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If you have the time and can deal with other players...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 37 / 40
Date: October 27, 2003
Author: Amazon User

...then this is your game. If you're looking to play solo or for just a few hours a week, you have quite a bit of opportunity as well, but EQ is definitely geared towards groups and a very high time-committment.
Be aware that if you're new to roleplaying (as I was)and EQ then the learning curve to understand and get started on EQ will be quite large.
A quick list of Pros and Cons:
Pros
EQ is HUGE. There are dozens of "zones" to play in and getting to zones is relatively easy, depending on your class and knowledge of zone connections.
The time commitment required is huge, so if you're looking for a game that won't be over quickly, that's EQ. Think of playing your character as a very long-term hobby. Unfortunately for some, it seems to be much more than that.
There are thousands of interesting items to buy, sell, collect, use, and combine. How items (weapons, armor, and otherwise) are used can be very confusing but there is an abundance of free info on the net. Understand this is intended to be a game of discovery, so many quests, items, and rules were meant to be discovered, not given to you.
The number of monsters to kill is enormous and the graphics for most is very pleasing and the animation and sound very entertaining.
There are literally hundreds (if not thousands) of players on at a time, which means (ideally) there's always someone to group with.
You can join groups of players in guilds, which can help you in countless ways. You can also easily quit a guild if it's not to your liking (as I've done on several occasions)

Cons
The biggest negatives of the game don't involve the game itself so much as the people you encounter. Although I've come across many friendly and helpful people, there are also many negative, bossy, and downright rude people in the game. Too many people take the game way too seriously and don't realize they're just data on a server in an office. As a newbie, you may run into a lot of condescending people who somehow think their level in the game makes them worthy of mocking others. Again, they're just data on a server.
The "quests" are not very interesting and mainly involve alot of running around and collecting items to get a reward item.
The overall story of EQ is rather obscured by the overall kill-to-level push of the game.
If you don't make an effort to immerse yourself in the game's world, the game is basically just a kill-to-level game. The developers have mastered the psychological aspect to push people to want to level (by provide surnames at certain levels and new spells every 5 levels or so, for example) so everyone will know just how "powerful" your character is. All the presentation aside, the entire simplified goal of the game is getting to the next level, thus making your character more powerful so you can go to a higher level zone.
The startup time for a newbie is painfully slow. Getting your first character enough EQ money (platinum) to properly equip the character can take weeks or months, which can easily kill the fun in the game.
Unfortunately, I've found the social aspect of the game more of a con than pro. Perhaps it's the type of people who play, perhaps it's because there are many younger (12-16 year olds) playing, but I find that soloing was much more fun simply because I didn't have to deal with real-life bad attitudes when all I wanted to do was immerse myself in a fantasy world for a few hours a day.

An Aging MMORPG That Still Has Legs

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 16 / 17
Date: December 27, 2003
Author: Amazon User

If you have not yet tried the immersive and addicitive PC gaming experience that is Everquest, and are still curious, Sony now offers this impressive collection of the original game plus five of the expansion packs in one massive three disc set.

For what it is, Everquest Evolution is a very good value. Granted, you still have to pay a monthly subscription fee in order to access the content (after an inclusive 1 month free "trial" period), however, the original software titles in standalone form would easily exceed the cost of this single package.

In fact, I would probably recommend this even if you own some of the titles already. For example, "Legacy of Ykesha" is only available as a digital download direct from Sony's Station web site and costs nearly as much as what Amazon sells this product for.

And for those that aren't sure if they want to commit to an ongoing subscription, Sony still offers multi-month gift cards with keys that allow you to participate for a limited time without using a credit card.

Since this is merely a collection of existing titles that have already been reviewed all over, I will go right into the Pros and Cons of this particular set:

Pros:
Great value--5 software titles in one!
Rich, immense fantasy world to explore
Included expansion packs offer improved graphics, better interface, and more streamlined features compared to EQ Classic

Cons:
Steep learning curve for newbies
Sparse in-box manual offers little insight into the game or how to get around
Monthly fees required to play
Does not include the newest expansion "Lost Dungeons of Norrath"
Some of the expansions require characters to be level 20 or higher in order to access or play in.

