User Reviews (1 - 11 of 196)

Show these reviews first:

Highest Rated
Lowest Rated Newest
Oldest Most Helpful
Least Helpful

Lets set some things straight.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 29 / 45
Date: August 06, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I'd like to first respond to the review pointing out that there are 2 cities your character can start off in. The reason you shouldn't worry about this is that it means there are only 2 STARTING cities. They have to include "outpost" cities, like Highpass Hold or Surefall Glade (which actually was a starting city, but so close to Qeynos it didn't matter). Whenever they add an expansion or a new race, they'll be forced to include a new city.

In many of the original EQ zones there were rogue clans of merchants (ex. the Gypsies of north karana). People will likely gather in places such as these in EQ2 for protection in numbers. Everyone will be there, particularly since there will be no spires or druid rings nearby. This will ultimately form something of a makeshift town, very cool if you ask me. Not to mention what this adds to the mood of the huge starting zones.

Next!

I would like to answer to the review talking about good graphics not making a good game.
What is it about the pretty graphics that make you think this game is going to suck? Graphics only make a game better. They have no correlation at all to the quality of programming. Take Doom3 for example, oh what a marvelous looking game, the engine just has to suck (BZZZZT!!!!).
I don't know what you are crying about against SOE. If you hated it that much, WHY DID YOU PLAY FOR FIVE F$%#ING YEARS?!?! Are you a god **** masochist or somthing?? If you don't enjoy it, play something else. Not to mention, Why are you here reviewing a game that you won't play that hasn't been released yet??

The fact is, the game will always require maintenance. All MMORPGs do. And Everquest may have had it worst because it was simply the most popular MMORPG. In any case, I played the game for 4 years, quitting only because I had to go to college (and the graphics were starting to bet to be quite the burden on my out-dated PC) and I only recall SOE being a minor inconvenience on a roughly weekly basis.

And, to respond to the reviewer who reviewed the reviews... The game is now officially in Beta. Which means there ARE thousands of people who are playing the game right now. I'm sure that as soon as they can pull themselves away from the addiction they'll come and start writing reviews :-P

Moreover, having played the game is not a requisite to post your opinions about the game. Plenty is known about the mechanics and such of the game, more becoming known on an increasingly frequent basis, as the game nears it's launch date (Which, by the way, most places agree on November 15th now, with still no official word from SOE I'm guessing they'll want it out in time for christmas).

And now that I've critiqued the other reviews :-P I would like to add my own little thoughts.

History speaks. When game release dates are delayed and delayed and delayed, that means they're not rushing the programming, this results in generally a higher quality of game.

Also, about the graphics. They're not good. They're not excellent. They're other worldly. The water in the game is MUCH more beautiful than real life. The trees are greener, and (depending on your video card, I guess) the air is always clean, and the stars will shine even in the middle of the city. With EQII, video game worlds have become more beautiful (in some respects) than the real world.

I for one, am so confident in this game that I plan on buying a whole new pc just so I can play it.

Sure to please

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 26 / 54
Date: June 17, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I have played EverQuest continuously since the open-beta some four years ago. I believe I have the qualifications to make a comment. ;)

"A Gamer from New Jersey" paints a pretty jaundiced picture of EQ. I suggest that if you find grouping a pain, than you shouldn't review a game that is fundamentally designed to be social and group-oriented.

Soloing in Everquest is like removing a philips-head screw with a flat-tipped screwdriver; not a problem with the tool, but with the mechanic.

Everquest has evolved and expanded into a rich and almost unbelievably nuanced game for the fantasy roleplayer, old-school or new player alike.

Sony Online Entertainment has taken the fruits of their unequaled MMORPG experience and combined it with the latest of cutting-edge graphical technology.

For the *social* role-player (anyone who is not social should probably stick to first-person shooters) this new rendition of Everquest is sure to please.

Great game!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 18 / 37
Date: November 01, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Everquest 2 (EQ2) is a great game. Just visit {EDITED} and read the details, see the screenshots and videos, etc.

