Rating: Summary: No matter how much you hate it... Review: I was reluctant...VERY reluctant to buy this game after reading all of the bad reviews on Amazon.com, but my friend eventually pressured me enough to give it a try...after all, the store had a seven-day return policy! After playing it for six days, I both love and hate the game.Let's first talk about why I love the game. First off, it's addictive...very addictive. Like a good novel, it takes some willpower to wrest yourself away from Everquest, and if you have friends online that own this as well, even more willpower...it's fun to go exploring and hunting with your friends. The graphics and sound aren't that shabby either, and when the sun sets or rises in this game, the sky looks gorgeous with it's red hues and clouds. Plus, the world of Everquest is HUGE and ever-changing. I mean, it takes DAYS to reach the other side of this world! Also, there is no player-killing unless you allow it. This is good, because I cannot STAND people who run around killing newbies that are less than fifteen minutes into the game! NOW, let's talk about why I HATE this game. Unfortunately, since Everquest is so addictive, it can become a bad habit. I set limits upon myself; I only play Everquest for 2-3 hours whenever time permits. Some people have really fallen into Everquest, however, and spend practically every waking hour on it. Also, you need friends online because they help you start out by giving you expensive items and armor to use. I hate doing this, because I believe in getting everything myself (also the reason why I never play Diablo on Battle.net), but some areas of Everquest are very difficult for newbies, and shops charge exorbitant fees for their wares, so to survive, you have to take whatever is offered to you! Lastly, and this is by far the biggest gripe about Everquest, is something I like to call "corpse-running." When you die in Everquest, you lose all of your equipment, but never fear, because if you can find your corpse, you can get all of your stuff back. Nobody else can steal your stuff, so you don't have to worry about looters. Now, remember how I said that the world is HUGE? Well, since your corpse disappears after a time, or when you log off, you have to RUSH to get your stuff back. Unfortunately, this sometimes means traveling cross-country to get your corpse. Just hope that you don't have any errands to run in real-life during a "corpse-run!" When you finally do manage to find your corpse, you have to equip everything again. While this may not seem that bad at first, as you get more armor and weapons, you'll find this very annoying, as there is equipment for practically every part of your body! Ears, neck, head, shoulders, chest, legs...even your face can have equipment on it! Many hours are wasted by "corpse-running." Notice how most of the reason why I love the game are somehow related to the reasons why I hate the game? I think that these "close ties" are why no matter how much a player may love/hate it, he/she will still keep playing Everquest. To wrap it up, Everquest is like...a double-edged blade. It has many good things, but these good things in the wrong circumstances can turn into bad things. You may love it, you may hate it, but either way, you can't stop playing it!
Rating: Summary: Addictive! Review: Be careful, people. I resisted the temptation that is EverQuest until a friend let me play on his computer. I went home that night and immediately ordered the game from Amazon. I eagerly awaited its' arrival, then tore open the package and installed it right away. I haven't stopped playing since. The game is exciting, challenging, and great fun. But if you're anything like me, please set an alarm so you don't play for too long.
Rating: Summary: EverQuest... it's not fun, but many can't stop playing. Review: EverQuest is a game which has some extreme highs... and even more extreme lows. Unfortunately, the lows occupy 90% of the gaming experience. When you first start playing EQ, the chances are (if you like RPGs and/or MUDs) you will be blown away by it, and fall utterly in love with it. A nice looking and vast world with a wide array of races and classes, at first there seems to be a LOT to like about EQ. The problem is, there is no depth. The world is big, and there's lots of stuff in it... but everything is entirely STATIC. Nothing you can do has ANY lasting impact on the game world, which makes it a very boring place to exist. Slain NPCs will respawn in the same place on regular intervals, dropping one of a small set of possible items every time you kill them. Once exploration is out of the way and you've seen most of the world, there's nothing left to do except kill monsters over and over for better items and more experience. There is no fun; you learn where you have to go, and you simply wait there killing stuff as long as is needed to get what you want. The one true motivator in this game, beyond the initial exploration, is really the desire to one-up your fellow players and end up with better stuff. Even the most avid EQ adicts can't deny that levelling and item collecting feels like a chore; one which consumes most of your gaming time. Games are supposed to be fun; but after the initial joy of exploring Norrath, there is really very little fun in EQ... unless, of course, you enjoy repeating the same actions in familiar places seemingly ad infinitum as you race toward that perfect set of items which you will never really achieve. It's that mysterious, unattainable goal which keeps people playing long after they stop having fun. If you value your time at all, you'll skip this game; the designers seemed to try to create an addictive environment, rather than an enjoyable one, and that is tragically obvious throughout EQ. Maybe as a genre the MMORPG will be the next big thing in gaming; but God knows that as a game EQ is not.
Rating: Summary: Fun at first, but.... Review: Once you get this game, you'll be "WOW".But as time goes on, all you do is camp,camp,camp.This is no "Everlasting Quest" You will become forced to group, and become very frustrated at the class unbalance(unless you are a favored class of the developers)the rogues are just tone-downed warriors with useless throwing skills.It is somewhat fun until you get to know the areas well, which happens quickly.That is just some of the cons of this game.
Rating: Summary: Fun and Educational too Review: One might wonder why I'd say Everquest is educational...I've met people from various parts of the world on Everquest, and become friends with many, you can learn about other people and cultures from the game, and you certainly can be whoever you want. Guilds make this game even more fun, although people now seem to be turning to Diablo II since it's the new game...it doesn't matter much though, because Everquest will still go strong.
