there arent skill points. you build your personna on skills, but you dont allot points into any given skill. learning a skill is time based, real time, some take hours, some may take a week depending on the complexity of it. after 6 months of playing and investing x amount of hours you will loose 4-7% of your time spent learning skills. this is a large penalty and i dont know of any game that even comes close.
fortunately, eve seems to be drawing a more mature 'elite/privateer' crowd than your typical 'daoc/e&b' juvenile types. eve is a space trading/corporate domination game. not a hack and slash mob fest. a 12 year old mentality will not be stimulated by eve, nor will they be able to survive long.
yes eve is similar to others, it's played on a computer and on the internet, but that's about where the story ends.
you would be surprised about the amount of roleplaying that has already been going on for the last few years. the fanbase seems quite dedicated. one amazing aspect of eve is that the character progression is so wide open that an indiviual can do anythign they want. they are NOT locked into class/profession stereotypes. eve does not say what you can and cant do. your actions shape your destiny, not your point in str or wis. eve is roleplaying.
i suggest you stop by the forums and learn more. you may find yourself eagerly anticipating a wonderful new game.