By the way, don't be fooled by all the bad reviews posted here. It's graffiti. A bunch of kids are posting bogus reviews of EQ2 around the Internet. They are trying to promote a game called {EDITED}

The truth is, if your ten-year old child sleeps on {EDITED} sheets, you should probably get him that game. And when he grows out of that phase, he will want EQ2.

If you are looking for a game for anyone else, get them EQ2. It is better than {EDITED} in every way: graphics, content, playability, fun, replay value, etc.

The original Everuqest it is not :o(

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 17 / 33
Date: October 12, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I have actually edited my prior review which led me to give this game both 5 stars in fun and overall. My new ranking would be 2 stars for both fun and overall. Here is the edited review after playing my character to 50 and spending some time in the game:

I played this game both during beta and after it went live. After playing the original Everuqest for over 5 years, I really wanted to enjoy this game. During the entire beta process I kept telling myself, "This will get better...They will add more quests...They will tweak the game so that it doesn't feel like WORK." I continued to tell myself after beta, when the game was rushed into Live status in order to be competitive with the release of World of Warcraft. As a result of this, you have a game that has beautiful graphics, but lacks anything substantial.

Upon creation of your character, you must choose wether you want to be good and go to the city of Qeynos, or evil and go to the city of Freeport. Qeynos is the land of happy halflings and all things daisies and sunshine. Now imagine the exact opposite and you have Freeport. The graphics in this city are so drab and depressing that you can hardly stand to even run through the streets. The NPCs do little other than call you names or threaten to pummel you in the face/kill you. Sony really neglected to realize that there are beautiful evil empires. People that will talk nicely to you and then stab you in the back. Where Qeynos is almost sickeningly sweet, Freeport leaves you wishing that you had never left the refugee island. The good news is that you are allowed to betray your starting city and move to Qeynos. At least there you don't feel like you are trudging through the sewers.

The first 5 levels of playing the game is basically a tutorial. You run around an island that is dedicated to those level 5 and below and you slay goblins. You slay LOTS of goblins. It was a decent enough tutorial for someone that is just starting the game, but I left the island thinking, "Couldn't they have found an island without goblins to take these poor refugees to??"

The game walks you through the entire process of getting to level 10 as though you're a child. There are quests that give you alot of information, and some that give you almost none and leave you wandering the streets of the zones for longer than you'd like to. The class quests that allow you to chose your very first archtype are simple, but the story line is not very well thought out. These are all things I had really hoped they'd have fixed by beta, but again, the rush to release shattered those hopes.

I've read alot of reviews that talk about how it is impossible to solo or duo. That simply isn't true. There is ALOT of solo and duo content. I think that I duo'd with someone all the way up to level 35. And we were both priest classes. We didn't stop duoing because the game didn't allow for it, we just realized it was much faster to group if you could get into a good one. A GOOD GROUP is absolutely key. The games experience pentalty upon your own death or that of a party member is ridiculous. If you end up in a poor groupo, you can easily end up having to spend hours working off the experience debt because of the foolish behaviour of a single party member. As a result, I never grouped with anyone I didn't know. One of the wonderful things about Everquest was that you could easily meet so many new people just by going into a zone and calling out that you were looking for a group. Trust me, don't do this in Everquest 2 if you are planning on playing it.

I played my character all the way up to level 50. I was in a guild that raided almost nightly and dedicated their time to doing the high end of the game. There is a single quest that can take you over a month to complete. You are sent off to find a dragon who has stolen something, only to have what you were supposed to find destroyed at the end. Not only that, but you encounter so many bugs during the final fight that it makes your head spin. Sometimes the encounter bugs, sometimes it doesn't. You never know which one you're going to get and it leaves you frustrated. It seemed like that was it for the high end. The game is mostly instanced, so you lose alot of the competition that you found all the way up through Plane of Time in Everquest 1. The fact that Sony can't seem to stop tweaking/nerfing the encounters also leaves you wondering what you're going to be fighting from week to week. A mob that your guild can go in and kill one day, may very well be unkillable for your the next. The addition of waves upon waves of spawns that continue to come without any chance of controlling them made them not fun for me.

