The very first thing I noticed when I opened the box containing my review copy of EverQuest II (this was a review of the Collector's Edition, for the record) was the packaging. Without question this is the most extravagant game box I have ever seen and it is just cool. The box itself looks like a small aluminum lunch pail with embossed titles and logos and a border on the front. Flipping open the front cover reveals that the box is packed full of goodies, unlike most games, especially standard retail boxes where the contents of the box equates to a paper CD sleeve, a thirteen page manual and four pages of advertisements for future products. The EverQuest II box is lined with felt and contains the following:

• One EverQuest II manual (146 pages).



• One quad-folding “book” of four discs that includes one CD of the original EverQuest II soundtrack, two DVDs of the actual game and a DVD of bonus materials.



• One double sided folding paper map of both the good city of Qeynos and the evil city of Freeport.



• One canvas map of the Shattered Lands.



• A double sided, folding poster featuring Antonia Bayle, the rule of Qeynos (voiced by actress Heather Graham) and Lucan D’Lere, the Overloard of Freeport (voiced by actor Christopher Lee).



• One book of original art from EverQuest II (127 pages). One felt dice bag embroidered with EverQuest II.



• One limited edition collectors coin featuring Antonia Bayle and Lucan D’Lere once again.



• One manual for The Bard’s Tale.



• And of course, six advertisements.

As I said, the box was literally stuffed with lewt! Before we dive into the game, I want to spend a moment on most of the goodies included in this package. The manual is pretty standard fare and nothing special. Games that come on DVD are becoming more common, however, it is rare to see any game that requires two DVDs. Also included in the four disc pack is a CD of the original soundtrack created by Laura Karpman. This is the same music used throughout the game and is exceptional. Very rarely have I found any game whose music is good enough that I would like to listen to it instead of cranking on my own MP3s, but this is truly worth listening too, both in game and individually. The bonus DVD is also stuffed with features, though I did not find any of them to be truly outstanding. On this disc you’ll find the Official EverQuest II Trailer, a “Making of” featurette, a gameplay trailer featuring actor Christopher Lee (Saruman from the Lord of the Rings Trilogy), a featurette on the voices and dialog of Norrath, some other game featurettes and a theatrical trailer for Kaena: The Prophecy. The paper map of the major cities is good, and useful but not exactly impressive. The canvas map is, well, not impressive at all. It is simply a giant overview of a bunch of islands. The poster and art book are both outstanding as is all of the art for EverQuest II. And the dice bag and limited edition coin are nice touches.

Now, on to the game.



At it’s core, EverQuest II bears the heart of its powerhouse predecessor. In fact, this is probably the first time that I have felt a sequel to a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) not only retains all of the features that made the original so good, but is in fact better than it’s parent product.

And that is what we have in EverQuest II, a game whose pulse is carried by a massively successful originator. It’s tough to top the kind of success that Sony Online had achieved with EverQuest. Even Star Wars Galaxies, with its massive fan base, household branding and backing by George Lucas could match EverQuest.

Will EverQuest II measure up? Perhaps, but for me the commercial success of a game is meaningless. I neither play games because they are popular nor do I enjoy a game simply because it has sold a bazillion copies. No, a game is supposed to be about entertainment, relaxation, you know, that little thing called “fun”.

EverQuest, despite having what I personally consider to be one of the top ten worst interfaces of all time, was a fun game. It is very obvious that the developers of EverQuest II sought to preserve those aspects of the original that made it fun and move forward with a progressive story. And that is a very important point. EverQuest II plays as though it is a chapter in a long saga. The land of Norrath has been shattered by war and cataclysm and you are a refugee just trying to make your way in a hostile and brutal world.

To date, all MMORPGs from Sony Online have boasted excellent character creation and customization facilities and EverQuest II continues this tradition with a really impressive set of features for creating your character. Not only are there fifteen “races” to choose from, but there is also a sixteenth race that can be unlocked later. While each race could not be considered truly “unique”, they are all distinct. For instance, the Barbarian and the Human are not really any different, but they are considered to be separate races due to their distinctly different abilities and characteristics. However, along with these two “human” races, there are many very distinct and unusual races to choose from including the diminutive Gnome and Ratonga as well as the hideous Troll, hulking Ogre, and lithe cat-like Kerra.

But this is the just the beginning of character creation. From there you can tailor the appearance of your character through a multitude of sliders that control every aspect of your appearance including eye size and shape, mouth size and shape, hair color, length and style and of course racially specific options such as crest type and details for the lizard-like Iksar and the what cat your Kerra is based upon.

One of the things to consider when creating your character is the alignment of your character. Some races, such as the Troll and Ogre and very clearly evil in nature. EverQuest II make this more than a trivial factor by separating the starting positions of both the good and evil alignments. As the story goes, after the shattering of Norrath, only two civilizations survived the cataclysm, the city of Qeynos ruled by the goodly Antonia Bayle and founded on the tenets of valor and honor and the banal city of Freeport ruled by the dreaded Overlord Lucan D’Lere. So, if you choose an evil race you will wind up in the dark, fetid city of Freeport and you may not see a “good” race for quite some time. If you’re planning to play with friends, this is a critical decision.