Everquest has been around for quite awhile, and since the game’srelease it has become the most popular MMORPG of all time. Thousands of peopleplay the game daily and if you think the stories you’ve heard about the gamearen’t true, then you really haven’t seen this game in action. Everquest hasthe undeniable ability to turn a self respecting family man into an electricsucking powerhouse of myth and magic, and that is the aspect that has drawn alltypes of people to the game. It’s very rare for a game to immerse a playerinto its world as much as Everquest has. While the game itself looks primitiveand basic, underneath the PC RPG exterior is a rich and unforgettable experiencethat has captured hundreds of thousands. To be quite honest with you, I wasn’ttoo thrilled about the game when I first picked it up and began playing. Theextremely complicated PC interface is enough to scare some of the most diehardrole playing fans away and it will if you don’t take the time to learn itsintricacies. Once I began to delve into the game’s myth and lore, I began toappreciate the game differently than I had thought I would. Everquest isinfinitely deep and will keep a true gamer enthralled for hundreds upon hundredsof hours. Another thing about Everquest and its longevity is the expansionpacks. With five released so far, Everquest has easily become one of the biggestgames in history with its sprawling world map and endless acres of land. Thisreview is based on all of the expansions released to date except for The LostDungeons of Norrath which will receive a separate review.

 

           When Everquest was released several years back, its interface was archaicand clunky. The menu screens were so crowded that most of the time your view waslimited to a basic box in the center of your screen. Back then though, peopledidn’t mind because of the massive scale presented to them. EverQuest isdefinitely deep and it has the gameplay to prove it. You first start off bycreating your own character from scratch. You are given a choice of what raceand class you wish your character to be and depending on the class you choose,you are given attribute points to distribute at will. The final thing you areasked to do is choose a name and starting city. Most of the time you will onlybe given one choice as of where to start, but some lucky races have the abilityto be born in other areas of the game map. When you are finally dumped out intothe game world, all you are given is a couple measly pieces of food and a basicweapon. You can choose to either visit your guild master and receive a fewquests or go it out on your own. I personally recommend that any new playerchoose to receive quests because it is an easy way to gain levels early on inthe game. The quest system is quite simplistic and often times it is too simplefor its own good. There are plenty of quests but they never seem to be anintegral part of the game, so they are often neglected. NPC interaction is quiteclunky also, but the easy to learn keywords are a godsend. Quests becomesignificantly harder when your character comes of age (level 10 or so) and thatis when it becomes essential to turn yourself into a team player.

 

 Everquestis not a single player game and it is made clear early on when you find yourselfbeing pounded to the ground by enemies significantly more powerful than you. Thebest aspect of Everquest is the significant influence on team play. There arethousands of players willing to group up with you and fight the big fight andwalk the long walk. Aside from select members of the game, everyone is quitenice and welcoming to new players. Just don’t expect to get a hefty donationfrom a level 60 Necromancer. Team work is executed perfectly as you can splitloot, money and experience points. This will help newer players level up evenfaster (for those who do not appreciate the literal nature of the quests), andit’s a surefire way to make new friends. Solo play is pretty much uselessafter reaching level 20 with most classes, so it’s a good idea to start offknowing the right people. You will travel to hundreds of dungeons that go deepinto the ground of Norrath. Within these dungeons you will find mid-bosses andbig bosses who are all out to get a skull for their prize rack. Defeating a bossalmost always requires a team and it isn’t recommended to go it alone duringthese tense moments.

 

           The combat system in Everquest is something that you will either like orhate. You basically select an enemy (within a reasonable difficulty range) andpress the default a button to auto attack. You can fight manually too, but Ifind it much easier to let the roll of the dice take its course. Just as in allother RPGs you will find spells, curing items and many other things. These areeither gained at a certain level or bought from one of the thousands of NPCtraders that are found around the game world. Human players can also bemerchants, which are another one of the addictive aspects of the game, since youcan play an active part in Norrath’s economy. You can also develop tradeskills and create weapons of your own and sell them for your own prices. Thereare simply hundreds of things to see and do. Once you get to the higher levelsyou will truly understand your role as you fight bigger and nastier monsters inthe Planes of Power. Players of a lower level will look up to you for advice andhelp. You truly begin to see how interaction and social conduct plays a role inthe game. If there is one truly annoying aspect of the game it would be thedeath and recovery system. After you die, you must travel all the way back towhere you died to pick up your items, and chances are the monster that killedyou will still be there.

 

           Each class and race is unique in their own ways. By choosing a BarbarianWarrior, you are committing yourself to a life of hardships and axe beating,while choosing a necro will make most of your battles fought from a distance. Ifyou want complexity at its finest, then picking one of the spellcasting classeswill do you good. If you are more of a fighter then the Warrior will do best.The game can play completely different depending on the type of character youchoose and that’s why many players choose to have more than one character on aserver at one time. There are thousands of spells, weapons and items to find, sothere really is no end to the game’s replay value.

 

           Since this review is based on Everquest: Evolutions the all in onepackage of the game, it would only be fair to mention some of the perks includedin the expansion packs. Not only can you play a lizard creature named an Iskar and a frog creature named a Froglok but you will also find various new levelcaps, zones and quests for the taking. The Planes of Power expansion was by farthe most innovative expansion of them all, while the LOY expansion didn’treally warrant the purchase price. Thankfully they are all must haves and can befound for one low price of $29.99 at most retail chains. Not only is the archaicinterface and graphics gone, but in replace of them is an even more vibrantattempt at making a masterpiece.

 

           Visuals and sound are two areas that Everquest has never been a masterwith. When it was released a few years back, its graphics were up to the voodoocard standards of the time, but not much more. Thankfully the game has evolvedvisually with a brand new graphics engine. Beware though, as this new version ofthe game is a modern day RAM hog. It is recommended to have no less than 512mbwhen running this game. A decent processor and graphics card will do you good aswell. The textures of the new areas from Shadows of Lucin and Planes of Powerare quite inventive and colorful, while the original areas created in theclassic Everquest feel painted over, bland and too blocky. Although not muchcould be done without making a substantially long patch for 56k users and thatwasn’t something SOE was prepared to do. The original character models arequite decent, with the new ones being more realistic and ambient. Depending onthe amount of RAM you do have, you will see either all or just some of thesemodels.

 

           On the audio side of Everquest, we have a barely untouched aspect thathas stood the test of gaming time quite well. Aside from the much neededaddition of ambient sound and an orchestrated soundtrack, the sound effects haveremained relatively basic. It isn’t anything to cry home about, but it sureisn’t anything to be ashamed of. The soundtrack is breathtaking in almostevery song. From the invigorating battle music to the serenading sounds of thevarious Planes of Power, the music never fails to impress. While I do wish moremusic had been developed for the older areas, these new selections are just whatwere needed to make the game more immersive. The ambient background sounds canbe known to cause headaches for people who do not enjoy hearing the same forestsound over and over, but they do succeed in giving the world of Norrath moredepth which had been previously missing in earlier incarnations of the game.Overall the sound and visuals prove that to make a great game world, you needgreat backup.

 

           This review can never truly be ended, because until Everquest says itsfinal goodbyes, we will receive more expansions, updates and plotlines than anaverage cable soap opera. Everquest paved the way for the onslaught of MMORPGsthat have hit the market in recent years. While some have gone on to surpassEverquest in terms of innovation and graphics, nothing seems prone to take awayEverquest’s crown of being a perfect role model for the new MMORPG generation.So until EverQuest 2 hits the shores, I will be playing EverQuest on my weekends. Everquest is a trulyenthralling experience for anyone who wants to pack up their worries and take ona second life, where you make your own rules.