Rating: Summary: a very poorly maintained MMORPG Review: I played EQ for over 2 years, and I have to say that at first, it was like totally awesome. I bought EverQuest thinking that it would be a high fantasy role-playing game, with the unique experience of living an virtual life in a virtual fantasy world, so to speak. However, EverQuest just doesn't provide the traditional RPG features that made the RPG genre so great. The game just doesn't live up to its claims or even its name. EQ really should not be in the RPG category, because the developers who make the game really have no respect for the genre at all. This game is all about hack and slash action. It's been dubbed "Quake with Swords", and "the worst MMORPG ever made" by many real RPG enthusiasts. The beginning of the game starts out ok. There are 65 levels (if you get all 4 (soon to be 5) expansion packs...hope you got a big fat wallet). The game just rocks for the first 30 levels or so. But after that it's all downhill. The main focus of EverQuest is on the level 60-65 range. pretty much when you log on most of the time you just twiddle your thumbs until you can band 30 people together to kill something for a single piece of lewt. It's a commitment that will cost you maybe 7 hours a night, literally (if you don't devote those hours you will probably not get anywhere in the game...) it's very political - it's not just a freeform "adventurers getting together and killing" kind of thing. You have to join a guild, and most guilds of the right level range require you to be at the raid if you are online. Some people enjoy it, but they are usually people who enjoy military style ethics, which is VERY much what it's like. Many people feel like it's just like having a job though. Playing the game is more of a chore than about having fun. There is no "high fantasy" or "roleplay" in EQ - you make a character, kill any NPC or PC you can find, and pay 13$ a month. It's as dry as it sounds. I'm not like a hardcore roleplayer or anything, I like action too... But even killing stuff in EQ is no fun. You're so strictly dependent on others in this game that essentially if not enough people are online to kill anything, you either can't play, or you just sit in a town twiddling your thumbs waiting for people to log on so you can actually do anything. Some classes are more important than others, unfortunately, so you may just gain 65 levels only to find out that on raids you do nothing but hit 'autoattack' every 5 minutes for 7 hours... Seriously! I'm NOT exaggerating LOL If you like having to commit several hours of your time everytime you log on, waiting for enough people to show up so you can kill something, hours upon hours of mind numbing repetition, and being STRICTLY DEPENDENT (I can't emphasize this enough)on other players, then maybe you could find enjoyment in EQ. However, if you're looking for an immersive, high fantasy, well-designed, well-managed game, you're better off going with some of the newer MMORPGs. Mix mind numbing boredom and monotony with the worst customer service in the history of mankind, and I wonder why people even play this game anymore. Some just have a higher tolerance for incompetence than me I guess. The developers of this game clearly don't have a passion for games - they exploit their players for money too much for me to believe otherwise. EQ2 will be released late this year or early next year sometime, but to be honest, with SOE/Verant's track record, I have no plans on buying it. It'll have great graphics and technology cuz that's all the devs seem to care about (and the sys reqs will make you believe it with a vengance...keep in mind that once your character is high enough in lvl, most of the time you're playing you have to be with about 30 other players...and neither will an ATI Radeon 9700, DSL, nor 8x AGP be able to save you). But the gameplay is going to be headache spawning dysfunction, and the customer service 10x's worse (worst case scenario: had a friend lose all of his hard earned equipment to a game bug, his EQ life's work, because of no response from customer service (their logs expire after 7 days)...with some items in the game taking months to over a year to get, losing them permanently is NO JOKE). The game will change a lot over time through weekly/monthly patches. There's a strict Verant vs. Player relationship, and you WILL learn to hate it. I mean the Gamemaster spell for summoning players in EverQuest is called "Call of the Zero". How weak, let alone insulting, is that? THis is why I have high skepticism about EQ2 and other MMORPGs run by SOE/Verant. There's many other MMORPGs out there. Spare yourself the headache and get one made by a company with a real passion for games.
