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Different from WoW, but it's all about your preference.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 8
Date: July 12, 2005
Author: Amazon User

After a month of playing Everquest II, it's easy to point out the difference between it and WoW.

Everquest II is a team-oriented game for everything pretty much. It gets harder and harder to solo as you progress. So you pretty much have to play with a team if you want good loot. This may be a bad thing for the moron in your family, but most people should be fine. With WoW you truly can solo to level 60. Soloing can be fun and casual, and some may not have the time to play Everquest as it does require a commitment to your group.

The land isn't explored for you. In WoW, you can see where everything is, but to see the details on a map you have to go there first. It is the same in Everquest, however I think Everquest has a little bit more mystery to it. Things aren't as clearcut. One thing I have come to appreciate is exploring in Everquest. The different lands and such you will see aren't quite as unique as the lands in WoW, however it does feel good to discover new areas. Whenever I see something new it feels like something out of an old school RPG.

If you like trade skills, Everquest is perfect for you. You can master whatever you like, and often times you must partake in several different things to create an item. You can make equipment, food, scrolls, potions, and even items for your house. You may not sell as much as you would in WoW because not as many people play EQ2(every server population is low right now). Still, there are many players willing to buy things, and you can auction everything right from your house. The most interesting part of trade skills are the levels. You have 2 levels in the game. One level is your adventuring level that you get from killing enemies and doing quests(the current level cap is 50, but it will be 60 soon), and the other level is your trade skill level. You can limit yourself solely to crafting and such. Later you will need to get better material, but you can craft alot at low levels.

I spoke of houses earlier. Everyone gets a room to start and can purchase a house later. You don't own the actual house, but you own your own interior. What I mean is, 100 people may enter the same door as you, but they will each have their own interior. Some may say that is cheating, but it works fine. Higher end houses cost alot of money to maintain, so only diehard players will have them.

The cons of the game are few. For one, the aren't many players. The city of Qeynos is devoid of life. I barely see anyone in South Qeynos, and it almost seems like there are more houses in the city than there are people.

Another thing, the graphics take alot of ram. I have 512 mb, which is fine for WoW. However, EQ2 takes a load of ram. Traveling throughout the city and to different zones requires loading times. My computer spends at least a minute loading. A minute sounds like nothing, but it is a long time to stare at the computer. I don't even know if I will be able to move in big raids later.

The worst part of the game is the learning curve. There are a bunch of little things you must learn as you progress that the game doesn't bother to tell you about. Nobody will teach you about trade skills. You basically must learn how to counteract things on your own. The equipment in the game will tell you if you can't use it, but it will never tell you when you can use it. For a while I didn't even know I could upgrade my spells. Even learning to control aggro takes a long time. When grouping, the monsters will attack whoever they hate the most. It takes a while to learn how much will threaten them. If you do pull a bunch of monsters and die, your entire group loses experience.

Still, EQ2 has it's positives. It is the opposite of WoW in a sense. If you hate WoW, give EQ2 a try. Even if you hate EQ2, you can use your account to play any SOE game that costs a monthly fee.

Out of this world graphics, but also its down fall.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 8 / 17
Date: November 06, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I have been in EQ2 Beta. My husband and I have been very objective, especially being in EQ1 for 4 years.

While the graphics, storylines, and awesome new quest system all are well thought out and there are many cool new features. Its impossible to do with the massive lag. It took me 30 min to catch a goblin wandering a boat (in tutorial). I have 512 memory, new {edited} video card, and its still laggy. I cant imagine what it will be like with 200+ people in a zone.

There is alot of potential here, but someone needs to start pumping out some video cards to run with EQ2. They are way above everyone in the graphics.

Game blows other MORPGS out of the water

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 11
Date: November 13, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I got this game at release, and have to say that I'm thoroughly impressed with the scope, graphics, sound, and allout gameplay of Everquest 2. The amount of content is unbelievable, the atmosphere of the cities is astounding, and the size of just the first world zone (common lands) is huge. The interface does take a little getting used to, but with all the options available you can set up practically every aspect of the game just how you want it.

One of the things that I really like about EQ2 is the questing. You actually get decent amounts of experience for completing them, they add alot of flavor to the story and overall game experience, and the rewards are comenserate to the tasks involved.

Considering the game just came out, and I haven't found a single bug or lag issue after ~36 hours of playing is another plus to the SOE development team. Compared to other games I've played at release like SWG, this game has been awesome from the getgo.