Tradeskills. I don't even know where to begin. They took what was a fun crafting system, and hit it with the nerf bat until I finally stopped tradeskilling altogether. Being that I loved that asp[ect of the game, it really lost alot of appeal at that time. It seems that they can't just leave well enough alone and allow people to enjoy something that will be "easy". Everything must be an uphill stuggle to the end. I'm all for making people work for the best things in the game, but there is a point where you really just want to be able to do something easy.

You are simply taken back to the beginning of Everuqest time, with better graphics. You have more gnolls to kill than you could possibly imagine. You have the ice giants of permafrost. A whole bunch of goblins. And..Yes..Lizard men in Cazic Thule. The one good thing that an EQ2 player can look forward to, is that there is no chance of space gnolls since they have blown up Luclin.

Needless to say, it was a sad day for me when I cancelled my last Sony account and ventured on to World of Warcraft. I had been a customer of theirs for 6 years. Through all the bad customer service, through all of the encounter nerfing. I loved the storyline that they had built in EQ1, and it seemed non-existant in its sequal. After truding through the game to its less than glorious "end game quest", I felt like I had really accomplished nothing. At the end of the day there was little substance. All I had was a pretty 3 room apartment, a couple baby dragons and a shiny weapon to make me feel like I had accomplished something in my time there.

EverQuest is for certian people

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 16 / 30
Date: December 20, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Jeese, why do so many people have bad things to say about everquest, and how dumb the new EQ will be? If you ask me this is a great game for many differant types of people. EQ1 was a great game, i have playe dit for over a year now, but its not like it is my life.

Some good things about the upcoming EQ2 is that there is no experiance bars, or certian hit points. Everything is within the game. There are no stats accept general things like good strangth, or good intelligance. This provides the player with a more relistic view of the game. Also there is a new way to distinguish your class. As you go through the levels you will begin to make decisions tward a certian class, that will fit you the best. There is no guessing in the begining what class you will like or not like. durring the game if you are killing somthing, there is no way to know how many hit points the mob your killing has, or how many you have, because face it, there is nothing of the sort in real life anyways. Another feature is that items can be broken if you dont have the proper training to use them, or they just get old.

There is a new zoning experiance too. If you accedently get a mob on you and maybe a entire train, if u keep runing they will acually give up on you and leave, this gets rid of the "zone" idea. Also Im, not positive but, i think that mobs can and will follow you through a zone, so you no longer have a zone to save you, as you dont in real life either.

In conclusion I would say this will be the best online role playing game to hit the market. Although many will disagree, its just not their thing, because everyone is differant. So dont take advice from the people who hate it, because they are not you, so they will not know if u hate it or not. Thanks for time, and i hope like it ), /bow and i cant wait myself.

Graphics are stunning and SOE ought to have learned now

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 16 / 26
Date: September 06, 2004
Author: Amazon User

EQ was a powergamer's game. Let's face it. Your average couple-hours-a-week casual gaming man couldn't make the grade, what with the 12-hour spawn timers on the most precious dropped items. And levelling was incredibly difficult, as dying could ultimately take you from the godly level 65 all the way back down to level 1. Everquest was frustrating, but it was very addictive, and the sense of achievement one gained from reaching the unreachable level 65 was incomparable. For thousands of die-hard fans, Everquest was a good game. For thousands more, it sucked.

Then we have Star Wars Galaxies: the mother of all buggy releases. Add to that a horrendously-designed player versus player system, a disfunctional trade system, and a hardly entertaining combat system, and you've got yourself a pretty junky game. We won't even go into the network and server problems... it was just flat out ugly.

What this means for EQII: look for a game with stunning visual affects accompanied by a game engine that accomodates for the casual player, but that also rewards the dedicated gamer. I expect a thoroughly-tested release, especially after the whole SWG mishap, and I expect levelling will be much different than it was in EQ1. I also expect combat will involve much more actual involvement of the player; you will have to think fast and act accordingly to win high-level fights. No more running into a camp of mezzed whites with autoattack on while your mage friend sends his elly to do all the damage. Expect a game where battles will be challenging, the trade system will be engaging, crafting will be rewarding, and walking will actually be fun for a change. I have a feeling the feedback SOE has gotten over EQ and SWG will force them to learn from their mistakes. To say the very least, this game will be worth buying. Use that free month to see what they changed; that's what it's there for.