Rating: Summary: Wonderful Worlds ... Review: I have been playing EQ for a couple months. It can be a difficult game to master -- so many different things to learn. But there are more than enough helpful players out there... just give a shout and someone's bound to help. A lot of quests are for the higher level players -- but that helps the lower levels too -- because they pass the armor/equipment on. Now I have heard time and time again the complain that EQ is addictive. That can be said about ANY game. I enjoy playing EQ but I also know that there's a world outside Norrath -- it's called Earth. If you're spending more time at the computer (or on a game console) than with your family and friends and doing REAL LIFE things -- then get away from the computer(tv... whatever) and focus on the IMPORTANT stuff: LIFE.
Rating: Summary: An unjust God allowed Everquest to be... Review: I bought Everquest under the delusion that I would be connected to a wonderful world. Well it was real looking and some of the people were really nice, but...THERE IS NOTHING TO DO. You spend all of your time running around killing bats, and pumas. If you even manage to get to level 13, you have to wait till level 25 to do a quest. Anyone who knows anything will tell you that takes a long time. I have a pretty good attention span but even I can't take just killing creatures for months. I needed a plot or a goal. I wanted quests for God's sake, quests. Anyway, I do not recomend this game. May God have mercy on those who are stuck with this game.
Rating: Summary: No! Review: yes this game can be fun, but it is VERY addictive, i am a player of a year and a half, and am finally quitting. As far as the actual game goes, it seems very high-level focused, making it hard to start out. As well, combat can seem very redundant after a while.
Rating: Summary: Fun at best, frustrating at worst Review: Everquest Pros: Great graphics Large game world Intensive amount of detail to be learned cons: Large time sink doing the same thing over and over Large time spend in non-productive activities (waiting for stuff, like boats, monsters, etc.). ummm....alot of detail to be learned. A lot. You have to read a website to find out what spells do/maps/quests/monsters etc--or be prepared for an even larger time sink and many more deaths. On reason i didn't switch to Da0C was I already was familar with EQ's world and didn't wanna blow all this information away and start over. At its best, everquest can be a challenging game that can while away eight hours easily. At its worst, its a terribly frustrating game with horrific customer service designed by a team that doesn't appear to play the game. Unlike some games like Diablo where your character is more powerful than the monsters, in Everquest, your character is at a big disadvantage compared to monsters. Monsters can chain cast, cast while being hit, be resistant to spells, and just generally be able to beat you into a pulp (at least at times). This is because Verant wants players to group, but the problem lies it can take a long period of time to find a group of players. With so many zone regions now in EQ, most zones may only have a handful of players and if you're not one of Verant's priviledged classes, your class may not be wanted even if there's an opening in a group. To make matters worse, even as tough as it is for players, Verant will "nerf" classes (like monks) that destroy their grouping ability and make them less desirable for groups--although Verant received criticism and tons of email from monks about this, they arrogantly stick to wrong decisions for several years before attempting any fixes. Don't waste your time with Everquest. Wait for Everquest two or maybe Star Wars Galaxies. Or even better a game designed and supported by another company.
Rating: Summary: I don't think you should play everquest Review: Some people are worried that the computer game EverQuest is more than a hobby. Instead, it's being described as an addiction. One counsellor has even nicknamed the game "EverCrack." There are more than 400,000 EverQuest players in North America, and twenty-five to thirty hours a week of playing appears common. A recent study of 2,000 EverQuest players shows 45 percent of them admit to being addicted. In Hudson, Wisconsin, Liz Woolley has already seen the down side of EverQuest. She says her 21-year-old son Shawn became addicted to the game. He was diagnosed with depression and eventually killed himself with EverQuest still flickering on his screen. Woolley says the maker of EverQuest, Sony On-Line, has made a game so powerful, it's addictive, and she wants Sony to put warning labels on the game. To learn more about this story, tune in to Marketplace Tuesday, October 15th at 8:30 pm (9:00 Nfld. and Labrador) on CBC's main network.
