Star Wars Galaxies: In an MMO Far, Far Away...

By Vincent Haoson (Vincenthaoson), Onrpg writer

Star Wars Galaxies is an MMO developed by Sony Online Entertainment that is set around the events right after the destruction of the first Death Star.

Your character, due to unknown reasons is woken up by C3PO and is immediately whisked away by Han Solo and Chewbacca from an imperial station. Your journey starts off by meeting the designated NPC that is linked to your path and doing the quests that is supposed to help you in your journeys.

I can has Lightsaber?

Before you are introduced into the world of wookies, jedis and other weird life forms, your first task would be to create your own Star Wars character. You get to choose from 12 races which are: the Bothan, the Human, the Ithorian, the Mon Calamari, the Rodian, the Sullustan, the Transdoshan, the Twi'Lek, the Wookie and the Zabrak.

After choosing the race of your character you can then edit the looks and the details of your avatar. You can also change the overall theme your character wears to suit your fashion needs.

Besides the character development, Star Wars Galaxies also gives you the choice of what path you would need to follow. There are nine basic professions you can choose to follow which are namely: the Jedi, the Bounty Hunter, the Smuggler, the Officer, the Commando, the spy, the Trader, the Medic and the Entertainer.

These professions are only the tip of the iceberg because you besides the nine professions you start with, there are other sub-professions you can choose from. You can even become a rebel or an empire pilot if you would like.

Welcome to Tattooine: What the game has to offer

With the Star Wars Universe  being very expansive and practically spanning from planet to planet, the game incorporates key planets such as Tatooine into the whole game. You would get to experience how life is in Luke Skywalker's home planet or even go to Hoth where the rebel alliance still had their base there.

You are given a considerable amount of areas to cover and everything is put that is part of the whole Star Wars franchise is inserted into this MMO.

There are some features that the game has however that you can only enjoy if you invest money into the game.  For example, you can get to enjoy having your own ship that is like the Millenium Falcon. You can get to enjoy this though if you buy the game's expansion.

Conclusion

Star Wars Galaxies is a game that has a rich history and considering the fan base of the movies, a large fanbase as well. The game offers a true Star Wars experience like no other however, for a game that's already half a decade in operation there are a few problems the game must fix.

The first thing that the game needs to fix is the dated graphics engine that it uses. If Star Wars Galaxies wants to be at par with the games that are in the front of the MMO race nowadays the game needs to have cleaner sprites, better landscapes and more detailed design specially nowadays when even F2P games push a computer's graphics engine to its limits. Besides, who would want their Wookie to pass through  an area that is littered with "stuff" like some ghost right?

Another thing is that the game controls needs to be tweaked. The game controls feels clumsy especially if you are not used to the keyboard for movement. The game's clumsy controls remind me of the Resident Evil console games though the Star War Galaxies' controls are smoother.

The game's camera view as well needs to be considered. The game's camera view twists and turns in an awkward fashion that sometimes this hinders your line of sight. This may not be problematic if you are just adventuring but this would be disruptive when laser barrels have begun shooting.

Even with the problem on the game controls and view, you shouldn't count the game out. The game has a lot to offer besides carrying the famous Star Wars franchise on its back.

The game's audio is something that is taken directly from the trilogy, who wouldn't be excited to hear the familiar Star Wars theme as you start the your character creation. Unlike in most games out nowadays the game's BGM is suitable enough to the overall feel of the Star Wars Universe.

What would a Star War's game be without the amazing FMV sequences? Star Wars Universe has one of the smoothest FMVs I've seen thus far, of course why would you not expect it? Lucasarts, the company that practically built the whole Universe is the game's publisher.

Besides the aesthetics and game's sounds, the game features are something that attracts the player into the whole thing.  Who wouldn't want to become a jedi and wield the world famous light saber? Or even become a bounty hunter? Or if you fancy yourself trying a new character class that earns more experience as a non-combatant go with the medics or entertainers.

The profession system in Star Wars Galaxies is something that can get the most jaded MMO players to be interested in trying out the numerous professions the game has to offer. Another considerable feature that the game has in reference to the professions is that they have the novelty thanks to the Star Wars fame.

Speaking of novelty, if you bought the game's expansion, you can get your own ship made in the game. Who wouldn't want to know how It feels to fly an X-wing, or even have their own Millenium Falcon? The universe in Star Wars is huge enough that you can just spend hours going from one planet to another.

You can also create your own city here in Star Wars Galaxies just as long as you passed the requirements set by the game a city under your name is only a few clicks away.

Star Wars Galaxies is in itself a treasure trove for fans of the movies and those who are just trying on something different for a change. There is something for anyone here however, unlike most MMOs where you can just spend about an hour or so playing and leave it, you'd need to spend a considerable amount of time in the game to get everything the game has to offer. The question is, are you up for it?

Pros:
- Unique Job Class system (Entertainer, Medics)
- You can create your own city within the game
- You can have your own space ship and explore the Star Wars universe (if you bought the expansion)
- Playing alongside iconic Star wars characters that fans have grown into and loved

Cons:
- Dated graphics
- Controls are hard to get used to
- You really need to immerse yourself to fully enjoy the game.