I hear ya, I play a good bit, but I don't have time for a "game career".
I recently found out about an upcoming game that is coming to PC as well as XBLA. It looks like a "boiled down" version of Eve, that they say in the forums won't require tons of time. Fine for people who play minutes at a time.
http://www.minerwars.com/
I got a chuckle out of it at first, but then I read up and it sounds good as well as accessible.

EVE is a game you either love or hate.
I played it for quite some time, then I had nearly a years break. But Ive just recently gone back to it.
It is a slow game, but there *is* something about it thats hard to define, but that just sold it for me as an interesting game.
Of course, I gravitate towards games that takes a while and are slower to play - also a reason I played World War II Online from the day it was launched and kept going for a few years :)

It looks very interesting, but my first road block to even trying the trial is that you pay for the client to run the game.
For how long it has been out the client should be a free download and you simply pay per month to play if you choose.
So, I guess I will have to pass on this one, but it looks very cool.

Erm..the client is free. There are 14 day free trials, which means you only have to pay after that.
I believe Steam may have some thing where you pay to download, but I gues that goes off your first month. But if you download directly from EVE website it is free.

You can get a 21 day trial from steam or a current subscriber of the game and then if you get the game you dont loose the days you have left.

I went to the website and they want you to buy the game for $20.00 which includes 30 days of play.
That seems to me it is $5.00 for the client if you want to keep playing, am I incorrect in my thinking?

I consider 'entering' into EVE matter myself but one question about this steam sale. This 21-day trial start counting when I bought game and it's added to my Steam acoount or after I register/create account in EVE, I don't know how it works. I Wan't use opportunity and buy it cheap but not necessary start playing right after...

ahem...yes, you are absolutely right. I have not seen this. Either they didnt have this registration fee ( which they call it ) of 5 dollars before, or I must have completely missed when I subscribed the first time.
So, first month is 20 dollars instead of 15 dollars, and then subsequent month are 15 dollars.
However, that being said, you can still play the 14 day trial for free without paying any registration or monthly fee.

Go to the Eve site and get the free 14 day trial. There's really no reason to go through Steam. Play for 2 weeks, if you like it then you subscribe on the website.
https://secure.eve-online.com/ft/FreeTrialSignup.aspx?aid=103543

Just as a clarification for everyone who might be in the same boat as me and might be thinking about giving this thing a whirl...
I did some poking around on the Steam forums regarding the game, and here's the skinny:
The client software -is- free.
There -is- an activation fee for when you create a new paid account or convert your trial account into a paid account.
The monthly subscription fee is $15/month.
What Steam is doing with its sale is charging $5 and giving you a 21 day trial -and- a month's worth of play time. The activation fee is waived (or folded into the discounted price of $5.00, however you want to look at it.)
So, if what I read on the Steam forums is correct, and I'm also understanding it correctly, if you get the game via Steam, you're getting your first 51 days of play time for five bucks. So if you're interested in giving the game a whirl and are certain enough that you'd be willing to spend the five bucks, you could go with that. Or, you could just go with the free trial and not spend anything. Guess those are the two options for people who are thinking about trying the game out.

You can get all the benefits of Eve, without the interaction, or the frustration with Freelancer. That game is so immersive and huge in scope, it might as well be an MMO.

Actually Eve is quite soft on the time consumption, this coming from a 4 year player. Skills train in real time so the only thing you get from being more online is isk (in game currency). But even in the end, what matters most for PvP, and yes Eve is a PvP based game, is personal skill, not ingame skills nor isk.
Taking into account that the average age of Eve player is quite high by MMO standards, most of us have wife, children, a house and a job to take care for, yet one or two hours per night is usually enough for us.
Eve complexity comes not from the control scheme (if you read the back story it all makes sense) but from the myriad of things you can do, and the scope that your action can effect.
And yes, unless someone at CCP had some kind of brain damage, the trial client, non steam, is free (why would anyone want to go with steam to play eve is beyond me for starters).
So in conclusion, get the 14 day trial, buckle up and prepare to meet THE MMO. Any question you may have feel free to ask me here.

Ummmm, no not even close. Freelancer was an ok game but it had no Industry or Economy (2 huge advantages EVE has) and the game play was only barely passable. I don't understand why Freelancer gets the love it does I was not impressed.

X3 would be more along the lines of Eve, but without the public in your game. It even has scenario modes where you can leave the storyline behind and run it fully open.
Freelancer and Darkstar One (which I'm enjoying right now) are like a boiled down and simplified version of that kind of game. More action, faster advancement, but not as deep.
...but also without the fee. Just don't get deep into it and corrupt/lose your game save somehow. Pros and cons either way, try out everything and see what you like. Most all of these have demos.

Lol, FL most definitely did have an economy..plus, why would you PAY a fee every month to participate in a FAKE economy? Jsut start trading stocks with your $15 per month!