Rating: Summary: EQ review Review: lol, it's kinda funny how all these people blast EQ non-stop.. abut how it (is bad) so much and they hate it.. and how it takes SOOO long to level. they talk about how they played for a year and are only lvl 31. I have played for about 9 months now, i got this as a gift for christmas from a friend and set it up in January 02.. i have a 54 druid and a 30 rogue. I am NOT a hardcore player, and i still manage to level and quest. this game is so fun, there is no end to the things you can do, you are only limited by your imagination and your ability to stay awake (on those 8 hour Plane of Hate raids..) you can play for 20 mins or 20 hours.. although i've never known anyone to play for 20 mins at a time hehe.. but it's possible. seriously though if you have little to no free time.. don't do it..
Rating: Summary: We are in there world now! Review: Well as the title says we are in there world now.. This is a play on Verant's catch phrase for Everquest: "You are in our world now", and that single phrase wraps it up in a nut shell. Everquest is a highly challenging, highly energetic, and highly addictive game. You spend many many frustrating and rewarding hours online trying to develop your characters story and traits. You face many dangers and gain tons of unique items to increase your stats. And for those that are truelly into the extreme RP experience Everquest allows you to create an alternate life with other "real" people across the world.. I highly advise you purchase this or the upcoming Planes of Power gift set (this according to Verant's web site will include the core game and all three of the updates).
Rating: Summary: Expressing yourself in another Plane Review: My son bought me the game for Mother's Day in 2001. So I have been playing about a year and a half now. My main char, a druid, is lvl 34 finally. I spent a lot of time learning a lot about my RL self by seeing how terrified I was of my EQ character dying and going to new places. And I also, believe that by creating really good friendships with RL caring people in my Guild, that I have grown a lot - in RL AND in EQ. It is well worth the money spent to me for the monthly service. Its another Plane of existence where another part of "ME" expresses itself. I LOVE this game!!
Rating: Summary: They don't call it EverCrack for nothing Review: I rated this game at 5 stars because, as the EQ web site states, "You're in our world now". The game is exciting, immersive, frustrating, challenging, agravating, and lots of fun. It is a welcome escape from your daily life. ... First and foremost, heed this warning: If you cannot dedicate several hours a week to playing this game, please look elsewhere. Understand that this game is addictive by design. It is engineered in such a way that you need to spend lots of time online. The singlemost important aspect of this game is that you spend as much time as possible online. Know that it will take over a year for your main character to reach the highest level (60). As for gameplay, the overall graphics/sound/physics is nothing spectacular, but nevertheless it is effective and immersive. This is not DOOM II so you don't need lightning reflexes with your keyboard/mouse/joystick, but it helps to have quick fingers and a clear mind. Interaction with NPC's is rudimentary since EQ NPC's do not have the best AI in the world. Also, while there are zillions of quests to do, most of them are silly, and few offer anything of value other than EQ lore. In gerenral, the value of items are based on how hard the thing was that you had to kill. Killing things depends entirely on your class and the things you are trying to kill. No one class in the game can do everything, and every class has a specific ability and advantages that no other class has. This brings about the second most important aspect of the game - the necessity to socially interact with others. The most exciting things in EQ are things that you do in groups. It is the social interaction that is most intriguing and unpredictable. Killing a room full of orcs in a melee frenzy with five of your online friends is a blast. Another exciting (or agravating to some) thing is that there is real danger, with risks that may be devastating if you fail. Because of this underlying risk, it can be downright terrifying to traverse over dangerous terrain, or trek deep within a dungeon. Your death can mean the loss of experience that took days to acquire, not to mention the time it will take to recover your corpse (and all your hard-earned items on it). Another risk is the loss of faction when you kill (or help someone kill) something you weren't supposed to harm. Then there is the risk of failing the last portion of a quest that took weeks of preparation to initiate. When you fail in EQ, it hurts. But when you triumph, it feels great, like a real reward for your hard work. So if you have lots of time, and want a game that will consume and addict you, spend the money on EQ. It is money well spent.
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