Summary:
EQ has aged somewhat gracefully from it's inception over 3 years ago. Still the largest and most successful game of it's type yet, EQ has a lot to offer players looking for fun in a persistent online fantasy world. And recently, the developers have gone through some changes to reduce the difficulty for new players--at least in the beginning and some of the mid-stages of the game. In addition, the expanded content means that there are far less overcrowded areas where players need to compete for adventuring for that special item or quest. There are still the ongoing issues of technical problems, socially-inept players, game balance tweaking, and the enormous investment of time needed to properly enjoy the game, but it still arguably the sentimental favorite in this ever-growing field of gaming. Giving credit to where it is due, Everquest continues to add more and more new or improved content in it's efforts to remain one of the top MMORPGs in the industry. Even with a sequel on the horizon, Everquest Evolution is a great opportunity to get in on one of the best online games around.

Recommended

Pro's and, what cons? There are none.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 10
Date: December 19, 2003
Author: Amazon User

So here are the obvious pros:
1. Massive! EQ is the hugest game out there. It could take up to 100 hours just to see the whole world (and that's with out even staying to enjoy each zone, more on these later).
2. People! In EQ there are so many people to meet, 1000's on each server (more on these later). Some nice, some mean, and some that are in-between. The people you like, the people you love, and the people everyone loves to hate (people as in attitudes and behavior). People are the heart of EQ. They make the game. You make friends and you make enemies, and you can even make armies of friends to help you fight army's of enemies. They sometimes help you kill a foe, or sometimes help a foe kill you, but either way it depends on you. So, in short, EQ is all about the people, whether or not you like them or hate, you can't enjoy EQ without 'um.
3. Versatility! You can be a warrior for a city, or a traveling merchant, a battle thirsty barbarian, or a peace spreading cleric, you're bound to find your place (its called role-playing). If you want to take a break from slaying dragons you can vacation in a beautiful forest or a desolate island or anywhere you want. It's a whole world created for you to explore, liberate, or even corrupt, if that's your thing. Everything you do in EQ is up to you and you alone.
4. Its a game! This means when you die, you're not dead, but in this game you can't save, so in the same respect if you want to continue the life you have you have to pay a little sweat and blood (well just some Experience Points, EXP) and track down where you left off and try again.
5. it's not a game! If you don't want it to be, you can get away from real life and into a (In my humble opinion) better one called EQ. People have faces in EQ (fully customizable) and names. They have personalities and feelings and so do you.

The game you play or the life you live is up to you, why not try both at the same time, why not try EQ.

(No I am not employed by EQ, [although I would love to be **wink wink**] just a player who loves the game)

Now for the probable cons:
1. Costly Expansions? No, no, no you have it all wrong, the expansions are for fun, I had the original + Kunark pack until they came out with the trilogy. And had that until they came out with evolution, and still don't have Lost Dudgeons of Norath (although it looks like oodles of fun.). Even with my "out of date" version of EQ I have had, and still have the same good old oodles of fun. They're not needed, just extra fun.
2. Needing to group? Ahh humbug to you to buddy, its fun, and in EQ you make so many friends it's no sweat. And if you like to be a lone wolf its harder, kind of realistic don't you think?
3. Nerfing? Ok, ok I give, it's a con. I don't really enjoy the becoming weaker over night, but hey, in their eyes they feel they made a mistake when they first made the game and are now correcting it. So stop being so pessimistic ya meany head! You know they make classes strong to :P.

What a deal!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 12
Date: February 27, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I cant believe this PRICE!! I started playing 8 months ago and I paid 16-20$ for each of these expansions. (90$ total) and with this package you get them all for 25$! I had to have them ALL! I'm having a blast playing EverQuest. I do agree its really hard to learn. I was lucky and friends brought me into the game and taught me how to play. but I just LOVE to play. there are always fun exciting things to do. at this price TRY IT!!

very addictive but lots of fun

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: December 20, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I wish they had this product when I learned about EQ last year-- it would've saved me a LOT of money! :) I still haven't visited even 1/4 of the available zones and I have all the expansions.

