I just spent some time browsing around on the Neocron forums. (Reading the web takes less concentration than playing, and I've got a massive toothache.) And I may have found two good reasons to switch from AO to Neocron, when the dowloadable public beta hits in a couple of weeks.
The less important one is that it has working tradeskills. Not only that, but using them raises your primary stats, especially dexterity, which means you can use trade skills to become better at combat. In fact, from what people are saying on the forums, at low character levels spending time repairing found guns actually levels you up faster than fighting with newbie weapons does.
But the more important one is here.