sorry dude, but EVE's a yawner at the moment. i'll take another look when they merge this new shooter concept with the MMO, cuz you're right, it has major sandbox appeal... not to mention it's a gorgeous game.

I have tremendous respect for Eve, but I simply didn't enjoy it at all. Even with all the players in the game, I just felt so alone (and not in a good "solitude of outer space" kind of way). Everyone says, "Get into a corp," but the game was still lonely even with my island/liferaft of a corp to keep me company. The gameplay was too "hands-off" for me, and while everyone says that there's so much to do, I didn't feel like there were enough choices to feel truly free. It seemed to boil-down to PvP (I cite gameplay and community as the barriers I faced here), economy (number-crunching isn't my thing), mining (who doesn't think that needs to get majorly spiced-up?), mission-running (seemed pretty thin as a primary focus of play to me), and exploration (I played before this was really developed to the point it is today).

I apologize for the long-winded psuedo-review of Eve there. I really do love the game for its influence on the industry, but I did want to show that just because a player (like me) loves and wants sandbox/freedom/virtual world doesn't mean that Eve is a guaranteed winner. Anyone who hasn't tried it should try it, but it's not a miraculous cure-all for everyone's "sandbox" woes.

I am in the same boat as the two folks above me. Eve is a fascinating and commendable accomplishment but it was NOT my cup of tea. I am a fan of space shooters and MMOs and it seemed like a perfect combo for me but the cold, silent galaxy was too depressing. And the "go-to" method of piloting was too restrictive for me.

Again, I think they have done a great job with the outside-the-box game design but it's not my thing and I'm afraid it's not quite the thing the public is looking for (imo).

Also startlingly beautiful at times...

Typical MMO-gamer capriciousness. They say they want one thing but when they get it, they disregard it.