Well, look at it like this. I'm going to use the movie comparison again. You pay for the ticket, around 10 bucks, watch the movie for 2-3 hours, then leave and all you have is a memory. With a game, you pay $60 and it's yours. You can play it over and over again, and make the story what you want it to be. Seems worth it to me, really.
The price of games is just another sign of the times and reflects the improvements the designers have made in the last few years. Development costs are in the tens of millions, just like movies, but their audience is smaller, so they have to charge a larger amount for the product.
Google and youtube both have a vast wealth of information on the various mods available, their current version compatibility, and how to properly install them.
If nothing else, you've got someone to explore the world with. I've been with my wife for twelve years and married for six, and not once has it been boring or "like a prison."
It seems like it would be a great step forward but since they haven't said or done much lately, It would appear the Euclideon guys are either working under the radar or it was a hoax.
Well, this is a minecraft based forum board, sort of. In all seriousness though, I will have to get some hands on with this game. The comment above about it being more aesthetically pleasing is spot on.
http://dev.bukkit.org/server-mods/tekkitcustomizer/ or https://www.beastnode.com/portal/knowledgebase/67/Installing-Tekkit-Server-or-Technic-Pack.html
This may help.