Despite my thumbs down, I really did enjoy my time with this game. So, why the non-recommendation?

Because this game is at the point to where now it takes months/years to do anything that has any impact on the living universe. You can have your own little fun doing small missions and mining ore and killing AI, which really is all fun and immersive, but the fact of the matter is that if you come into this game now, you're already too late and the train has left the station a long time ago.

The main reason I don't recommend this game is because of the leveling system. "Skills" aren't necessarily skill-based (though you will need to practice various ship "maneuvers"), but merely time spent on downloading knowledge into your mainbrain (a la Matrix) so that your clone can use different ships or weapons. The higher the skill, the longer the wait, the better the payoff.

I stopped my subscription after realizing that maxing out the ships and guns that I wanted to play would take about 3 years. Granted, the ships, guns, and modules that I wanted to use were more advanced, but as a gamer and as someone who enjoys stacking numbers in my favor, I didn't like the fact that I would have to play sub-par until my abilities were maxed out. Nevermind if I had any skill with a ship or was clever at manipulating the market; because of the lack of maxed skills in my prefered style of play, I wouldnt' do as well.

If I had joined this game five or six years ago, I might feel a little differently, but after investing eight months into the game (two months just to get the slightest idea of what I would have wanted to/could do), I realized that taking so much time to make any kind of impact on the community as a player (not as a person, as I've met some very nice people along the way) wasn't very attractive to me.

All in all, as a game, I loved my time in EVE online. I might have even stayed if there was a cockpit. The complexity of ship loadouts, the vastness of space, the epicness of battles (that I've never participated in), the realistic flow of economy, it all coalesces into a great experience...for someone who was there to board the train early.

Despite my thumbs down, I really did enjoy my time with this game. So, why the non-recommendation? Because this game is at the point to where now it takes months/years to do anything that has any impact on the living universe. You can have your own little fun doing small missions and mining ore and killing AI, which really is all fun and immersive, but the fact of the matter is that if you come into this game now, you're already too late and the train has left the station a long time ago. The main reason I don't recommend this game is because of the leveling system. "Skills" aren't necessarily skill-based (though you will need to practice various ship "maneuvers"), but merely time spent on downloading knowledge into your mainbrain (a la Matrix) so that your clone can use different ships or weapons. The higher the skill, the longer the wait, the better the payoff. I stopped my subscription after realizing that maxing out the ships and guns that I wanted to play would take about 3 years. Granted, the ships, guns, and modules that I wanted to use were more advanced, but as a gamer and as someone who enjoys stacking numbers in my favor, I didn't like the fact that I would have to play sub-par until my abilities were maxed out. Nevermind if I had any skill with a ship or was clever at manipulating the market; because of the lack of maxed skills in my prefered style of play, I wouldnt' do as well. If I had joined this game five or six years ago, I might feel a little differently, but after investing eight months into the game (two months just to get the slightest idea of what I would have wanted to/could do), I realized that taking so much time to make any kind of impact on the community as a player (not as a person, as I've met some very nice people along the way) wasn't very attractive to me. All in all, as a game, I loved my time in EVE online. I might have even stayed if there was a cockpit. The complexity of ship loadouts, the vastness of space, the epicness of battles (that I've never participated in), the realistic flow of economy, it all coalesces into a great experience...for someone who was there to board the train early.