Graphics:

The graphics of Everquest 2 were technically ahead of their time when it first launched years ago. The game was tough to run on even some of the newer PC's. They also fell into complaints about “plastic” looking characters and an odd-looking world they didn't fit in. However, it appears they did listen to those opinions, because they have made some considerable changes. In fact, they went so far as to create an entirely new set of models for each character race (including NPC's of that race) and players have the option to view those new, more artistic, models in stead of the standard ones. Personally, I had agreed about the old models, and was extatic about having these revamps characters to look at instead.

As time has moved forward, the engine of EQ2 has now fallen into line with the more average PC's, thus allowing more users the opportunity to play. Able to put the settings on high as I played, the detail and features of the environment were immediately apparent. The art of the environment, down to the objects strewn across the ground, is all very high-quality. Everything from the trees to the sky and the now-destroyed Moon look really amazing.

The graphics ran smoothly, with very little spring-back. I didn't have any problems with crashes. So, on the technical side there is very little to say.

Thanks to a flying glitch, I got a clear look at the moon...

Sound:

The ambient music is very immersive. The different sounds in each zone fit very well to the overall theme of the area. The music changes during combat, to a more dramatic tune, then back to normal after the battle. It's a smooth transition. The sound effects used in Everquest II are varied and several. There are environmental noises, and of course battle sounds, casting of magic, and a number of other sounds that give depth to the game. And EQ2 supports 3D sound if your system has that capability. If so, I recommend using it. Surround sound can be particularly fun.  They have also added a LOT of dialog voiceovers since release, and that adds quite a bit of depth to the immersiveness as well.

Character Creation:

There are few games on the market, MMORPG or otherwise, that can compare with the customization capable in the Everquest 2 character creation system. The only rivals are the equally immense character creators of City of Heroes and Champions Online. The race choices in EQ2 are divided by Good, Evil, and Neutral alleigance. There are a number of very impressive and unique races to choose from. Things like the evil Ratonga (rat-people), the Kerran (a feline race), and the goodly Frogloks (you got it, they're frog-people) provide for a fun time building your character. In total, you get an immense 19 racial selections.

Everquest 2 IS a class-based, traditional MMORPG. During character creation, you must choose a class from among another very extensive list; this time, you choose one of 24 available classes. Most classes are dependent upon alignment (good/evil), though a few are shared across both sides. There is much of your typical fantasy fare here, with the Paladin, Ranger, and Wizards. But amongst the 24 choices are also some very unique, more hybrid classes. Things like the Troubador (an evil bard who taunts down the strenghts of his enemies) and the Fury (an evil nature-controller, who calls upon the strengh and indeed "fury" of nature to fight their foes) offer a much more unique experience than any of the standard fantasy classes you might have previously seen.

My Ogre Berserker and his little friend.

Into the World:

The world in Everquest 2 is extremely large. It is perhaps one of the largest, if not THE largest landmass size in the MMO genre. Particularly with all the added areas from the expansions that have been launched in the last few years. The game is divided in traditional Everquest manner: by zones. This means that each themed area has borders which when crossed, will send you to another map, leaving your previous one and loading into a new place. While some may see this as a hindrance, the developers have done a good job at limiting these "load times", and have made leaps and bounds with the problem since the initial launch.

Despite the size of the world, it is often fairly easy to travel. There are travel points strewn around the world, such as the Griffon Towers that allow you to hop on the back of a flying Griffon to quickly traverse large portions of the zone. You can also purchase your own personal mount, though this can be expensive and is out of reach for the typical new player.

Skill and Spell Abilities:

New abilties and spells come quickly (VERY quickly) in Everquest 2. You start off with a moderate number of special abilities at your disposal, but this number quickly grows. While you may outgrow some abilities and "bench" them in favor of a similar but more powerful spell, often your existing spells will get enhanced AND you will be given additional spells to use. By level 20, it can become somewhat overwhealing to deal with all the action bars, spell upgrades, and deciding which spells you want to really focus on. Of course, there are many discussions about the individual class abilities on the official forums, so you would be wise to spend some time there early on.