I've never written a review for any games I've bought in the past, but this game has impressed me so much I would feel ungrateful if I didn't. Tsk tsk on all the naysayers bashing the game before it even came out.

{EDIT}

Everquest 2 - The MarsDust scoop from a Beta tester

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 11
Date: November 12, 2004
Author: Amazon User

{EDITED}

Almost half a decade ago an online game broke that set the standards for every production to follow. Everquest was its name. The world created by the Everquest team seduced the players into many a sleepless night and wasted day slaying dragons, orcs, goblins, etc while attempting to further advance their characters magical or melee abilities. That wasn't what brought everyone to this game though. It was the idea that you did all of this with other real people from across the globe. Sort of an internet chat coupled with a role-playing game. You want to be in a group with you buddies' cleric (a healing class) that lives in New York while you sit in California or even Japan with your warrior? No problem. Send them a message and gather a few more friends to start your party at slaying the evils of the land.

Sony Online Entertainment took full control of this Massively Multiplayer Online Game, MMO's for short, quickly after it was released and has enjoyed the largest subscription base for any game of its kind in North America. Now they take it up a notch.
In its first incarnation Everquest, EQ for short, was rather simple. Gather a team, hack/slash, cast spells, slay the beast, rinse, repeat.
Some of the larger encounters of the game took a little more strategy but nothing overwhelming. The world you explored, Norrath, was plain as well, trees, hills, sky, nothing extremely impressive. All of the previous tedium and blandness has been overhauled and restructured in Everquest 2, which will ship on November 8th 2004 simultanesouly in the US and Europe.

I was lucky enough to Beta Test Everquest 2 since this passed July. Let alone played EQ1 for almost four years. The upgrades and changes are without a doubt AMAZING. The first thing one will notice is the beauty of the game.
The water reflects your characters appearance as you run by slightly distorted as the ripples break its surface. The grass and flowers you run through sway and bend in the breeze. Large groups of butterflies kick up as you trot along the fields. Leaves fall from the trees in the glades and forests.
The artwork alone sucks you right in from the moment you begin. The npc (non-playing characters aka "computer controlled) talk to you as you walk by, interact, or attack them with REAL VOICES. By the release of the game Sony promises to have voice-overs for every npc possible, taunting you to buy their wares, accept their quests, or bash their faces in. These are just the ambience effects. The characters themselves are a separate entity of beauty.

Your characters are breathtaking. Imaginative hair-dos, highly textured armor and weapons. Large choices for skin color, facial features, shapes, and even little things like piercings, tattoos, and accessories are at your disposal. Sixteen different races are available ranging from your typical human, towering barbarians, seductive elves, stout dwarves, gnomes, alien-like Erudites, and goodly halflings. The monstrous races make a return as well, which include ogres, trolls, iksar (a lizardman like race), the feline kerra, dark eves, and the new race the Ratonga (half rat half man). Each with their own racial traits to customize and toy with. One of the greatest parts of the character creation process is that unlike EQ1, EQ2 allows any race to be any class. You want to be a sweet frail-looking wood elf that dons the massive suit of armor swinging a giant sword? You can. So you are looking for the giant ogre that hates to get his hands dirty so he wields powerful magics? Go for it.The class system is also split into three "subclasses". Starting out as either a fighter, mage, priest, or scout you progress into a subclass at your tenth level then a specialized class at your 20th. These specialized classes are more often then not based upon your characters alignment. You see, the world of Norrath used to be comprised of a few continents with most races hailing from their own city... Not anymore.
The once great empires of elves, humans, darkelves, etc have been crushed, lost, or gone into hiding. The only remaining cities are the noble and good Qeynos and the evil oppressive Freeport. The two cities reflect their faction better than one could imagine. The feel of Qeynos is something out of a movie. Children play in the streets chaseing cats and dogs. Merchants shout sales pitches to look at their wares. You really feel like a hero from the times of King Arthur while on the streets. This is the complete opposite in Freeport. The merchants and guards scowl at you. They threaten you to buy their wares or else. Pushing the evil envelope to the limit. You begin to really feel the oppression of the city from the moment you enter. Fans of the darker races will adore this. These little accents help with immersion immensely. The quests given to your character make you really feel like your helping the unfortunate soul that sent you on them. This can also be a curse in disguise. With immersion this good real time seems to disappear and an hour of game play is easily turned into four as you fight your way across the shattered lands of Norrath.
The combat system is completely revamped. With EQ1 you could easily hit auto-attack and just sit back. Now you have heroic opportunities that help your group or harm the enemy which need a certain "combo" of ability usage to take effect. Combat "arts" that cause the damage to turn the tide of battle. Arrays of magical spells to heal, harm, or cripple your foe. The animations for the arts and magic fit perfectly, be it summoning an arc of lighting forth from your hands to spinning around backwards to thrust kick the orc standing in your way.
I can honestly say that in my opinion, this game is what every single company in the future will try to copy just as before with Everquest 1 almost half a decade ago. The combat system is fun and engaging making one actually pay attention to what they are doing as the battle evolves. And an environment that brings the virtual world to life from start to finish. Without a doubt, there are going to be many "magically sick" people calling into work the second week of November.

