Rating: 
Summary: A Festering Pile of Mediocrity with a Dash of Apathy
Review: I'm actually in shock that this game was released. Regardless of the investment in development, Sony should have looked at the final product, cancelled the whole project, and swept it under the rug. Let's get specific, shall we? Storyline: Utterly uninspired, rehashed, redone, predictable, and dull. Voice acting so awful you'd swear it was intentional. With four years of world-building in the Everquest franchise, you'd think they could make up something at least passable. Wrong. Graphics: So terrible that it's difficult to comprehend that this game isn't something you bought three years ago and forgot about, then found in the bottom of a drawer. Units are awkward, poorly crafted, unoriginal pieces of dung that don't withstand any scrutiny. It isn't so much the painfully low polygon count on units as the poor artwork that led such things to exist. I've heard that a lot of companys are outsourcing programming work overseas to bottom dollar workers, but I didn't know that applied to artists and designers. It's painful to look at a "hero" unit with a giant smile frozen on his one-polygon face while he laments the death of his closest friend in a melodramatic tone. Gameplay: Unintuitive, tedious, and one-dimensional. There is no need for strategy. Simply select all your units and send them at the enemy, then pick your nose like a slack-jawed dullard and watch for several minutes as the overwhelmingly stupid AI eventually kills something in spite of itself. Units wander aimlessly in circles while other units blindly flail at them from behind. Troops stampede recklessly to persue their foes to whatever end. I would estimate that the unit AI took approximately three minutes to jot down on the back of a cocktail napkin at 2:00 AM after consuming about a gallon of vodka directly out of a plastic bottle. Interaction with the environment? Nonexistent. Despite some awkward attempts at eye candy, it's almost entirely meaningless in terms of affecting strategy. Sound: Turn it off. Enough said. Summary: Everything about this game has been copied from somewhere else. Most of its game mechanics are ripped directly from Warcraft III. Unfortunately, Sony lacks the talent of Blizzard. They lack the attention to detail, they lack the standards of quality, and they lack the vision. My question to Sony is this: If you're going to do something that's already been done, and do it so poorly, why do it at all? This game is a blatant money-grab. Sony is banking on the uninformed consumer and die-hard Everquest player to buy it without thinking. Don't prove them right. If you need a RTS game, go buy Warcraft III. If you already own it, go play it again. If you want Warcraft III to have that "Everquest" feel, punch yourself in the groin, stab yourself in the eye with a pencil, and play Warcraft III. Just don't buy Lords of Everquest. It brings a new definition to the word "Pain."
Rating: 
Summary: Not the Greatest, but Still Worth a Look
Review: In the already overcrowded Real Time Strategy game genre, can Sony offer a fun, competitive product that meets or exceeds the standards set by it's contemporaries? The answer is a rather uninspiring yes and no. Developed by Rapid Eye Entertainment, a group of former New World Computing programmers (responsible for the Heroes of Might and Magic series), LoE tries to take the Everquest MMORPG experience and squish it into the confines of RTS wargaming. The game centers around your "Lord", which, like the "Hero" unit in Blizzard's Warcraft III, is the leader of an army of creatures you work to upgrade and develop into a conquering force. Lords are members of several different "factions" which determine what kinds of armies you can raise. As with both Warcraft III and Everquest, you need to level up and advance your Lord by defeating other enemies and obtaining experience points as well as complete mission objectives in order to advance in the game. Unlike WCIII, however, you can actually level up your troops and even "knight" up to two troops to give them powers nearly equivalent to your lord. This feature alone is what sets LOE apart from any other RTS on the market today and presents some very interesting and unique gameplay strategies. As with all other RTS games, you accumulate resources to build buildings and purchase upgrades to train and outfit your army. In this case, there is only a single resource: platinum. The "money" system is simpler than in other RTS games in that the challenge lies in budgeting your platinum on buying the right buildings and units rather than trying to acquire a wide variety of different resources. But with the leveling system, it's quite possible to take a group of basic troops up to very high levels without ever needing to create specialized units. There are two primary modes: a single player "campaign" which involves completing a series of scenarios with some light RPG elements interspersed in between, and a multiplayer mode where you can fight other players online. The single player game is servicable at best, with an only casually interesting storyline (disappointing, given the amount of history and lore in EQ). Many of the maps seem somewhat linear in design and the objectives are nothing any RTS gamer hasn't seen before. In fact, many will argue that besides the leveling aspect, there isn't much in LOE that hasn't been done already, and implemented better. In particular, the AI/pathing is irritatingly bad with units often taking the longest, most baffling route to get to whereever it was you wanted them to go. They also have an annoyingly short attention span and will sometimes disregard orders to stay put and go run off and attack things when you don't want them to. This alone is what really hurts the game in the long run. The RTS field has reached maturity to where these types of problems simply aren't acceptable anymore and most players will pass on the game because of it. Which is somewhat of a shame, since underneath the rough elements is a relatively intriguing RTS game. The graphics and animation in the game are quite good, with realistically-drawn 3D models and cool spell effects. In addition, one of the most entertaining aspects of Everquest, the level up "Ding" sound, is retained here and is just as satisfying as it was in the MMORPG. Also, the idea of leveling up troops does create an extra dimension of strategy, especially in multiplayer, where you can try to kill NPCs to gain more experience before attacking your enemies. Unfortunately, many reviews have complained that there aren't enough differences between the units of each faction to make battles interesting. Those people inevitably rely on the obvious warrior-healer strategy for their army, but more inventive players will likely find other ways to develop their forces. So here's the rundown: Pros:
Graphics & Animation are solid--the zoom feature is nice.
