I played the game back when the Ninja class came out and the community was a lot less... Conquer Online-ish than it was prior to that update, there was a lot less beginner zone camping, kill-stealing etc...
Personally, i think it's just a really outdated game that is way past it's prime but hey, to each their own, you might enjoy the gameplay which is still exactly the same as it used to be but as Grable said - Beware of the Cash Shop.