-Doug Kerry

Everquest 2: WARNING!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 11
Date: July 20, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I had played the trial version before this and thought that the graphics were pretty cool, and that the game play looked better than what I had seen in EQ1. At this point I wasn't sure if I though it would be worth the $14.99 a month to play.
It has been a month since I started playing EQ2 and I can honestly say that I am FULLY addicted to this game.
See, what they do is give you your first month free, THEN start charging you. This has a dual effect in that 1- It gave me time to decide that yes, I would be willing to pay the $14.99 a month to play this because of the amount of time I actually play this game, and 2- I really don't want to loose everything I have accomplished in the game at this point!
So here is why I give WARNING to anybody who decides to start playing this: this game is highly addictive and WILL take up a lot of your time. As an average I would say I am playing this game about 8-10 hours a day. So be prepared to get addicted to the crack cocaine of online gaming!

Review from Husband and Wife Combo

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 7 / 14
Date: October 14, 2005
Author: Amazon User

First, before I begin my review I just to say something about Massively Multiplayer Online games...they are just that MULTIPLAYER...I just sick of reading reviews saying I cannot solo or the game sucks because soloing is hard...go play Aasolo game like Diablo...and save your $15 a month...it's a waste to solo all the time...every class can solo, but if you have every played any fantasy game (pen and paper) or even read fantasy novels..i.e. Lord of the Rings...NO one person did everything...all the big things accomplished through teamwork...and I know that is the way EQ II somewhat works..big bad guys take groups...it is a group game...you can solo and it can be fun...but albet maybe a tad slow depending on class. The other thing is yes...it does take time to level mid way...ummm but just like MOST things you have to work your way up...and it takes time...I will agree that it does take more time and hard core gamers will reach there first...but you can do it...it just takes longer for us with kids and spouses. I have played both WOW and EQ II....both games have good qualities....but to me EQ II is the adult game.
WOW has great plot line and I have played all the warcraft games...graphics are subpar...granted they look like the strategy games...but it was just sad....only thing I can compare WoW to is it is the Nintendo of the MMO...it's overly simplified, to easy to do EVERYTHING, not really a need for groups, tradeskilling not really developed well...it's basically a kiddy version of MMO...like a Nintendo game, but the story and overall game is fun for a bit...
EQ II now..is harder to get use to but NOT to difficult. It is designed more to appease the adult community...being more realistic in SOME repsects....some quests take time...yes they still have camping which is pain in the but, but albet other than that the quests are fun. Anyway here is the rating bases on some of our assesment of the game. For use with companions....wife and I duo heroic (group mobs) and we can take no up arrow heroics, and one up heroics...if they are blue, white or yellow...albet yellow 1 ups are tricky lol (wife is Inquisitor, evil cleric, and I am Coercer, evil enchanter)...Rating 1 - 10...10 being best.

Graphics = 9.0 - Game still has glitches but AWESOME graphics....blows WoW right out of water, though has EQ II has higher game requirements. Trees sway, water reflects, armor shines, and moves with character, spell effects are awesome.

Sound - 10.0 - SWEET voice overs of NPCs, crickets sounds, bones cracking, water splashing, thunder...just superior.

