A complete let-down. Sony Online Entertainment failed miserably at this game.
Numerous glitches, exploitable bugs, as well as a severe lack of content crippled this game from the beginning. The developers focused more on marketing than they did on stabalizing the basic systems that drove the game forward.
No other game in MMORPG history has completely overhauled their entire game system once, let alone twice (or 3 times, in the case of Star Wars Galaxies).
In the beginning, a player could focus on 5 different basic directions; Combat, Crafting, Entertainment, Healing, or Outdoorsmanship. The "skill-based" system allowed players to dabble in various skills from various "Professions" to build almost endless combinations. From martial-artists who style hair in their off-time, to Bounty Hunters who were able to manufacture their own weapons. Or a Dancer, who could soothe your mind in the evening, while bandaging you up in a Medical Center during the daylight hours.
In addition, SWG was the first MMORPG to add an "Alpha Class", simply known as the Jedi Knight to Star Wars fans. The Jedi Knights were able to dominate the battlefields. Since this class was something that could be earned with many hours of leveling, most players chose to play Jedi so they would be able to compete in combat against other Jedi... thus resulting in an overpopulation of Jedi in an era where they were "All but extinct".
The system, although it had good intentions, was easily exploited to create "virtual gods" on the battlefield. Although the developers could have simply balanced out these problems with a few simple fixes, they chose to scrap the old skill-system, and redesign an entirely new one.
Most recently, the developers created what they call the NGE (New Game Experience), which moves away from the tactical-based group combat, and has moved in the direction of the First Person Shooter-style game. In addition, the 38 available skill-based professions that the game started with have been removed, and trimmed down to 9 core "classes". The ability to "mix and match" your skills to create a unique character has been removed.
Many of the older players have left this game, due to a series of out and out lies (two of which were promises to update the Ranger and Commando professions) by the developers. The customer service is completely non-existant, with petitions for bug-fixes being answered with generic reply letters consisting of "Thank you for contacting us. Everything is working as intended".
I would go further into details, but there is a space limit on reviews, I'm sure.
With it's dwindling community, lack of diversity in "Classes", difficult to use interface, and with the shift from RPG to First Person Shooter, this game is best left alone.
A complete waste of money, to say the least.