Some of the latter influxes of MMORPG's have been trying to steer away from the generic type of gameplay offered by earlier titles of the genre. Most are doing away with leveling up and instead focusing on mastering specific skills.
Star Wars Galaxies is of the new breed, and actually breathes some new life into this controversial line of games.
Being able to join the Empire, aid the Rebellion, run around Tatooine as a wookie, or become a Jedi are just a few of the selling points that this game has. Galaxies is a persistent world in the vein of George Lucas' sci-fi masterpiece, and gives you the opportunity to become part of it.
Taking place between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back (there's about a five year gap in between there, which gives the developers plenty of time to work with), you enter the universe as one of 8 different species. Humans, Zabraks, and Calamari (the species, not the dish) are just of the few types of life forms you can play as. Customizing your character is almost as deep a task as refining your profession. Hair styles, tattoos, and the shape of just about everything visible can be tampered with.
When you finish up with the superficial stuff, you choose what novice skill you want to start out with. There are no restrictions based on race or sex, so you can look as silly as you want and still be a bad ass bounty hunter.
What to do now, you say? Even though Galaxies seems like its still in Beta, there is plenty of stuff to do already. Your skills will ultimately dictate what you can and cannot do alone, but almost anything can be accomplished with a well rounded group of friends. Scattered around most of the worlds are theme parks like Jabba's Palace on Tatooine and the Emperor's Retreat on Naboo. These require you to complete a heck of a lot of missions before you can enter inside them and reap whatever cool benefits they have to offer.
There is no shortage of things to do, places to explore, or people to meet. And don't forget that there is a war going on, and joining sides will help tip the scales, but it's up to you which way you want them tipped. Player vs. Player combat is not allowed unless both players give their consent, but if you join either side of the war, you can freely attack the opposing side wherever you see them. There are also battlefields where large groups of Rebels and Imperials gather to wage large scale war on each other. Anyone can enter a battlefield, and once you do, you have to pick a side. Just hope that it's not the losing one.