Oh yeah, and the graphics on this game are amazing. They rival both SWG and Asheron's Call II. Wow.

looks killer :-D

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 16 / 26
Date: September 10, 2004
Author: Amazon User

First i'd like to say that EQ2 looks killer. the graphics are incredible yet dont require a $500 video card. There are at least 20 races which you can be and a total of at least 30 classes probably more. ... the character customazation is the best there is. you can change things from ear rings to any shade of eye color you can imagine. by every appearence it looks like SOE has learned from past mistakes with star wars galexies. every gameing company(except blizzard entertainment)has screwed up some game at some point. just like you can judge a book by its cover you cant judge a game by its devloper. ;o)

You have to understand

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 16 / 27
Date: September 14, 2004
Author: Amazon User

You have to understandf that SoE has come a LONG way from the begining. EQ 2 looks amazing and after all the beta reveiw I have to take the players word for it, Qoute "If you liked EQ you will love EQ 2, if you hated EQ you will still love EQ 2" This game is going to be a huge hit and will lead to other competition between other games. Besides I am sure that we have all wasted away 50 bucks before why not try it and if it doesnt work out then O Well.

EQ2 doesn't get enough credit

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 13
Date: December 18, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This game seriously isn't nearly as popular as it should be. Yes, the system requirements are pricey, but it's well worth it, trust me. People regard it as a bad game mostly just because it's challenging. But come on people. It makes the game more interesting if you have to work for what you get.
{EDIT} The reason it isn't as popular as WoW is because it is a challenge. It is actually for people who have more brain capacity than a mentally challenged turtle. WoW is so simple, you press the same button a few times and it's Oh Jolly Gee! I killed something! Yay! Now I'm level 60 and it's only been 10 minutes! Give me a break. EQ2 is a little more mature than that, which is why I'm sort of glad it's not as popular. We lose the idiots and gain the patient, smart gamers who deserve to be there. Unfortunately for the makers of EQ2, most gamers go like this: "Aww, 30 seconds waiting time?? Come on! Oh My Goodness!! I actually have to kill stuff and work for what I get and not get immediate results? This is STUPID!". Yeah. Somehow I think I'm a little more mature than that. If you're looking for brainless level-ups, go to WoW. If you're looking for a unique, awesome, mature gaming experience that will challenge you and hone your skills into perfection, stick with EQ2. Now on to the basics.

Pro's:

1. The graphics are awesome. Although the drawback that comes with this (system requirements) are infamous, people, it's not that big of a sacrifice and when I upgraded my computer I was glad to, it needed the upgrade!
2. The game is challenging but fun, which is a positive thing, not a negative! Too many people base their views on this game on their own stupidity and lack of gaming ability. I'm not even that good of a gamer, and I was able to figure everything out and have immense amounts of fun. The tutorial in the beginning is a useful addition, and if you're having trouble figuring things out don't skip it!
3. Everyone is friendly. If you're having trouble, pipe up, I'm sure someone will come to the rescue as they have so many times before with me.
4. There are practically no bugs. I've heard of a few, but they are being combed out extremely quickly and I never personally experienced any.
5. There are so many classes and races to choose from, the variety is great. When you customize your character's appearance, you can actually customize it, not just choose from a list of premaid faces and bodies!
6. There are so many quests and so much to do that you will never get bored. The variety is great.