There are also some abilities which trigger other abilities, a sort of "combo" system. These combination moves, while more complicated, allow you to enact more powerful attacks/enhancements, or detremental spells on your enemies. There are also some abilities which are specific to group play, and are not used when you are fighting solo. This creates a much more active group dynamic, making teaming up with others not only more useful but more fun as well.

It's a well known fact that Frogs hate Orcs!

Combat:

There is much that follows the standard fantasy MMORPG pattern here, though of course there are some variations (combos, group tactics, etc.) However, you must remember that Everquest (the original of the two) more or less INVENTED this form of combat and play. So, you certainly can't fault them for keeping with tradition and with what works. It's straight-forward, and it's fun. The difference with combat in EQ2 now is among other things the additional array of abilities mentioned above. There are a wide set of tactics at your disposal whether you're fighting alone, or with a group. In fact, you will likely find that you entire fighting style has to be re-worked when you start joining with others to fight.

PvP (Player vs. Player) Combat:

Here we have an area with two distinct categories of information. I can tell you how the PvP system works, but I will also tell you that I did not care for it one bit. I felt it was chaotic, unbalanced mostly in terms of level disparity, and the community too a severe head-dive into an empty pool on the PvP server. But some people just thrive on PvP, so I won't skip it.

There is a little PvP on a regular server in the form of duels. This is where you can simply challenge another player to a match, and the last one standing wins. In a duel, you're not going to lose anything, no points, no money, no items. This is more or less the only type of player combat you're going to get on a regular PvE (Player vs. Environment) server.

There are separate PvP servers, however, for those who want the thrill of live targets. These servers are quite dangerous, as you're ALWAYS a target for someone with a certain number of levels from you. Now, they have lowered the range from what it was when they first introduced PvP servers, but I still found it common to be rushed by someone who totally outmatched me. It seems that the standard behavior is to hide from everyone until you are strong enough to head out and attack those weaker than you. This commonality means that if you aren't the one initiating the fight, you're probably going to lose. Travelling/questing alone is an easy way to make this happen.

Even with a guard, wearing robes is just ASKING to get ganked!

Not only are you now dead and have to walk back to where you were questing after getting an experience debt from your death,  but your killer could be somewhere nearby waiting for you again. Many players have no problem with killing you several times before finally giving up. There are rules against this form of "griefing", but the response from customer service is often too slow to actually stop it.

On top of the danger, the losses, and the possible griefing, you're left with a much more immature player base. You're more likely to get some of the standard "your mother" and randomly strewn four-letter words anytime someone speaks in general chat. I personally don't find that sort of banter or attitude appealing, so my time on the PvP server was limited.

One recent change, which I have not had the ability to participate in yet, is the additions of the "Battlegrounds" feature. This allows for players to participate in some larger PvP conflicts, even if you are NOT on a PvP server. They also don't have the required gold and item loss of the open combat you get on the PvP servers. This is a fairly new feature still (as of this point), but hopefully we'll have some more in-depth information for you in our next suppliment.

Quests:

The quests in Everquest 2 are MANY! They're like the Borg. Just as soon as you have one of them stopped, you look up to see 10 more coming right at you! There are various types of quests, everything from courrier quests, to hunting quests (go kill to wolves), and some more interesting and complex quest chains involving dungeons, group play, and important story lines. So, there's a little bit for everyone. Again, it's the tradition MMORPG fare.

Gathering/Crafting:

In the basic sense, the gathering and crafting system of Everquest 2 is nothing unusual or difficult to grasp. This means that anyone who has done some crafting in other games will likely be right at home when starting out on the road of one of the many crafting professions available in EQ2. Gathering just requires the appropriate skills, as does crafting. The actual crafting must be done at the appropriate location as well (such as a loom for tailoring).  Your ability to gather certain things, as well as what crafting recipes you can make is determined by your skill level in the associated skill.