Like all things in life there are lots of stupid &/or mean people out there (you just happen to run across more of them on the Internet), but I'm happy to say I have made a TON of friends in this game. There are guilds, different servers, different classes, different races, 65 levels to conquer and hundreds of Advanced Ability (AA) points to acquire. EQ players come from all countries, walks of life, career types, and age ranges... it boggles my mind. There are people playing this game old enough to be MY parents and I have two kids of my own (have yet to run across anyone in the game young enough for me to be their parent. Will know I'm *really* old when that happens. )

There are a lot of EQ sites out there that can help you learn more about the game & how to level &/or complete quests:
Allakhazam's Magical Realm (http://everquest.allakhazam.com/)
Caster's Realm (http://eq.crgaming.com/)
Trader's Corner (http://www.eqtraders.com)

...those sites have links to a ton of other EQ related sites to help you with the learning curve on this game.

I've played a ton of multi-user online games (was introduced to MU*s back in 1990) but this one takes the cake. It's still hard for me to believe it's been around for over five years, and I know folks who have been playing it since the beginning. If you're looking for fun, to "kill" things, meet new people and maybe even an escape from RL, this is the way to go... especially if you have broadband!

Corporate policies

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 6 / 10
Date: May 28, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Problem with EQ is that Sony has decided to consider paying customers as a secondary concern. Here are some of the problems you will face in purchasing this product.

Firstly, if you don't have every expansion, then Sony will attempt to get you to buy that expansion with a pop up window. Never mind that you are already paying them to play their game. Friend of mine got all but the latest expansion and got harassed immediately the day he signed up. Current expansion (Omens of War) doesn't come out until July. They started harassing us 2 or 3 weeks ago about it. This will continue on a daily basis and there is no way to play the game without dealing with it. You can't ignore it or escape out of it. There is no way to turn the solicitation off. Not Sonys policy. Glad my playstation doesn't do the same thing.

Secondly, bugs can take weeks or never to be fixed. Sony has been prioritizing releasing expansions and making changes to the game instead of fixing the bugs that have been present for some time. For example, boats were a long standing problem (years) that never worked properly. With Gates of Discord what do they add? MORE BOATS. Yup, these didn't work either. Go fig.

Customer service. Well if your having issues in game, it will take anywhere from hours to weeks to get assistance. The only way to do this is to stay logged into the game until you get a response (and hopefully you will be looking at your screen at that time). If you log out, your request will be deleted. They tend to have many loopholes as far as player assistance is concerned. Like not having 'exact' verbage for example. Also, if you need outside technical help, the employees working for Sony will either tell you to petition in game (see the beginning of this paragraph for how effective that is) or tell you to check the online help file.

Now if all those problems don't detour you, here are the benefits. Other people I have met online can be a joy to work with. EQ is a game designed for grouping and it is strongly encouraged. Many zones to explore with various mobs to fight. Quests are fun for items or faction (exp is always negliable). There is tradeskilling, which can be tiresome but also a good way to bring in income. It is a hack and slash game though. Don't you think otherwise. Thats the only way to get any exp to lvl.

worse than crack

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: April 06, 2004
Author: Amazon User

ok i started playing this game a couple years ago and im in hook line and sinker! i would not recommend this game to anyone that has a life i.e friends and loved ones. cuz guess what? you'll forget what they look like and how they sound. on the good side you'll be able to recognize a guild mate all the way across a zone lol. customer service for this game is virtually non-existent. in fact login servers have been down for quite awhile now and there has been very little feedback from sony about the problem. must've spilled their beer on the wires! they know we're hooked they dont care? also be prepared to spend big bucks upgrading your system to get the best game play! which equates to way too much work for the end-user to be able to play a game they are paying for! "delete this , download that",
"if that doesnt work do this or try this". "hey its your system, the problem could not possibly be on our end"! buy the game and these words will haunt you "you're in our world now!!!". good luck see ya in norrath. that is when and if i can log in!!
spend your money more wisely and take your family(or friends) out to diner and a movie!

