I played UO for about 3 years. I enjoyed it.
Never liked what I saw/heard about EQ. Though now I wish I had played, and found Curt Schilling in game. That'd be cool to group up with a high level monk that's played by a World Series Champ and one of the best pitchers in baseball right now!
I got into the Camelot beta stress and it seemed like fun, so I bought the game. Cancelled the subscription after 3 months. It just became kill this to level, spend money to get good at making armor and to buy new stuff for your character. Basically a weapon or armor was only "good" for your character for about 2-3 levels. If it was too powerful for you, it wouldn't work as well and deteriorate faster, and if it was too weak for you, well, then obviously it doesn't do as much damage as something that's right for your level. It was too much like LevelQuest in that respect, but at least it wasn't EverCamp.
Earth and Beyond bored me (was in beta test). Eve will bore me too. When I think of space sims, I think Wing Commander or X-Wing. I don't want to control a big ship with the keyboard and mouse and engage in long range combat (read the Eve FAQ). At least they have a new idea on improving skills.
City of Heroes might be interesting. It depends on how they handle advancement. If it's EQ style, it'll blow. If it's straight UO style, it'll blow.
Star Wars Galaxies looks like a winner. It's got a recognizable universe with a wealth of backstory and information, they are trying to take the best elements of EQ and UO and leave behind the worst parts in both of them, and the dev team cares. They respond and interact as much with their bulletin board as HTC does (and in a positive manner, once again, like HTC.)
The funny thing is, you ask enough people, you'll find that every game has someone that loves it, and someone that hates it. Best thing to do is try them out for yourself, if you can afford the box. Most MMOGs offer a free month if you buy the box. Very few offer an overall free trial (unless you can get into the betas for the upcoming games.)
