So, I've been playing SWTOR for about three years now before it ever came out on Steam, and I'll say it's one of my favorite MMORPGs out there, if not my absolute favorite.

I'll admit a bit of bias, as I've always been a huge Star Wars fan, but I think that also goes for how well this game nails the aesthetic, themes, and vast potential of storytelling and creativity of Star Wars in general.

In a short summary, SWTOR is a VERY story based game, and is something you can play almost entirely solo, save for endgame operations, PvP, etc. You get to craft your own Star Wars story though the eight classes, your choices, and interactions, and it's awesome in that regard.

Performance wise, it can be a bit iffy, depending on your system. Mine is fairly beefy (though I won't pretend to know computers enough to be the ultimate judge), but even on lower settings, it can be somewhat demanding on your system. On Ultra graphics... you might just be able to use your system to reheat last night's takeout. And, if an area is really populated (say, 100+ people in an instance), you might have some lag, which is also somewhat prevalent in the multiplayer sections, such as PvP, GSF, etc., but in general, you'll get decent frames and run fairly smooth. All in all, not perfect, and certainly not optimized, but at the very least, it's stable.

On the aesthetics, the game nails Star Wars to the finest detail, and really puts a lot into lore and design, though it's also not afraid to play around a bit. It strikes a good balance that maintains immersion, but doesn't restrict the player from making their own experience. The music would definitely make John Williams proud, and the visuals are nice, especially at higher graphics settings, but they're also admittedly a bit dated.

Mechanically, it's functional. That is to say, what you see is what you get. Stats, abilities, gear, etc., it all functions pretty much as expected, though there's a few minor bugs that come up every now and again. It's nothing impressive for MMORPGs, but it's suitable enough for general gameplay. Basically, it's not quite as refined as something like FFXIV, but it's certainly got everything you need.

Now, a big ticket- I know a lot of people look at the developers (oh boy, EA and Bioware...), and think it's gonna be a money sink. And while, like many other big ticket MMOs, there's plenty of room to sink money in the game, I would hesitate to call it over-monetized. In particular, I would say the game isn't Pay-To-Win, or locks progression behind a paywall, but you're also missing out on a fair bit of stuff if you're not invested in at least a subscription. Money caps, Guild Bank access, Artifact Gear/Mounts, and most importantly, access to the latest expansions. That said, you don't quite have to be permanently subbed or dumping money for that, as former subs or people who've purchased from the Cartel Market are 'Preferred' accounts, who get a slightly better deal than pure Free-To-Play.
One sticking point I'd really like to point out with SWTOR, though, is the price point for a sub. It's honestly a very reasonable asking price, about $15/month, and you get some nifty perks and rewards out of it.
TL;DR on monetization: Playing free doesn't impact gameplay, but being subbed is worth it, and it's generally a better price point than most MMOs (looking at FFXIV being a $70 purchase that still wants a sub to just play >:( ...)

Story is most definitely the strongest aspect of this game. There's eight classes with unique stories, and you can progress them your own way. It's great fun, and absolutely something to just lose yourself into. You might find yourself replaying classes just to try out different things, and there's lots of memorable moments to enjoy. That said, it's not quite KOTOR, so don't have your expectations too high...

The community is mixed. I think it's fairly uncontroversial to say the Star Wars fandom is a... unique one, and SWTOR is no different. If you liked 2013 Xbox, you'll love Dromund Kaas and the Imperial Fleet chat. If you like the tone of the average Reddit thread... Republic Fleet might be your speed. It's something of an acquired taste, and you'll meet all sorts, but it's honestly a fun time no matter what, so I'd advise to take it all in stride and just enjoy the show.

All in all... SWTOR is a good game, hell, even a great one. I'd recommend it highly to anyone looking to get immersed in Star Wars and just looking for a fun time. It could use some tweaks and polish, and it can be a bit par-for-the-course in terms of MMOs, but it's still the best online Star Wars experience besides maybe Battlefront and the long-gone Star Wars Galaxies. 8/10

I have spent a lot of time in this game- a lot more than I ever thought I would.

When I first heard about this game, I was trying to decide between Skyrim and this, and I was much more into the medieval fantasy of Elder Scrolls than 50s Americana retrofuturism of Fallout, so I went with TESV, and didn't come to this one until years later. Now it's one of my favorite games I keep coming back to.

Firstly- Performance.
...It's Bethesda. There's not really much to say, there. None of their games have ever run well. Frame drops, bugs, and crashes near constantly- even on a high-end system, which can surprisingly make it even worse, somehow. There's gonna be a lot of times that you're fighting the game just to get it working, reloading saves, having to delete your saves that get corrupted for unknowable reasons, and sometimes having to reinstall a massive game just to get it working.
It's a level of jank that I can easily see turning people away, and yet, if you look above, the reception is... Mostly Positive. That might raise some questions, so I'll continue one to hopefully explain it.

Graphics:
This game looks good. Sure, it's not quite up to the highest modern specs, but it still holds up. People look like people, not Homunculi of the Uncanny Valley. The guns look good, the landscape is nice, it's all very visually appealing, even for a bombed-out wasteland littered with two centuries of decay and nuclear fallout. It manages a sort of charm that's difficult to put into words, but you know it when you see it.