5 years and counting

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: April 20, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I've been part of EQ since its year 1, and have quit the game (retired characters) twice thus far. I've "moved on" to other games like Star Wars Galaxies, Dark Age of Camelot, Horizons, City of Heroes, Uru, et al.

It's the expansions AFTER what you get in EverQuest: Evolution that make it the most improved in my opinion. Lost Dungeons of Norrath and Gates of Discord also add "instance" play, where your adventuring party (you and at least 3 other players) enter a dungeon that is created at that instant (instanced) just for you. This eliminates the "overcamped" dungeons which tend to be what most players get angry about.

However, instead of spending $90 on Evolution and the two expansions at the outset, try this game as is - because overcamping won't be a problem to new players until they are in their latter development (L40+, usually 6 months from start). Starting cities have a good navigation help system (Ctrl+F for Find), and have "newbie" quests meant to help outfit your character with armor (sometimes other items as well). The game also features a crafting interface that is very helpful in reducing the "clickfest" that used to be required in the past.

I've played all these various MMORPGs and despite some having some features I wish EQ had today, I keep coming back to EQ and finding myself getting engrossed in it all over again.

Those of you with addictive personalities, be warned this game can take over your life - dedicate only the time you can afford to spend in game and be sure to save time for your job, S.O., siblings, and/or children wherever possible.

Avoid this game if you value your social life!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 4 / 8
Date: September 05, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Avoid this game if you value your social life! It's one incredible time sink like you've never seen in your life. The game never ends and to excel in the game you MUST join a guild and you'll HAVE TO BUY the expansions just to keep up even if you're not guilded. SONY/SOE (Sony of America) formerly Verant has got it figured what it takes to reel you in; Hook, Line and Sinker but in a way that gradual so you won't notice the Hook in your mind. You'll always be looking for that next nice item for your charactors which will be old in three to six months (new expansion time) and you'll always be stuck in that same sorry rut. Wash, rinse and repeat.

Then, on top of all that you could play a favored charactor like the Monk Class as an example for years and then one day you log in and find out that they have nerfed (lowered it's abilities)the class to a level that might make the class unappealing for you to play it anymore and guess what. It's just too bad cause there's nothing much you can do about it except to wait to see IF they will unnerf it or wait for more expansions and hope new equipment will come out that will increase abilities past the old nerf LOL. It's the same with more than a few of the classes.

Sadly I played that [game] for two years and bought expansion after expansion and payed month after month till I wised up. Later I read that behind the scenes they (SOE) watch players play as if they are performing animal experiements just like doctors do on their experimental subjects, so they can judge how best to keep you playing (kinda sounds like the cigarette companies and planned addiction to me or pavlov's dog experiments) but of course they probably would deny that....

I recommend you try Morrowind if soloing is ok with you or Neverwinter Nights if you want to group and play online. The servers are player run and managed and there's no stringing you out for monthly payments either cause it's free after you purchase the game. Anyone that wants to can start a server and GameMaster it. With either one you avoid that little spinner that the gopher seems to always be in, the wheel is spinning but its on the road to nowhere.

Long time EQer

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: March 19, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I say this as someone who has been playing EQ since 1999. This is quite probably the most extensive and versitile RPG out there. For those who are into the D&D setting or even LOTR, this game is definitely worth checking out. In one of the other reviews someone said something about lack of action and the first person view being bad.... WELL if you take the time to actually explore the game, you would realize that your controls can be customized as well as your view, which can be switched to overhead or even 3rd person. And speaking of exploration, thats what this game is really about on many levels. Exploration of a gaming experience(which should interest all TRUE gamers), exploration of a truly innovative "world", and exploration of relationships that inevitably become forged in the alter-universe that we call EVERQUEST.

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