The level up system is entertaining--all troops can advance!
Some RPG elements to break up the monotony.
Buy and register the game with an EQ account in good standing before Jan 3, 2004 and you will be invited to EQII Beta Cons:
Atrocious AI and Pathing algorithms
Units don't always respond to commands
Game balance: there is little incentive to find different strategies to win
Units can seem too similar no matter which faction you play Overall, this is an average game with limited entertainment value. I thought most of the reviews of the game so far were too harsh, but agree there are enough issues with the game that prevent me from making a recommendation (especially at the retail price that Sony wants you to pay). I would recommend obtaining the demo first, then purchasing the game at a discounted price if you decide you really want it.
Rating: 
Summary: very fun
Review: it is a great strategy game and is addicting i play a ton.
Rating:
Summary: Buy Warcraft 3 instead folks
Review: Lords of Everquest is obviously an attempt for Sony to get revenge on Blizzard since Blizzard is taking their Warcraft world into the Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game Genre(a genre that Everquest put on the map). Only problem is...Blizzard knows how to translate Warcraft(Real Time Strategy Game)into an MMORPG...unlike Sony who obviously does NOT know how to translate Everquest into an RTS game. I laughed at my friend when he showed me he bought this game for his PC. He was like "Shut up, how was I supposed to know this game was garbage!!" LOL! Funny stuff. I suggest you only buy this game if you can get it for under 20 dollars otherwise invest your money into WarCraft.
Rating:
Summary: You mean Warcraft Killer!!!
Review: Lots of hype about this being a Warcraft 3 clone. Yes, it is an RTS. Yes, it is fantasy with elves and dwarves. Beyond those, Lords of Everquest is clearly a game that can stand on it's own. After playing through the first 5 Shadowrealm missions, the game has taken on a different feel than any other I have played. I found myself grouping my favorite units together, and naming them and I am able to play through a lot of it with this small group. It has a very RPG feel to me with the stradegy aspect that I really enjoy. I hope this is the first in a francise for Lords of Everquest.
Rating:
Summary: Lords of Everquest: This seems oddly familiar ...
Review: Oh, that's right, I already played this game. It was Blizzard Entertainment's Warcraft III, one of the most successful games of all time, and it took Sony a whole year to put out possibly the most blatant knockoff of a computer game since, well, all the clones of Blizzard's Diablo II. Everything from the feature lists on the back of the boxes -- which are almost point-for-point identical -- to the models, the interface, the campaigns and all the rest, just scream that SOE either thinks EverQuest players don't play any other games and won't realize, or that Warcraft players are so addicted, they want to play even shoddy knockoffs like this. As for its Everquest connections, it would be nice if there were any -- the storyline for this game makes no sense with EQ lore, despite claims to the contrary, and indeed is mostly a compilation of what seems cool about EverQuest from a 5 minute glance at what the game has to offer. It's not worth picking apart the game's "lore" bit by bit, but suffice it to say, the notion that this is an EverQuest tie-in is insulting. Even the EQ tie-in game able to be played on telephones is more true to the MMORPG than this drek. If you have any desire to pick this up, drop it like a hot potato and pick up one of the deservedly best-selling games of all time: Warcraft III. It's the real deal, it's better-balanced and designed, its graphics are sharper, and its storyline actually makes sense.
Rating:
Summary: Really sucks
Review: this game is boring crappy and not worth my time or anyone elses the multiplayer and the campain sucks and there is no skrimish the battles are confusing and there are no builders in the army. to make things worse there is only one resorce and the game iself emits an aura of boredom.
Rating:
Summary: Way better than Warcraft 3
Review: This game is soooo cool. It takes the role playing aspect of the online Everquest and adds it to a great rpg model. All my units can level up, not just the lord; which is a huge improvement over Warcraft where just the hero could level up. Plus all my soldiers and such and hold items too! so I can make them stronger and even knight them, so they gain Lord like abilities. I've heard what people say about it against warcraft and i don't see what they talking about- LoE is so much better in what I can do with my armies in an individual level it's not even funny. And the art and game play is sooo much better than WC3's that there is no comparison. LoE just simply plays better, looks better and everyone should play it b/c it's a great game.
Rating:
Summary: Since Beta...
Review: This game isnt bad, and i have to agree with some of you guys, it is better than warcraft 3, because...
1. No TAX SYSTEM
2. All Units Can Level
3. All Units can hold items
I could go on...
Ive been playing this since beta, and i can say that it is worth buying if your an RTS type of person.
Rating:
Summary: Don't Buy This
Review: This is without a doubt the worest attempt at stategy and RPG. The box of this game depicts massive armies slugging it out. I don't know how this is possible when you can only create a maximum of 28 units in this game.. Thats pretty sad when compared to todays standards. The AI is also nonexistant. I had only purchased this game because it was an Everquest product and I know that they are popular. This is definately a game to be left on the shelf of the store and regarded as nonsense. The makers of EverQuest should stick to RPG and not try to make a niche for themselves in strategy.
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