Gameplay - 8.5 - At first getting use to commands and all the things you can do maybe overwhelming to new players....but with patients and time...they are not as hard as they seem. Yes, EQ II still has quirks with mobs and some features like damage of mobs on characters, laggy at times...(have at least DSL, preferable Broadband, can eliminate alot of this, plus good graphics and pretty good computer too). As I said before, this is a game that takes time...it will take time to do things, so it is very realistic in that it takes time to make the high levels...although 1 - 19 are quite quick. Point for groups is better xp and better loot than solo mobs...so grouping is encouraged now...the penalty for a group member dying has been removed and that has helped emmensely. I am not a socialite (that would be the other half :)), but grouping can be a blast...and you get to see some things that you couldn't reach solo :) Tradeskilling is fun and very useful in EQ II too. You of course have to chose a path to go i.e. armorsmith, tailor, provisioner...but in these fields with time and receipes you can make some good gear that other players can and WILL use. :) And you can sell while playing is great, just put up merchant board in house..and in your house vault you can put bags and sell stuff in the bags...awesome.

OVERALL RATING = 8.5 EQ II is a great adenture game that is a definate look and feel that breaks the mold....the enviornment, due to graphics and sound is extremely realistic. If you are into a more adult game, it is WAY more challenging then WoW..but also can be more frustrating...EQ II is the way to go. As I said at the begining....WoW is a good game to and if you don't have the time to invest I would suggest WoW...it's super easy to get use to and has some good features...PvP is a plus, but mostly you get idiots who just do nothing but that....paying 15.95...to run around and kill others...hmmm...go play Unreal or Halo2...it's free lol..but some ppl use PvP more discrimately so you will have balance in WoW...Oh another thing is if you play a horde character your friends have to play horde if you want to group at lower levels...not interaction with Alliance...EQ II is a bit unrealistic there...evil can group with good...but of course this is after 20th because good and evil cities are separtated.

Not Interested in Verant

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 48 / 186
Date: January 19, 2004
Author: Amazon User

My daughter and I played EQ loyally for a year and a half. It was awesome, an escape into a fantasy world of dungeons and dragons and marvellous elves. The expansion packs were nice until EQ went to the moon. I never bought an expansion after that.

In the old days, all the classes had purpose. My wizard was a remarkable traveller and I used to make a few plat porting people people around. My guild had fun banding together for raids and hunts too. But then it became so easy to port anywhere. Why bother playing a basically weak druid or wizard?! Then cat people started running around, and lizards on their heals. Sigh, how I missed the Tolkienish feel of the old EQ.

I finally quit EQ when DAC came out. I left EQ on one of our computers for a few months more for my daughter. But one day when she entered the wrong password while logging in, they locked her out of her account. I called them and they were very arrogant and refused to fix it. Nevermind they had just cut off a 9 yr old child from her favorite winter passtime. They were very arrogant and clearly implied that they owned the MMOLRPG market, so we could play be their rules or rot. Instead, I introduced my daughter then and there to DAC. There are a dozen good MMOLRPGs out there now that have beaten EQ hands down. As long as Verant runs it, I'll never go back.

EQ has always had lousy customer service. The game was a good RPG but turned into a videogame. I doubt EQ2 will be an improvement.

Two cities is still going to suck

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 13 / 35
Date: October 02, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This is primarily directed at the reviewer who was trying to explain why there would only be 2 cities in this game. I know there is a "story line" behind it.

...

If all the other cities were wiped out in the cataclysm age or whatever, and the moon blows up, then odds are those races would not have survived, or would have survived in such scattered, small numbers that it would take centuries to rebuild. During that time the enemies of that race would take advantage of their weakened state and attempt to wipe them out. It's makes no sense that former enemies would unite and work together to become one team and go help the humans rebuild one of their cities instead of trying to rebuild their homeland.

Yes I know (and hope) that the graphics and game play will be great. But the environment of only 2 cities just makes me feel like the design team was lazy and didn't want to spend the time to work on all the cities so they come up with a "story line" that everything else was blown up to make things easier for them and that all the races just joined up with the humans to build up their cities instead of fixing their own. Sorry but that's just dumb and lazy.

The original appeal of EQ was a huge world that one person should NOT be able to easily and quickly zip around in. Yes people complained about travel time but if you want to travel to the other side of the world, it SHOULD take a LONG time!! Having different racial homelands/cities spread out over a large area gave the game a sense of excitement and adventure.

The halflings should have a shire hidden away in the fields far from civilization. The dark elves should have their underground city in a dark forest where they avoid the sunlight and visitors are not welcome. The trolls should have their city back in the swamp, the elves in the trees and the dwarves should be mining for precious metals in the mountains. This is what was cool about the original EQ, the multi-polar aspect of the game. Now it's a bi-polar game of freeport vs qeynos and I don't care what kind of story line they have come up with to explain it, it's just not going to be as fun.

