My initial impression from a few hours in the demo is "meh". Mildly entertaining, but not going to rush out and buy it. I guess i'll wait and see...
As for the subscription thing, it's not
that bad in the context of it more or less being an MMO in multiplayer. I can see it quickly becoming required as the developers start making powerful "gifts" to subscribers, despite what they say about item power.
http://www.hellgateguru.com/2007/05/eli ... r-details/