Vanguard has improved since launch but could improve much more.
Graphics: 8
Although Vanguard's landscapes are terrific to look at, you can't say the same about the character models. Many things make you go Wow! like seeing a big and beautiful ship. Vanguard is probably to prettiest MMO in the market now. A lot of the animations are done poorly. Also, items in general are done poorly. There are some graphical bugs also.
Sound 7.0
Sound in Vanguard is good, but could be improved. Some songs get stuck on your head while others make you feel like turning your mp3 player on. Also, animation sounds aren't really well made.
Gameplay 7.5
Vanguard has a lot of things to keep you interested even though there are some serious problems. It has boats, housing, a huge explorable world, mounts, and challenging things that make you keep playing the game. The problem with housing and boats though is that they are extremelly useless and serve no point other than looks. Crafting is also a fun part of the game where the process is much more dynamic than other games like EQ2. It can get pretty frustrating though like failing an item when its 99% complete. Another bad thing about crafting is that its a complete grind. Can't say the same thing about diplomacy since it is bad on several aspects. Combat in Vanguard isn't so bad even though its auto-attack while using skills. Quests could be much better since most of them are your typical: Go there and kill X mobs or Gather X resources.
Overall, Vanguard is a cool game but lacks in several areas that could make it an excellent MMO. Character models, diplomacy, boats, houses, technical issues, crafting frustrations, typical MMO quests, animations, and bad music bring the overall quality of this game down.