Audio:
Fallout has always been one for a solid soundtrack, but it's more of a Spotify playlist than anything, Don't get me wrong, some 50s swing and classic rock can really get you grooving, but I can't give Fallout too much credit for riding on Elvis and Bing Crosby. When it comes to Fallout's actual, Bethesda-made soundtrack... it's serviceable. The main menu music and the Sanctuary themes are the only two I actually remember, and I only do because I hear them so often, rather than having any actual feelings about them. Sure, it's got some classic tunes, and those are great, but outside of that, you're gonna have a hard time finding anything that hits you quite like 'Streets of Whiterun' or 'The Dragonborn Comes'.

Gameplay:
Despite all the boomers and Reddit intellectuals who swear by old Fallout (specifically New Vegas), there's simply no contest when it comes to Fallout 4. The gunplay is some of the smoothest stuff I've ever played, and if you play DOOM 2016 or Eternal back-to-back with Fallout 4, you'll definitely feel some ID influence with how fast paced you can make the game feel if you're really going for a fight. Or, you can play COD, sit back far away and snipe. Or do lethal amounts of Psycho and punch a mutated bear to death. Honestly, the amount of options you have in combat are awesome, and with the crafting/modification system for weapons and armor, it only gets better.
Some folks might lament the simplified SPECIAL system and perks, but, I'm not particularly attached to the old ways. Fallout 4's perk system might be more simplified and lack certain degrees of nuance, but there's more than enough to allow you to customize your playthroughs exactly how you want. It's not DND, but there's still plenty of room for RPG, with some minor issues...

Story:
You're either a veteran soldier or a lawyer that gets stuff in a fridge when your house gets nuked, and the evil bad scientists take your baby so they can make their Terminators a little more ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥. You get out of the fridge and realize you've missed dinner a few thousand times. Now you're out in Buawstin where inner city crime and drug usage has risen marginally, where you must survive an absolute lack of hygiene, so that you can completely ignore your stolen child and build Guantanamo Bay where you enslave the local gardening club to collect soup cans and make bullets so you can fuel your drug-crazed mass murder spree.
Along the way, you can meet a number of interesting groups such as:
Shut the ♥♥♥♥ Up, Preston
Shut the ♥♥♥♥ Up, Desdemona
Shut the ♥♥♥♥ Up And Give Me Your Clothes, Elder Maxson
and, of course,
Shut the ♥♥♥♥ Up and Give Me Your Whole Faction, Sean.
But, wait, with DLC, there's more! Such As:
Your Own Faction Wants You to Shut the ♥♥♥♥ Up, Allen
DiMA, What the ♥♥♥♥?
D I V I S I O N
and, lastly,
Porter, Shut The ♥♥♥♥ Up and Let Me Go Back to Preston.

They are all uniquely annoying in their own ways, but everyone has their favorites. Boomer Fallout players swear by the Brotherhood of Steel because they're the closest thing to the Enclave. Verified Twitter users screech about the Railroad saving synths, but we all know you played it just to get The Deliverer. Institute apologists are just basement trolls using the Institute as a cover to defend why they're in thousands of dollars in debt for a robotic sex doll Kickstarter campaign. Anyone playing Raider just likes Linkin Park at eardrum shattering volumes. They will try to convince you that morality is subjective and being a Raider is the only way to survive in a post-apocalypse. Further inspection will reveal that these people are just varying degrees of degenerates, from the standard weeaboo furry, to the kind of sociopathic sadist that will eventually become your local DMV worker. New Vegas fans are still too busy arguing about the NCR and Legion to pick any faction here.

True chads play Minutemen because there is nothing more American than getting a bunch of dirty peasants together to wear cowboy hats, build giant ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ artillery cannons and violating the ATF with hand-cranked laser guns, and then use all that power to simply tell people to ♥♥♥♥ off and let me grow my ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ tatos.

All in all, there may not be the most depth to everything, and I'll admit, the writing isn't New Vegas- but there's a lot to do, and a lot of choices you can make in how you invest your character into eveything. But, the game doesn't give you everything, so if you're looking for the perfect RPG in Fallout 4, most of the RP is on you to do.

Modding:
Modding is the bread and butter of all Bethesda games, and it's honestly the best part of Fallout 4. Don't like something in the game? Mod it. Want to add more guns and ♥♥♥♥? Mod it? Are you a degenerate looking to do some depraved ♥♥♥♥? Mod your soul straight to the deepest pits of Hell.

Personally, I keep it reasonable- graphics/performance tweaks, new weapons, some AI and combat overhauls- all stuff that still fits the game and keeps it Fallout, but just improves it. And, honestly, that's why I've been able to stick with it so long and why I enjoy it. Vanilla Fallout has a lot of things you can do, and it's pretty decent on it's own, but it's when you start adding mods to tweak those elements to your liking that Fallout 4 really becomes incredible.

All in all, I'd recommend it. I'd give vanilla a few runs just to get a feel for the base game and then start modding to fine tune your experience, and I promise you'll like the end result.