Yeah, the interface is like WoW, but backwards. But so is every other MMORPG out there. The thing I like about SWTOR is that it is heavily story based. If you rush through and don't watch the video talk scenes, you miss half the game. Also, group chatting in a sigle conversation is kind of cool. you get group points for answering the same and it rolls to see who leads the conversation at that point. I actually think that is pretty nifty. It's like everyone gets their opinion and the loudest talker wins...kinda...LOL.
Now I will admit, playing the dark side is more fun than playing the light side. Sorry Action. But I did try the light side as well and there are some nice things about it. But being a jedi Knight was not one of them. Basically you are surrounded by a bunch of Paladins if you are an old D&D player you know how annoying they can be.
Graphics are better than WoW. But umm, it's a video game, so all of them are cartoon like characters. But it is better graphics than the cartoon show of Star Wars.
My only complaint about SWTOR is the crafting system. You have to send your companions out to get crafting materials and stuff, but you have to pay them to do it. So each crafting "quest" you have to purchase. They are definately going a different route on that one. But I didn't play with it a ton, so I can't say a lot on it.
But I had a blast with the game. And I will be one of the ones heavy into it.