Things I'd like to know (that you haven't already mentioned in your post) are:
- What's the world setting like? Is it richly developed (or based on something with an already existing rich backstory, like say SWG)?
- How involved is the player in the overall storyarc of the game? Are your quests/missions/etc. obviously tied into the story of the world as a whole, or are you just random Joe Schmoe with a sword?
- How customizable is your character? Do you get high levels of appearance customization like CoH/V, or is your appearance basically only defined by the items you get (WoW)? Are there lots of races/classes/specializations to choose from?
- What's the profession system like? If, for example, I'm a leatherworker in a fantasy setting, am I going to have to spend countless hours killing and skinning deer that give me no other reward, or can I develop my professions in line with the other things I'm doing in the game?
- What's the travel system like? For space-genre games, how easy is it to get off-world without your own ship, or how easy is it to obtain a ship?
- What kind of "hooks" distinguish this game from others of the same genre? I.E., Planetside has a constantly-shifting world map with territory claimed by each faction, that player actions can change in real-time. Guild Wars has no monthly fee.
- Speaking of fees, how much is it to purchase and play the game? How many characters slots do I have available, and can I purchase more? Is there a good system in place for a trial account (I.E., Anarchy Online's "froob" accounts)?
- How difficult is it to begin playing the game? Do I absolutey have to read every page of the giant user manual, or can I jump right in? Does it have a starting-area tutorial system, or is the starting area really only distinguished by low-level missions? If it's easy to learn the basics, is there room for advanced play once players become more familiar with the game (or am I going to be turning on auto-attack and getting a snack?)?
- How's the combat system? Slow (EQ), fast (WoW), trigger-finger (BF2)? Does it require a lot of user input; are there different ways for similar characters to fight the same thing, to allow for different playstyles?
- Do you have a house/guild hall/castle/weird-ass alien tower of your own? If so, can you allow others into it? Does it need to be baby-sat, or is it locked when you're not in it? Can it be attacked or destroyed?
- What kind of support community does it have? Do they have a full-fledged support forum & help line, plus in-game GM's, or is it a couple of guys in India?
- What kind of graphics does it display? Am I going to need to upgrade my machine (if I already play other MMO's) to something state-of-the-art to play it?
- Is there anything else that might distinguish this game from all the others? Is it something like Second Life, which is like an MMO Sims, and there are really no competing games? Or is it something like the upcoming Warhammer MMO, where there are a million sword-and-sworcery games and we can only pray that having your orc's skin get darker green isn't the only thing that stands out?
Are these enough things for you?