Once you get the grasp of the basics, you can move on to the more complex parts of crafting that really make it more interactive. As you are crafting, certain events can/will occur. You may poke yourself with a needle and need to bandage yourself, or a wide number of other things. This not only prevents players from "AFK crafting" by just waling away from the keyboard, but it makes the process more interactive. There are also actions you can take which can increase the quality of your crafts, making them "pristine" and such. This not only changes the name of the item, but enhances its statistics as well!

Trying to find what killed those treants...

Community:

I played on the Roleplay server (I know, this is an RPG, aren't they all roleplaying servers?). There are a lot of people who don't know what roleplay is; particularly younger people. Most players don't want to "pretend" to be their character, and many of them just want to play the game, level up, craft, and still mainting their "real world" self. There are some who enjoy acting like the character they had made, and that can occasionally be fun. Of course, it's not for everyone.

One thing the roleplay server(s) seems to inadvertantly bring is a more mature crowd. Many people interested in roleplay are a little older, and often more mature, polite, and helpful. This was the case on Antonia Bayle. A majority of the players I encountered and spoke with were very helpful. They were readily able and willing to answer questions, and often times would even guide you directly to where you needed to go. That is what I call a good community...

Customer Service:

The customer service was excellent, at least, when I needed it. The petition system, while a little impersonal, was rather fast for response. The only time I could see this becoming a problem is if something was a very immediate problem. You no longer have the ability to send a tell to a GM, or have them there on your server, listening for important petitions. But I think it was sufficient. The two problems I encountered were both settled by the next day.

Features & Fun Stuff:

One of the things the Everquest 2 development team has not forgotten is about adding in some fun things for players to have and do, even if it doesn't directly affect the advancement of the character. There are various locations to purchase an apartment or house, and you can both decorate it and store things in it. They provide a great locations for some roleplay activities and guild meetings too! Or how about fishing? Yep, you're waiting for some guild-mates to join you in this dungeon? Well there's a river nearby. Why not go see what you can catch?  There is also a "costime" feature, which allows you to select any piece of armor you have, that you are capable of wearing, and put it in your costume slot for the sole purpose of its appearance.  No more thinking "This armor has great stats, but I look TERRIBLE!"

Along with the fun features are some very useful ones. Things like the Alternate Advancement system (which they had developed in the original EQ) and a talents tree helps players customize the skills and abilities of their character, as well as continue to hone those abilities even when getting close to the end levels of the game. And each expansion adds additional content.

Surveying some of the damage done to the previous capital, Freeport.

Conclusion:

Everquest 2 has grown a lot over the years. Starting from the original Everquest to today, there are many differences. The game is still popular because it continues to change and add to itself. They have kept a lot of the tradition that made them popular in the first place, as well. Even Everquest 2 maintained a lot of the feel and style of its predecessor.

After so many expansions and adventure packs, the game has expanded immensely. There are 90 levels to play, and more to do in those 90 levels than you will probably have time for if you're concerned with advancing. You just might have to "come back" to some areas and things to see them later. It's a fun game with an immersive world, a lot to do, and a good community (on most servers). When it comes to the fantasy genre of MMORPG's, Everquest 2 is the mainstay. It may not have the "over simplified user-friendliness" of some more popular games, but for those looking for a REAL fantasy MMO, this is where you should be looking.  On a scale of 1 to 10, this gets a high 8.5 from me.

Now, we're not done yet! You thought this was everything? Well, think again! This is what we would call the CORE review, but we will be back with our supplimental review of the recent Sentinel's Fate expansion, letting players know what they can expect as they approach the latter end of the game with the new expanded content. So keep an eye out for our continued look into Everquest 2!  We'll have to recalculate our score once we have that new data.

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