EverQuest II : Prima's Official Strategy Guide

Rating:
Summary: One of the best guides
Review: "EverQuest II: Prima Official Game Guide" is one of the best commercial guides I have ever seen.

I find most guidebooks, and especially those from Prima, very poor. They are inaccurate and seem to condescend to the reader. Online guides, fan sites and forums always seem to have better content and be more up-to-date. I received this - a gift from my wife who knew how excited I was to start playing Everquest II - with about the same enthusiasm as receiving a bar of soap. (She thought it was a comic book set in an everquest genre.)

I was pleasantly surprised how good the guide has been. The book has been very helpful in getting up and running in the game. Everquest II is very complicated and a bit daunting to start playing especially as I only play a few hours a week. The maps are especially helpful in getting oriented.

Yes, all guidebooks are spoilers, but while there are a lot of quest walk-throughs there are plenty more to discover. Also, the guide doesn't have much content for characters over the mid 20's - leaving a lot of game for you to discover.

I think the guide really helped get my head "into" the game.


Rating:
Summary: A great guide in general
Review: I'm sorry that some people feel Prima has ruined the startegy guide industry but I think that of all their guides this one is perhaps one of the best, not the worst. I don't see how anyone could look at this guide and think it wasn't made by people who love videogames, and who love EQ.

I recently purchased the eguide version for $10 at the official Prima site. It's the exact same thing as the print guide, in PDF format. All 336 pages. So that is what I'm basing this review on right now because the content is identical for the most part.

First, although there is a large section dedicated to "the basics" a lot of the information will still be extremely helpful to new EQ or MMO players. Not all of us have been playing EQ Live for the last five years. EQ2 was my first foray into the world of MMO's, personally. There are many things in the basic sections of the guide that give a lot of insight into the game mechanics and fundamental ways in which things work, like the economy, crafting, magic, armor, classes, jargon, and so forth. Yes, you could figure out most of this on your own but for someone who only has a couple hours a night to play, this guide speeds up the learning process and makes the play time more enjoyable - and that's what really important. I don't really feel that it destroys the magic of the game in any way - in fact it increases it, by removing some of the hampering frustrations/confusions due to details left out of the manual.

Second, and more importantly, the quest listings are extensive and well documented, and well laid out. The guide only goes to level 30 (by which point we'd hope most players get a grip and are comfortable on their own anyhow). It isn't trying to direct players if they don't want to be directed, it's simply pointing them in the right direction if they (like me and most people who work for a living) don't have the six hours a night to pour into the game looking for obscure NPC's and locations using the game's subpar journal/map/waypoint feature.

I give it four out of five because of course it isn't perfect. There are some mistakes and the print guide will certainly have more, but I suspect the publishing delay is an attempt to make sure the print version is as up to date as it can be. Yes, if you buy the guide six months from now there will be many discrepancies - but my bet is that most people buying the guide are buying it NOW specifically for that reason - they want to get ahead early and while it's accurate. Also, it would have been nice if the quests had been laid out in order of difficulty for each section, rather than simply alphabetized. This would have made it easier to do the easy ones first, gain the experience, and then move on to the harder ones. Yes, you can use the game's journal to tell which will be difficult, but if the guide had done that it would have made it that much more intuitive.

Overall a really great effort and Prima should be proud of having taken on such a massive project and getting it done more or less right. I'd recommened this guide to any player who wants the most from EQ2; it's an entirely new game and whether you're familiar or not with the original this guide will help you out a lot.

Rating:
Summary: Wow
Review: It seems that Prima guides have definately turned a corner in a good direction. I played EQ a long time ago, but had moved on to other games in between. It was very helpful to have this guide so I could find my way around quickly and easily. I only play for a couple hours a night, and the guide really does help me maximize that time. Maybe they'll come out with an expanded guide that goes past lvl 30. ;)

Rating:
Summary: Quick info at hand
Review: The instruction manual in EQ2 is quite addiquate regardless of class. Things you are not sure of are learned as you go or you can post on numerous forums for answers.

Since there are stats on top of stats and such vast areas with tons and tons of resources and itesm to be had, this book helps you get an idea of the "where" and "what". As in where you may find X or what Y actually does and realated stats. Its a reference guide. But as this game is so dynamic, this book has a limited lifspan and as you develop in the world you will find it to be "old news" rather quickly.

Rating:
Summary: Buying this ensures the future of game manuals suck.
Review: There was a time when games actually came with instructions. It was a beautiful time. You could pour over the volumes of information and dream of ways to shape your character or gameplay. Now companies have long abandoned this tradition and left it to Prima to stick you for another $20 just to learn the basics of gameplay. (God forbid you try to learn the EQII magic system using their manual)

Even worse, there is nothing set in stone in an MMORPG. The day this volume is released, it will already be outdated.

By buying this book, you are casting your dollars as votes to say that you don't need decent manuals. Buck the trend: Read some fan sites or write the game companies.

Game companies take heed. If you are going to make us buy the book to play your game, just add $20 to the box price and include it. I don't feel any less cheated going to a third party to get decent instructions.