly not going to happen overnight. There are hinting helpers called holocrons, but don't expect to be handed one... UNLESS like this year, the developers give you one or two of the little dandies for holiday gifts. Even so, if you are diligent and have some connections or make a good deal of credits, you can buy one or find one in places where "the other side" hang out.
All in all it's a good gaming experience and many people are very happy blowing off some real life (rl) steam and hanging out in virtual cantinas, hospitals and town squares.
There's more to come and this review could never be complete because there is more content being added at least every few months - so if this review seems "dated" a month from now, hey, it's supposed to!
If you get to Tarquinas, look me up...
Xerses
Master Creature Handler (i handle awesome pets)
Master Doctor (so that I can heal all those pets AND my friends)
Recommended:
Yes
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kellyanns
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Reviews written: 7
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