Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8787 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: ACTIVISION
• Released on: 2005-05-27
• Platforms: Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows Me
• Number of items: 1

Manufacturer's Description
On the planet Kashyyyk, players will choose to defend the freedom of the Wookiees or to fight for their Imperial-backed Trandoshan enslavers in over 100 story-driven adventures. Players will also explore multiple locations of Star Wars interest, including Wookiee-controlled tree cities, Trandoshan slave camps and the safari lands of the affluent Rodians. New starcraft like a new Jedi Starfighter model flown by Anakin, along with creatures and mounts taken directly from Revenge of the Sith, will also debut in-game with the Episode III Rage of the Wookiees expansion.

Episode III Rage of the Wookiees also introduces a new type of game play: The lucrative but daring space mining adventures allow players to mine asteroids throughout space (including the new Kashyyyk space sector), collecting valuable raw materials for sale to ground-based crafters. Any starcraft can be modified for space mining, but dedicated miners will earn a sophisticated high-end ship, allowing them to traverse space while mining and fighting with up to 19 friends as shipmates!

Customer Reviews

Star Wars Galaxies - a convert
I was a dyed-in-the-wool World of Warcraft player but got fed up with the simplicity and very PvP orientated gameplay. Now don't get me wrong, WoW was the first MMORPG I played and I am still very fond of it so it was going to be a tough act to follow. Anyway, scouting around for an alternative, I played the 14 day free trial of SWG and I am now utterly hooked and have signed up.

What I like about it most is the scope for doing other things rather than just killing things or collecting moutain-lion gizzards or whatever, for quest rewards and levelling. The alternatives to grinding are many, too many to talk about here really but they range from crafting (quite a complex business, in a good way!), decorating your own home (speaks straight to my girlie side I'm afraid *blushes*), growing your own pets/mounts, becoming a starship flying ace and setting up a player city.

I didn't play before the dreaded NGE and the introduction of Jedi as a class but so far the number of professions seem fine and the various paths you can follow, plentiful.

And, most importantly, the community on my server, Chimerea, is lovely.

If I have a complaint it's that it is a *bit* more buggy than Wow but I wonder whether that's because it's a more intricate game. More to go wrong, if you see what I mean but maybe that's not an excuse. Also, the customer services is a bit of a pain. Being in the EU makes it a bit more of a trial to reach someone because of US time differences.

Anyway, I'm enjoying it very much and, at risk of being unkind to lovely WoW, I'm finding it a more interesting game. The only reason I've put 4 stars in the 'overall rating' is because of the bugs otherwise it would get a five.

Come join :).

Don't be put off by bad reviews from long time players
The reason most of the reviews you'll read about are bad is that this is not the game most of those reviewers originally bought. Sounds weird? Welcome to SWG.

The original SWG was a massively varied and complex game. It built up a good base of fanatical supporters (As you might expect a Star Wars game to do) and was well liked.

BUT

Not enough new players were signing up and SOE figured this was because of all that complexity and variety. It was putting people off to have to make so many choices so they revamped the game almost entirely, stripped out a lot of the technical side of play and turn-based combat, and came up with the New Game Enhancements. So the SWG you can play now is much simpler than the original. Its not that its a bad game, its just not the game other reviewers came to love over the last coupla years.

So is this game actually any good? Well I really like it. It looks , sounds, and feels like Star Wars - familiar locations and storylines help of course. You have a choice of nine different character classes to play including Jedi, Spy, Trader, and Smuggler. The galaxy is already pretty well established so the new player will have no shortage of things to do.

It is however much easier to master, that is reach the highest possible level, than it used to be leaving many players reaching level 90 and wondering 'what now'?

But as I said, this is a revamped game and the good news is new content is being added regularly. As well as extensions to the legacy quest (a long-running series of quests designed to take a character from noob to Master) there are regular live events (invasions of key cities by NPC armies for example), guilds, and no shortage of other players for PvP combat. The next big thing on the horizon is the Battle of Restuss. A sleepy town on Naboo will be the setting for a massive battle between Rebel and Imperial forces. The really cool thing? The level of player involvement will determine the outcome of the battle on each server!

SWG certainly isn't perfect. It has bugs and glitches like any game. And the customer service team don't have an entirely admirable reputation. But I believe the game is only getting stronger and stronger. Now is a tough time to be a long-time player but a great time for the newcomer.

Don't be put off by the negativity and bitterness! Don't give in to the Dark Side! Right now SWG are even offering free trials so you can easily head over to the SOE site and check it out for yourself.

A sorry end to the whole affair
This game was undoubtedly one of the most innovative games for its time and believe me, I lived on it. Sadly SOE (Sony) have messed it with on several occasions now to the point where it is unrecognisable. They created an NGE system which has aimed it at the WOW teenagers, and it failed spectacularily. Furthermore, this game is unique in that six months after the controversial changes former vets like myself are still writing and talking about it. This is an excellent example of how to truly destroy a game. I recently re-visited my old guild (Go AF!!) and found that out of 350 members no one and I mean NO ONE was left online. Mass exodus into better games, please avoid at all costs save your money and buy something. Truly devastating turn of events with this game.