Rating: Summary: What you make of it. Review: The beauty of Everquest is the open ended flexibility that the game provides. It has no clear cut ending, no ultimate goal. Traditional gamers may be turned off by this, but for the roleplayer, the escapism can be very rewarding. If I had this when I was playing paper and pen roleplaying games years ago, I would have no social life. I am now restricted by other responsibilities, but it is much more intelligent than watching TV or reading pulp fiction. Bottom line. Perfection can not be found here, but if you are willing to invest a little energy into your character and you are looking for a fun non-pressured gaming experience, EverQuest can be a thrilling gaming experience. Calgonian, Ranger on Druzzil-Ro
Rating: Summary: Extremely lucky I even gave it one star. Review: Well, where do I start? We all know about the basics.......the lack of tech support, the missing roleplaying element, and the incredible lag. But it isn't these things that make this game so horrid to play. One can wing it without tech support........and I have on MANY occasions, out of necessity........I can also wait out lag or just reconnect. I missed the "Quest" part of Everquest.....but still managed to get some enjoyment out of the graphics. Now.....here's the REAL reason why you shouldn't get EverQuest. After around level 15 or so (if you are a talented soloist), you are FORCED to group to gain levels. That's right folks. You have NO choice in the matter. Guess what this means? This means you have to group with 5 other vicious, backstabbing whining, complaining 13 year olds that have absolutely no respect and little if any regard for you. I'd much rather put my trust in a rabid pit bull than trust the life of my character to a cleric who plays like a wizard. Enough said. You will probably buy this game.....and probably think back on this review and say "Well, he was right after all". And I have only one thing to say to that.........I TOLD YOU SO.
Rating: Summary: Damn cool so far! Review: Get this people! I haven't even bought it yet or played it on a friends computer, and just looking at screenshots and reading reviews is making me INSANE,... I quess you could say i'm already addicted to the game and I havent even got it yet! I can't wait till I get it, (tomorrow) I'm planning to spend all my free time I have this summer on everquest! ! I SHALL NEVER SLEEP AGAIN! (evil diabolical laugh goes here) (^_^)
Rating: Summary: So Much Unfulfilled Potential Review: Everquest. One of a very few (so far) "Massively Multiplayer" online games. Everquest allows you a 3D perspective into a high-fantasy world. It's a standard computer "roleplaying" game with a ton of other people. The good bits? The first time you see a giant, it'll probably give you a rush of "Wow, that's really BIG." The game world is also pretty large, and some bits of it are stunningly beautiful, and contain challenging and entertaining quests for the player. This game is genuinely fun, for a while. The bad bits? Eventually, you're just doing the exact same thing over and over again. A very vocal minority of the player population needs to relax. Badly. Characters have an extremely limited range of customization. And, of course, my personal pet peeve: You can spend a lot of time and money to learn how to make things. At the time of this writing, you can easily obtain far more powerful items far more easily. Thus, time spent to painstakingly master the art of making armor is time totally wasted. In all, it was rather fun to play for several weeks, but not at all worth the money. The beautiful user interface fails to make up for the extreme lack of variety. As with everything, your milage may vary.
Rating: Summary: EverLess Review: EverQuest: ROK is a large, "open-ended" role-playing game immediately familiar to anyone who ever read Tolkien. EQ has developed a cult following on the Internet and serves as an alternative reality to some obsessive/compulsive players. ROK is an upgrade from the original EQ. It is an improvement, but it does place a heavier load on your PC. How much you enjoy EQ depends largely on your tolerance level. A "massive" multi-player game, EQ can be a noisy, distracting place with players "shouting" an odd jibberish of acronyms. On a busy night, EQ can have the ambience of a busy foreign bus terminal. The heavy use periods also mean brutal lag times. This game is best enjoyed on an ultra fast system with a cable modem or DSL. Tolerance helps in dealing with Sony/Verant and their customer circus department. S/V resides on a distant Mount Olympus where they nurture the scared "vision" of EQ. The Gods speak in the form of Gordon, a PR flack who provides routine updates that echo through the many EQ websites. If you decide to play, read these sites. They provide a great deal of useful information and help make the gameplaying experience much more fun. In terms of gameplay, EQ requires a tolerance for repetition. To move from one level to another takes hour after hour of gameplay. Much of this time is spent killing the same creatures at the same spawning points. Trade skills are raised by spending hours assembling and combining components. Some of the gameplay has all of the excitment of counting a large jar of pennies. What saves EQ are the good players. On occasion, one can form a group of fun, intelligent people who bring the game close to its potential. Unfortunately, the best players are not bored 13-year-olds on summer vacation camped on the computer for 14 hours a day. Most of us only can squeeze in a few hours every few evenings. This makes grouping tough. It often helps to join a guild. A good guild can provide a body of quality players of similar level. The game itself is reasonably well executed. The classes and races are relatively balanced. The graphics are well rendered and the sound decent. The emphasis is more on equipment than character development so the servers can have a "swap meet" flavor to them. There are some quests and plots, but most are rather one-dimensional. EQ is not a terrible game. It is an evolutionary step forward from Ultima Online, but it does not quite deliver. Buy it, enjoy it, but don't be surprised if you are bored in a couple of months.
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