Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided (commonly abbreviated as SWG) is MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game) that is based on the fictional Star Wars universe. The SWG game was developed by Sony Online Entertainment and published by LucasArt. It was released in the US and Europe 2003 and in Japan in 2004 but later discontinued in 2005 in that country.
The first expansion called Jump to Lightspeed was released October 2004. Rage of the Wookiees, the second expansion, was released May 2005. The third, Trials of Obi-Wan was released August 2005. SOE has also released several smaller expansion packs and kits which include SWG- The Total Experience, SWG- The Complete Online Adventures, and SWG-Starter Kit.
The Star Wars Galaxies universe consists of ten planets: Corellia, Dantooine, Dathomir, forest moon of Endor, Lok, Naboo, Rori, Talus, Tatooine, and Yavin IV. The SWG planet, Kashyyyk was added with the second expansion and the planet of Mustafar was added with the third expansion.
There are ten Star Wars Galaxies species for players to choose from: Bothan, Human, Ithorian, Mon Calamari, Rodian, Sullustan, Trandoshan, Twi'lek, Wookiee, and Zabrak. There are also 9 SWG professions available: Bounty Hunter, Commando, Entertainer, Jedi, Medic, Officer, Smuggler, Spy, and Trader. Players also have the option of choosing between three SWG Pilot sub-professions or the Politician sub-profession.
Once the players have chosen their Star Wars Galaxies characters they can choose to participate in space or ground combat or go back and forth between the two. The players who prefer to play the game in space can build and pilot their own SWG starships which range in size. SWG ground combat is similar to FPS (first person shooter) where players aim guns and other weapons at targets. The players' goal is to advance in levels where they also receive expertise points and additional combat skills called specials that enable them to utilize more powerful weapons. Players can also choose between PvP (player vs. player) or PvE (player vs. environment) gameplay.
Some of the game features include the ability to own or construct SWG buildings which are grouped in cities. Players can also run for mayor in the cities; elections are held every two weeks. Star Wars Galaxies also features a player-run economy where players are responsible for creating their own items, clothing, food and such from looted items and raw materials. They can also change the appearance of their SWG character by hiring an entertainer.
Since its release Star Wars Galaxies has received positives reviews for features such as the realistic and detailed environments and architecture, the large-scale world, and the character customizations. The game has also been criticized for the lack of SWG quests, game bugs that make it vulnerable to cheating, and profession PvP/PvE imbalances.