Star Wars Galaxies: Jump to Lightspeed Critic Reviews

The long-awaited add-on for Star Wars Galaxies pretty much delivers what was promised. Space combat relies on player skills rather than character abilities, which is a refreshing change compared to most MMORPG's.

It's a fantastic expansion that adds even more gameplay depth to a game that was already incredibly complex.

It truly makes you feel like you are living in the world that you have come to know and love through the movies and books and that alone has been what makes this MMO stand out from others for me.

Buy. But be warned that if you're not already a Star Wars Galaxies player, it will be a long time before you're able to afford a decent ship.

About the only thing that marks this as a Star Wars adventure is the style of the ships. But for that, this is a vehicular combat addition set in space. Yes, it is fun, and it is challenging, and there is always that bigger, better ship awaiting you.

Outer space in a galaxy far, far away is simply gorgeous. Plus, the skill-based ship-to-ship combat is a breath of fresh air for the MMO scene.

The action parts are fine but the repetitive content and slow skill progression are just too frustrating... It's rewarding in the short term but it grows tedious too quickly.

I'm not happy that players can't completely divorce themselves from the ground game if they want, as well as the fact that an overt Imperial from the ground game can advance down the Rebel Pilot missions if they so choose, and vice versa.

Although it offers newcomers two brand-new species to play as, Jump to Lightspeed (like so much of the content added to the game in recent updates) has been designed to reward dedicated, hardcore players rather than appeal to new ones, and that's exactly what it does.

Still, it's hard to complain too much about the drag of grinding when space is this pretty.

A good addition to Galaxies which will only get better with time.

Bottom line is that Jump To Lightspeed is not an essential addition to SWG, and by no means repairs the many faults of the existing game.

Luckily, the space content is very much on point when comes to aesthetics. If you're a Star Wars fan, you're likely to be delighted by the sights and sounds, even seven hours into a TIE-killing grind.

All things considered, JLS is a good expansion. If you are new to Star Wars Galaxies, I am not sure that JLS is a good starting point.

Long load times, poor planetside performance, repetitive grinding gameplay... Galaxies is still in shaky condition, and thanks to the likes of "Everquest II" and "World of Warcraft," the genre has advanced since its release.

Has much potential, but fails to deliver in the variety department. A straight-up sequel to "X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter," complete with online multiplayer, may have been a more successful venture.