Cons:

1. System requirements. Yes they are a pain, but the benefits definitely outweigh the drawbacks.
2. Lack of variety in landscape. If there was one thing I would change in Everquest 2, it would be landscape. Yeah, it's beautiful and the graphics are awesome, but there is hardly any variety. Everything is, well, normal I guess. Which can be viewed as a good thing, but in a fantasy RPG, come on. Give us a little variety. More stuff should be happening on the screen, in simple terms.
3. LOADING! This is a big drawback. Loading takes forever, and if you are going to do quests, you have to zone in and out of areas so much, it will take you 20 minutes just to get from one place to another.
4. They changed it from Everquest 1 so that everyone starts in Qeynos or Freeport. BAD IDEA. It really does lose flavor and magic this way. I really wish they put it back the way it was in that respect. It would fix the problem stated in #2 partially as well.

*****

Overall, GREAT GAME. I'm hooked. Really.

Best MMO I've ever played and I've played them all.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 13 / 35
Date: November 27, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Let me say this right off the bat: if you are a "solo player" who believes that MMO's ought to be designed so that you can achieve every in game goal at the same rate whether you play by yourself or in groups, then please stay the hell away from this game. I'm BEGGING you to stay away from this game. I don't want your whiny attitudes on my server. This is NOT a game for whiners and battle.net kiddies who want their rewards handed to them on a silver platter and who just can not stomach the concept that to be and get the best of everything, you need to work well with other players in group/raid situations and learn to play smart. THANK GOD it isn't that type of game. Take your business to WoW, which seems to reward you simply for attending. Two weeks spent in Azeroth and you'll be level 60 with all the best equipment. OMG you can do and see everything in WoW and you never have to actually be CHALLENGED! WHAAAAAAAAAA I don't want to have to expend any effort to get that shiny new Dagger of Uberness. Can't I just do a 20 minute solo quest for it? WHAAAAAAAAAAAA!

As for players not being friendly, I can only guess that the person who said that is an irritating fellow whom know one wants to help, or perhaps doesn't speak English. I completed a quest in Stormhold the other day by zoning in and saying that I was looking for a group hunting for the same quest pieces I sought. Within 10 minutes I was in a RAID put together for the very purpose of helping everyone in the raid get their quest items. I didn't know a single soul in this raid. Followed that up by doing the same thing in Crypt of Betrayal and got an invite to a group 2 seconds later. If people aren't helping you with your quests, you need to work on your social skills. WHAAAAA social skills? Why should I need those? I WANT TO DO THE QUEST BY MYSELF!

WoW WILL be successful because there are many immature whiners who do enjoy being rewarded for doing almost nothing at all. Let's hope EQ2 weeds out these kinds of players as soon as possible. Take your kindergarten attitude to Azeroth and don't let the door hit ya.

Now that I've dealt with the whiners, let's quickly sum up where EQ does it right.

1. Tons of quests whose reward is equal to the challenge posed. Nothing sadistic like super rare spawns with super rare drops as seen in EQ1 so often. On the other hand, nothing as insulting as WoW where the quest reward may as well be given upon accepting the quest.

2. Locked combat is great. No KSing. If someone wants help, they ask for it. Exactly how you HOPE people play such games. If SOE wants to be strict about it by writing code to make sure it happens, that's fine with me. Can't imagine anyone caring except those who got their jollies by out damaging someone else's engaged encounter and taking the experience/loot. Again, go elsewhere if you're that type of player.

3. Graphics are gorgeous. Azeroth can be a beautiful looking game even with their low polygon rates, but their character models are groan inducing. EQ2 wins hands down, even when on balanced settings.

4. Soloing is done perfectly. You can solo all the way to 50 if you like BUT YOU WILL NOT GO AS FAST AS IN A GROUP. Unlike WoW, the game rewards you for learning to play and work well with other players. In WoW, it's not only an option to level up to 60, it's downright preferable. That game simply gives you no incentive for accepting greater risk of any kind.

5. Probably the best music ever done for an MMO.

I could go on. At any rate, don't be fooled by Blizzard fanboys here. WoW will sell millions because all the battle.net kiddies will take their battle.net attitudes and ideas on over to Azeroth. They have a huge built in following but unfortunately, it's major characteristics are laziness and immaturity.

In short, EQ2 is a game for players with mature attitudes who appreciate a game that forces you to respect the environment and appreciate your accomplishments. WoW is a game for whining babies who want what they want and want it now.

Review Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next 

Actions