Everquest II Collector-s Edition Description:

Everquest II Collector's Edition review:
5 stars (Lots of fun) - This game is surprisingly complicated and intricate yet easy to play. I enjoy it immensely. I love the combination of warrior and magic of the characters.
4 stars (Best MMORPG I've played thus far) - I've been playing this game since January 2007. Have played pretty much every day, sometimes ALL day.

obviously I love this game, the question is why?



Immersion. There are times when i feel so immersed in the world of Norrath, that I "become" my character. I feel fear, excitement, utter joy, even anger at times.Perhaps a bit hokey and sad, but let's face it, any mmorpg that can manage this feat has done something right.



The grind. Is there one? Sure, if you allow it. My character is only level 46. I have been in no rush to get to end game as it seems many are. Unlike SWG, in eq2, you can choose to either grind your way boringly and without imagination to 50, or enjoy the world and your character development. there are plenty of quests to do (I have made alts, just to do the quests that I missed the first time around).



Diversity of gameplay and grouping/soloing. Another reviewer had said here this is nto a game for soloers. Very untrue imo. I often make my best xp soloing. As far as duoing, I leveled my main to 40 almost exlusively by duoing. Was it slow? Yep. But, the point of duoing in a multiplayer game should not be only xp. Obviously in a game designed for multiple players, a duo will have slower xp than a larger group, and yes some quests will not be possible. In this game, a full group is best for getting through tough quests. A group of three however, is the best for xp. But, in the end, eq2 allows for a decent amount of xp/fun/chalenge/exploration for any kind of adventurer(s).



Mentoring. I love this feature. it basically allows one to mentor down to any level, in order to group with a lower level friend. As a bonus, it gives the mentored extra xp.



Graphics are impressive, character creation is detailed (unlike Lineage and WoW bleh :p)



Complaints... the game can be a bit buggy, mobs stuck in walls, encounters breaking, etc. Clothing and armor (yawn).. I hope in the future they add more choices. ( remembering fondly the tailored wares from SWG).. speaking of swg, I wish there were player towns, but it is a small complaint.



One thing I was discussing with my husband and son the other day (yes they also play)... something I miss from swg. Vastness of the world. I remember playing swg, going to say tatooine or Dantooine, and feeling like I was in a large, lonely place. As odd as it may sound, I liked that. EQ2 is missing that, i think because around every corner and behind ever rock is an aggro mob... similar to (but not as bad as) Guild Wars, the world in eq2 gives the feel that it is "guiding" a player here or there, see this, kill that, click this. I have considered going back to swg, just for that feeling of vastness.. but the truth is that EQ2 ruined swg for me in so many ways, there is no going back.



I hope I'll be playing eq2 for many years, and then eq3 for many years after that :)



Luna

Highkeep

WoG


5 stars (Best MMO so Far) - I have been playing Everquest 2 since the second say after launch and I have to say it is the best MMO I have played so far. While it is definitely not for everyone I will give a brief rundown of some of its highlights over other games. In terms of graphics, diversity, and versatility of play it leads the pack, in my opinion.

When it comes to the game's graphics I can say with confidence that it beats out all other MMO's that I have seen. The zones, outdoor and dungeon, are beautifully made and have great detail. The most obvious areas of detail are in characters and NPC's. You have almost total control over your character's appearance when you create them; everything from hair color to the size of the nose to the apparent age is entirely selectable. There is a great variety of races to choose from, sixteen in all, each of which is varied in size and proportions. All the equipment is also individualized to give a great variety of shapes and colors on almost everyone that runs by you. The monsters where not neglected with dozens and dozens of different monster types; from tiny flying fairies to towering giants that you have to look almost straight up upon in order to see anything but their boots.

The diversity in this game is also simply amazing. As stated earlier there are sixteen playable races. Combine this with a choice of twenty-four adventuring jobs and nine crafting jobs you have literally HUNDREDS of combinations. The adventuring classes are exquisitely fleshed out with more than forty spells and/or abilities each. And for folks interested in the crafting side each of the nine crafting classes had hundreds upon hundreds of recipes to craft almost anything you can wear, carry, use, or sell to others. The world has amazing diversity as well with over fifty zones (last I counted anyways it was over well over fifty and climbing every major update). And if you enjoy questing, I will tell you that EverQUEST lives up to its name with over TWO THOUSAND quests at last count.

This game will also please about any play style that you can enjoy. The developers have restocked the zones so that all types of players can find and kill monsters for their particular play style; from solo players to massive raids. The games monsters have been specifically balanced and the `consider' system reflexs that so that they are labled from solo, to group, and epic-2's, -3's, and -4's (for the size of raid that is recommended). Those that like to craft should be glad to hear that the crafting system is as in-depth as the adventuring. Every character can have both types of classes and both adventuring and crafting have fifty levels to travel through.

So to finish off, this is one of the best MMO's out there. It may not be for the beginning players as it has a huge amount of content to absorb as you begin. But for the experienced gamer this game has enough content to keep you busy for months, if not years. And the developers keep adding content fast; faster than I can keep up with anyways. So have fun, and look me up on the Permafrost server.