The game gets only 3 stars because it's not out yet and anybody saying it's great or that it sucks and gives it anything other than 3 stars has no idea what they are talking about. Because it's not out yet!!

Best MMO I've ever played and I've played them all.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 13 / 35
Date: November 27, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Let me say this right off the bat: if you are a "solo player" who believes that MMO's ought to be designed so that you can achieve every in game goal at the same rate whether you play by yourself or in groups, then please stay the hell away from this game. I'm BEGGING you to stay away from this game. I don't want your whiny attitudes on my server. This is NOT a game for whiners and battle.net kiddies who want their rewards handed to them on a silver platter and who just can not stomach the concept that to be and get the best of everything, you need to work well with other players in group/raid situations and learn to play smart. THANK GOD it isn't that type of game. Take your business to WoW, which seems to reward you simply for attending. Two weeks spent in Azeroth and you'll be level 60 with all the best equipment. OMG you can do and see everything in WoW and you never have to actually be CHALLENGED! WHAAAAAAAAAA I don't want to have to expend any effort to get that shiny new Dagger of Uberness. Can't I just do a 20 minute solo quest for it? WHAAAAAAAAAAAA!

As for players not being friendly, I can only guess that the person who said that is an irritating fellow whom know one wants to help, or perhaps doesn't speak English. I completed a quest in Stormhold the other day by zoning in and saying that I was looking for a group hunting for the same quest pieces I sought. Within 10 minutes I was in a RAID put together for the very purpose of helping everyone in the raid get their quest items. I didn't know a single soul in this raid. Followed that up by doing the same thing in Crypt of Betrayal and got an invite to a group 2 seconds later. If people aren't helping you with your quests, you need to work on your social skills. WHAAAAA social skills? Why should I need those? I WANT TO DO THE QUEST BY MYSELF!

WoW WILL be successful because there are many immature whiners who do enjoy being rewarded for doing almost nothing at all. Let's hope EQ2 weeds out these kinds of players as soon as possible. Take your kindergarten attitude to Azeroth and don't let the door hit ya.

Now that I've dealt with the whiners, let's quickly sum up where EQ does it right.

1. Tons of quests whose reward is equal to the challenge posed. Nothing sadistic like super rare spawns with super rare drops as seen in EQ1 so often. On the other hand, nothing as insulting as WoW where the quest reward may as well be given upon accepting the quest.

2. Locked combat is great. No KSing. If someone wants help, they ask for it. Exactly how you HOPE people play such games. If SOE wants to be strict about it by writing code to make sure it happens, that's fine with me. Can't imagine anyone caring except those who got their jollies by out damaging someone else's engaged encounter and taking the experience/loot. Again, go elsewhere if you're that type of player.

3. Graphics are gorgeous. Azeroth can be a beautiful looking game even with their low polygon rates, but their character models are groan inducing. EQ2 wins hands down, even when on balanced settings.

4. Soloing is done perfectly. You can solo all the way to 50 if you like BUT YOU WILL NOT GO AS FAST AS IN A GROUP. Unlike WoW, the game rewards you for learning to play and work well with other players. In WoW, it's not only an option to level up to 60, it's downright preferable. That game simply gives you no incentive for accepting greater risk of any kind.

5. Probably the best music ever done for an MMO.

I could go on. At any rate, don't be fooled by Blizzard fanboys here. WoW will sell millions because all the battle.net kiddies will take their battle.net attitudes and ideas on over to Azeroth. They have a huge built in following but unfortunately, it's major characteristics are laziness and immaturity.

In short, EQ2 is a game for players with mature attitudes who appreciate a game that forces you to respect the environment and appreciate your accomplishments. WoW is a game for whining babies who want what they want and want it now.

Great Game!!!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 12
Date: November 14, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Okay im a 13 year old and have played the first Eq for 4 years.
I was a beta tester for EQ 2. It has stunning graphics and its cool how the NPC's talk now. It is the only Online Game i know of where walking to NPC's is interesting.It has a better system of fighting than the first EQ as it looks like the people are really fighting.
I am disturbed by reviews that say that there will be no PVP, please reread the EQ2 or EQ2 Realms website it clearly states that there will be PVP will be possable in a diffrent way. [...]
For those who say there are only 2 cities there are only 2 starting cities and there are other ones.
This game is one of the best! My personal favorite It is the best. This is on my top 10 list of games to buy. Give it a try! You will like it.

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