this was like the first mmog i recalled playing and enjoying.
the one unique aspect sro had going for it was the whole thief/hunter/merchant system.
something about being a hunter protecting a massive five star trade from hordes of thieves or being a thief and ganking merchants for their loot was very satisfying.
i played a little of this sror and it is pretty much the old sro with cleaned up dialogues, improved quest system, a free daily four hour 100% exp boost, gear bought with "monk token" exchange from a merchant until lv70 after which gold becomes available (free basic gear can be obtained but the monk gear is SoS gear). supposedly no gold until lv70 should deter gold sellers...
this game is a major nostalgia trip to me and anyone turned off by the original sro because of the poor dialogues, slow leveling, bots, etc should give this revamp a try.