I've recently gotten back into playing this game, and it has been a blast. I don't really get a chance to play any games these days, but the stars aligned yesterday, and I was met with an afternoon to myself where I was able to sink some hours into it (after finishing up a few things I needed to do, IE, wash bottles, clean up toys and in general do a bit of tidying around the house)
I've been playing as a Bounty Hunter class, and the story that has unfolded this far revolves around my character participating in what is called The Great Hunt, which is essentially a competition among up and coming Bounty Hunters, and the winner essentially becomes the top/ newest member of their syndicate/ order.
This story is crafted in a way that I have traversed the galaxy a fair bit, and I think I have visited maybe 5 or 6 planets so far, which hold so many interesting side quests which has kept me engaged and present far longer than I had to be.
Usually you just go to a planet to complete a section of you main quest and then you can jump off to the next planet, but while there, I really enjoying exploring and seeing what else the particular place has to offer.
I love the choice given to the player as far as dialog and story options go. In a lot of ways I've essentially been able to mold my character into whatever I want him to be, and there is so much room for role play.
My Character
My characters top priority is money, and to be honest, my wallet in the game has kind of swelled because of it. But, if money is already on the table, he'll essentially go with the evil option for the fun of it. Imagine a greedy cat accepting money of a mouse, and killing it anyway. That's kind of the vibe I'm going for, and it is a lot of fun.
There are companions in the game, and depending on your actions and responses their approval or disapproval of you fluctuates. As far as I know it has no real affect on the game, for example, if they have really low approval of you they're not going to up and leave you. Which, is good, but also bad in a way. I think having the fear of them abandoning you would be a good incentive to follow their lead, but at the same time, it's decent that you can kind of do whatever you want to do without fear of consequences.
The game is free to play, and that's what I'm doing and have been doing pretty much from the beginning.
When I first joined, I bought 1 month of the subscription just to make my characters.
For example, the character creation is limited for free accounts, so for the sake of getting more choices for designing your characters it's worth buying one month of it. Also, you become preferred status for having paid for at least one month of game, which has a few subtle benefits compared to someone who has never paid for it.
They aren't pushy with the player, or at least I have felt like they've tried to squeeze me for any cash.
The writing, choice, and completely voiced dialog cast - even for small quests - is a major plus for me, and it gives it the old school Bioware feel. The planets and locations are great, there are plenty of well known worlds for you to visit, and plenty more than that to discover and explore. The combat is engaging, there is a diverse enemy list and every new area adds enough to keep the game from feeling stale.
There aren't very many negatives as far as I'm concerned, but maybe that's because I've got some rose tinted glasses on after so long of not playing it and now finally getting back into the game.