I have been an MMORPG player since Meridian 59 came out and i have played all of them that i know about, so i would like to think i know a thing or 2 about what makes a good MMORPG. of all the onlline role-players i have played, SWG is ranked within the top 5.
PROS:
1.)The game world is huge without being overwhelming.
2.)Character development. It is skill-based and very flexible. You are not "locked" into any specific character type or class at any point.
3.)the combat is pretty fun, but there are some problems in the agro system (can never tell if you are going to pull 1 or 10 mobs, it is very incosistent.)
4.)The trade skills are as viable a profession as any other in the game.
5.) The graphics are very nice compared to a lot of other MMORPG's
6.) variety of things to do. Start a mining business or hunt tusken raiders, hang out in a cantina or skill grind.
7.) Player housing is very well executed, for the first time in any MMORPG that i have seen, and houses are accessable to even the most casual player.
8.) The entire game is suited very well for the casual gamer as well as the hard-core gamer, It does not require months and months of work to really become "fun" or to experience a lot of the end-game features.
CONS:
1.) Some server issues which result in a lot of frustrating lag and headaches
2.) Agro system (mentioned above)
3.) Balance issues. some classes are too powerful and some too weak (common in any MMORPG)
4.) Some skills are really a lot more of a chore to learn than they are fun. Any bounty hunter will tell you that mastering scout was not a whole lot of "fun" by any stretch of the imagination.
5.) Not challenging enough, especially at end-game. Not much to do once you have mastered any professions you want. gear is easy to obtain, so no real challenge about getting the latest and greatest uber-item. Money is too easy to come by, Everything is kind of handed to the player on a silver platter
6.) Jedi system. Completely botched, almost impossible for anyone to actually become a jedi, much less a casual player.
This is my analysis of the game ater about 6 months of playing it. It gets boring rather quickly, especially for the hardcore gamers (myself included) probably more fun for the casual gamer. All this is just my opinion though, give it a try for youself, most you stand to lose is $45 =/