EverQuest 2 Reviews Although its market dominance isn't as assured as it used to be, the original EverQuest is probably the most influential MMORPG in existence. Every MMO that followed it owes it a debt, and even their developers will grudgingly admit this. That said, consider their debt repaid--EverQuest 2 has assimilated many of refinements made over the years to the formula that it helped established, and despite its association with the granddaddy of MMORPGs, it's very much a modern game.

 

Those who haven't touched an MMO other than the original EQ will find its successor a game that's much more inviting, convenient, and forgiving. Likewise, those who left this one's predecessor for greener pastures might find within this a reason to revisit Norrath. It's still a young game, but given a solid launch, and an altogether slick presentation, getting into it is painless. Norrath is a changed place. Displeased with the actions of their mortal creations (probably due to the incessant guild raids on their home planes), the gods unleashed a series of cataclysms upon the world.

 

The landscape was razed, the moon itself was shattered, and most of the races were sundered from their ancestral homes. Only two bastions of civilizations remain: the cities of Qeynos and Freeport, home to Norrath's benign and evil races, respectively. This setup will inform much of your experience with the game, and where you stand in relation to it is one of the first decisions you'll have to make, not to mention among the most important. Both cities are identical in terms of the amenities they offer. What's different is their visual tone, and the attitude of its inhabitants.

 

Within Qeynos' walls, you'll find a populace that's generally hopeful of pulling through the recent tragedies, and welcoming of the bondless refugees (read: player characters) pouring into its bright streets. Conversely, the tone in Freeport is pretty much dog-eat-dog, and its people, at best, are wary and mistrusting of the flood of newcomers. EverQuest2 is here.

 

Now quick, find something to kill. You have to jump through some hoops before you can access the city proper, however. Characters are designated a starting "village" on the outskirts of the city based on their race, from which they can only enter the capital after performing a special mission that grants them citizenship. While many will no doubt be sorry that there are no racial cities, the implementation here both preserves a sense of distinction between each race's home, and makes the world's civilized sections fairly painless to travel through. As a result, the entire player base feels accessible at all times, which facilitates many of the things that one would need accomplish in a game of this type.

 

This is a good thing, as you won't be traveling too far from your faction's city for the first hundred hours or so. There seem to be no shortage of quests that characters of all levels can undertake, and thankfully, most of these involve the two very things that you'd be doing anyway -- running around, and killing stuff. I've lost count of the number of "kill X number of creature Y" quests I've completely, but luckily, they've been fairly rewarding so far. Most of my best equipment has actually been acquired by means of questing, and even as I get into the higher levels, this shows no sign of slowing down.

 

Many players also seem to be hip to this fact, so it isn't too hard to find comrades to complete particular quests with. It gets to the point where you actually feel a bit naked if you're in a hunting party without one of these quests active, especially since the information is readily available on the internet, or via word of mouth from fellow players. At the very least, if you bother to take the time to talk to the NPCs you encounter throughout the world, the journal that conveniently logs your active quests will be full in no time.