Everquest 2 PC Review
Sony Online Entertainment, 2004
Everquest 2 Review by Raffman, August 12th, 2004
While Everquest 2 was originally released last November, reviewing it then just wouldn't do this fantastic game justice
since it is constantly evolving. After playing this MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role playing game) since it
came out, I've learned quite a bit and hopefully will be able to bring you the best perspective yet of what this game has
to offer; both for the casual and hardcore college gamers. Furthermore, since you already have enough reading to do in
your classes, I'll keep this as brief as humanly possible. Let's get started with the system requirements. First of
all, you'll need at least 7 GB of free space on your hard drive. The good thing is if this is a problem, hard drives
have gotton almost dirt cheap; I just recently saw a 120 GB hard drive on sale at Best Buy for $80. On top of the
enormous space you'll also need 512 mb of ram and at least a Pentium 3 or Athlon 1 Ghz processor. Yes, I know these are
steep requirements but we're almost done. The last major requirement you'll need to run EQ2 is a Direct X 9 capable
video card with at least 64 mb of memory. Okay, take a breath, that's all. Since it's release, I've been running EQ2 on
an Athlon 1.2 Ghz processor with 646 mb of ram and an ATI Radeon 9800 Pro with 128 mb of ram. With my setup I'm able to
run the game at a pretty high resolution with almost no slowdown. Hopefully that will give you a better perspective of
what you can expect before you purchase the game. Finally, you'll need a credit card to play because there's a fee of
about $12 a month, which shouldn't hurt the college budget too bad. With the requirements out of the way, let's move on
to the graphics since they're directly related.
When Sony created Everquest 2's graphic engine, they had the future in mind. Their goal was to create a world that would
not just be gorgeous with today's technology, but also still be at the graphical forefront three or even four years from
now. Without a doubt, Everquest 2 features the best photo realistic graphics out of any MMORPG I have ever seen, and
probably will see for some time. The only downside for building such an advanced engine is that no current computer,
even one built specifically for gaming, can even come close to maximizing the graphics. Don't get me wrong though, the
graphics are incredible now, so it's kind of exciting to see how the world of Norrath will evolve over the next few
years. Everything from the spell effects to the character models are absolutely delicious, and exquisitely detailed down
to the wrinkles on a merchant's face. Quite possibly the best graphical achievement however is the water; you have to
see it to believe it! One thing to be wary of are the cities in Everquest 2; unless you have 1 GB of ram in your tower
you're going to experience some serious chugging because there are so many polygons. I've got 646 mb of ram and it can
get pretty bad at times when I travel through a city, so you've been warned. outside the cities in the other zones I
have zero performance issues, even when there are a ton of monsters or stuff around. I encourage you to check out all
the screenshots I've taken, as you can see just how detailed I'm able to run Everquest 2 with nearly zero letdown, save
some in the cities which really doesn't bother me at all. Next up is arguably the most important aspect of any video
game, the gameplay.
After selecting your character of choice from a wide range of races, you begin the game either in the tutorial or on the
Isle of Refuge, should you choose to skip the tutorial. Once on the Isle of Refuge, you'll be able to get a good feel
for every aspect this wondeful game has to offer: combat, questing, grouping, soloing, and crafting. Combat is still
basically the "click-and-watch" kind, but this time around you're much more involved in combat due to the heroic
opportunities. During a battle, you have to pay attention because you'll be called on to perform certain feats that vary
depending on your character and class, regardless if you're grouping or soloing. In my mind, this makes the combat
system a lot more enjoyable and much more interactive. Aside from combat, Everquest 2's main focus is the massive
questing system. And by massive, I mean "fucking ginormous", and excuse me for my French; I'm still learning. Compared
to the first Everquest, there are so many more quests available that there really is no comparison. While some of the
quests are very basic and mundane, like running errands for people, many are very cool and very involved. Some will
require you to group up with others to complete, while many you'll be able to accomplish on your own. Quite possibly the
most enjoyable gameplay aspect of Everquest 2 is grouping up with other human players, as that is the idea which every
MMORPG is built around. There are always people looking to group in any zone, and you'll find them at every single
level. You can also join a guild which in my opinion makes the game even more enjoyable, because then you'll always have
a close circle of online friends who are always willing to group or help you out. Crafting is another cool gameplay
aspect of EQ2 which will further allow you to build your character. While there are literally tons of paths you can
take, here are some of them: armorer, weaponsmith, tailor, jeweler, and many more.
Whether you choose to leave the Isle of Regufe immediately or after you gain a little experience is up to you. Once you
do leave the island however, you'll have to choose a path between good and evil. Shall you choose the goody-two-shoes
side, you'll arrive in the vast city of Qeynos. For those of you who want to walk the path of the dark side, you'll be
sent to the massive city of Freeport. Both are equal in size, and both offer an immense amount of content. Once you get
outside these massive city walls, you'll find even more areas to explore and wreak havoc in. Sony did a nice job of
setting the world up so that as you progressivly move further away from each city, the zones get harder and harder. For
example the Commonlands is the next major zone outside of Freeport, and it's built for characters that range in levels
from 7-25 or so. After that zone the next major zone is Nektulos Forest, which I wouldn't recommend exploring until
you're at least level 20 or so, unless you want to die. Speaking of death, when you die (and you WILL die) it's not so
bad. In the original Everquest when you died you returned all the way at your home starting point and had to run all the
way back to where you died to pick up your body and all your gear; and on top of that you were stark naked. In Everquest
2, you get placed somewhat close in the respective zone that you died in and you still have all your stuff on you;
however you still have to get back to your body to recover some lost experience. All in all dying in the world of
Norrath ain't too bad.
While I could have written probably ten more pages in this review, time is an issue; not just for me, but you as well since you're taking classes and out partying. Last semester I barely had time to play just 5 hours a week or so because I had so many responsibilities on my plate: running my business (this website!), taking 19 hours in school, and serving as President of my fraternity. And on top of that, squeezing time in my hectic schedule to go out with my friends and get absolutely tanked at the bars. Everquest 2 I've found is great for both the casual and the hardcore gamer, and even the ones that would like to play but barely have time to. If you've got a decent computer that meets the heavy requirements and has an extra $12 a month to play, I highly recommend this game to you. In my mind, it's a great way to escape from the real world of class, papers, and exams, and just have fun whether you're playing on your own or grouping with other people. Just as a warning though, there's a reason why the first Everquest was nicknamed, "EverCrack"; it's very easy to become addicted, so be careful. Don't forget about class or your friends, but especially don't forget about College Downtime. Everquest 2 receives my highest recommendations!
More Everquest 2 Screens
Presentation - 9.1
Graphics - 10.0
Sound - 9.0
Gameplay - 8.8
Overall - 9.225 (Average)
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