Star Wars Galaxies: New Game Experience Review

LucasArts and Sony Online’s “New Game Experience” rollout for Star Wars Galaxies continues to be the subject of extreme criticism, with another scathing review appearing over at WorthPlaying. Their harsh conclusion:

Whether the changes of the New Game Experience were driven by SOE or LucasArts, one phrase continues to haunt me as I think back on what I played. One of my favorite scenes from the Star Wars movies was, of course, the trench scene from the end of the Episode IV. A lone group of Y-Wings hurtled down the narrow canyon, striving for that sweet spot that meant the destruction of the bad guys, and the survival of the good. “Stay on target,” their leader responded, to every call for help or question of his judgment. “Stay on target” no matter what may come, to reach their destination and save the day. That persistent attitude, ignoring all wisdom and advice, must have been the mantra of the development team putting together the New Game Experience, only not in the good way. It was not to save the day or bring down the baddies, but to kill a good game not a great game, but a game that was good, and had devoted, loving fans. “Stay on Target.” The problem is not that SOE missed their target it’s that they never had one in the first place. Too bad they didn’t get shot down like those doomed Y-Wings.