Definitely worth playing to any MMO/Star Wars or video game fan in general. It's a great experience.
For starters, you can't say 'this game isn't innovative' and 'it's missed this feature of an MMO'. You simply can't win... It seems people are happy to complain about what it does which is similar, but also complain if it's missing something else that was in a previous MMO. Although if they added that, they'd be accused of stealing again. It's happened a lot with recent MMO releases. The fact of the matter is, MMO is a genre and this is very similar to other MMOs in the way it plays. It does some things better and i'm sure it does some things worse. It's like acusing an action game of stealing because it used action, which was in another game...
But let's look at this as a stand alone game, completely forgetting what came first, what it 'should' have done and instead what it has done at this point.
Story
The main thing SWTOR has done to set it aside from other MMOs is offer interesting class stories and voice acting. This is a great step forward for the MMO genre. Instead of just reading through a passage purely to find an objective, this offers you an interesting story and helps you strive to move forward. Again, i've read a lot of people complaining about this aspect. I'll admit it's not as detailed as some of Biowares single player games. But it's certainly a nice change to the usual MMO formula. Instead of complaining about it, people should appreciate the fact they've got it. The stories are well written and interesting. Your characters actually feel like characters, as do the majority of NPCs. There is a lot of room for improvement, but this system is something new and exciting. The system overall reminds me of the original dragon age. The main plot remains quite linear as you progress, but the side quests offer many ways to proceed. The companions also shine as you progress through your story. You can get to know several characters and take them along as you complete your journey. There are 8 stories to complete as you reach 50. I might also add that getting to 50 takes awhile.. but not too long or too short. I think they've got a good balance. Not once did i feel i was grinding to the next level. I always had things to do and progressed nicely.
Combat
It's the same thing all other MMOs have used. Of course it is.. there's not much else you can really do with it in an MMO. You dull it down and people complain, you complicate it and people complain. Any MMO veteran will move into it nicely. The classes all play very differently and have their roles to fulfill. Like any new MMO, there are going to be initial balancing issues. People really like to whinge about this too. They obviously have forgotten early days of any MMO thats ever been released.
Back to the combat though...
Overall, i enjoy it a lot more then other MMOs ive played. Depending on your class, you can be really quite hands on, or a bit more laid back in how you play. But the absence of an auto attack always make you feel like you're doing something. Sure, sometimes you're going to just tap the same skills as you fight off petty computer controlled characters. But when you come against a tough opponent or another player, you'll be carefully managing your skills and resources to ensure you come out on top.
Space combat
Something else that really got flamed. It's a little dull, pretty simple. But, at no point in the game do you HAVE to do it. It's there if you want to and you can walk right past it if you don't. It plays similar to some of the early starfox games, n64 and the like. You fly in a predetermined direction fending off enemy ships and completing objectives. I personally don't mind them too much. When i am feeling a little tired or have only 10 minutes to spare, i run one and enjoy it. Sometimes ive used it to finish off that last bit of an experience bar etc. Again, its a nice feature to have there if you want to do something to advance but just need a little bit of a break. It could be worked on to become something really cool. But right now, im happy to have the option and glad i can pass it up if im not feeling it.
UI and missing features
Yep, there's some things that need to be changed. And i imagine they'll be fixed soon enough. It's early days yet, about a month in and they've received considerable feedback on these kinda things. I'm sure we'll see custom UI, macros and all that goodness soon enough.
PvP
There are a few PvP games and world PvP as well. They obviously have plans to upgrade this as time goes on and again i've heard people flame it as broken. The reality of it is, it's fun. When you stop comparing it to other games and stop picking at every little thing, you realise that it's just plain fun. As the game develops, im sure all of the PvP will improve dramatically, into an enjoyable and competitive game. Even at this point, the PvP is a lot more fun then a lot of other recent MMO releases. Don't expect it to top Guild Wars straight away or anything.. but it's certainly a blast. Again, the classes will be balanced as time goes on. But it's simply a nice show of what SWTOR will come to offer.
Music + Voice acting
It's great, simply put. The music is fitting, the sound effects are well done, the characters are well written and come to live through good voice acting. Some of my favourite names appeared in this game and i was happy to hear familar voices as i met random NPCs on my adventures. I was also pleased to hear such a large range of voice actors. The majority of the player characters have great voices, as do the companion characters. It's really easy to have them seem like a character rather then just an avatar.
Exploration
I see what Gamespot meant with the exploration. Some planets are linear and the quests often send you through a pretty straight forward path through the planets. However, they made no mention of the things to be found if you do explore the planets. There is a lot more to be discovered if you step away from the main story and have a bit of a look around for yourself.
Overall
SWTOR is a great game and a lot of fun. I'd suggest anyone who is a fan of SW, MMOs or video games in general, give it a shot. Don't come into it expecting it to be better then an MMO that has grown over half a decade.. but look at it instead at what it does offer and what the future might hold. There is a lot of room to grow on a stable and enjoyable backbone.
I personally, will be playing SWTOR for some time to come and am looking forward to watching it develop into something which is potentially amazing. Make your own opinion of the game and have some fun.