OPERATION:

Calm Down, Children. There's Enough EQ For Everyone.

DATE: 2003-05-29 21:01:52

Great things are on the way from SOE in the EverQuest department. The booth housed four major focii for the next year: EverQuest II (MMORPG), Lords of EverQuest (RTS), EverQuest Online Adventures: Frontiers (MMORPG) and EverQuest Evolution (MMORPG).

First of all, there is nothing really remarkable about the last two titles. EverQuest Evolution for the PC is probably to be the final released package of the original EverQuest - with all of its continents, including EverQuest: The Ruins of Kunark, EverQuest: The Scars of Velious, EverQuest: The Shadows of Luclin, EverQuest: The Planes of Power, and EverQuest: The Legacy of Ykesha. The planned release date is August 18. On a side note, the Macintosh version of EQ is also on the way, with the aformentioned minus The Legacy of Ykesha expansion.

More interesting than that is the first ever release of EverQuest II, and I've got to say there is definately an upgrade in graphics. EverQuest II is based five hundred years after the original, and since then, a cataclysmic event has taken place. Boasting unprecedented player individuality, EQ II will allow a player to choose from 16 races and 48 classes, thousands of armor, weapons, and items to equip, and much more detailed control of bodily features like skin tone, eye, hair color, and age. Players will finally be able to own real estate (apartments, homes, guildhouses), and there will be player-controlled transportation. The graphics are excellent, and I was especially pleased with the many new trades and entrepreneurial possibilities. There will be incentives for current EQ members, and the game is set for this Winter.

EverQuest Online Adventures: Frontiers for the PS2 is the second edition of EverQuest Online Adventures. This version includes a new playable race of Ogres, redesigned character models, armor, and pets, and some new NPCs to battle. Also there are hundreds of new items to acquire, new quests to conquer, 3 new cities, and 24 new dungeons. This edition is due in October and the price is to be determined.

The creators of the Might and Magic and Heroes of Might and Magic series are working with SOE to bring EverQuest to the real-time strategy world with Lords of EverQuest. The few battles I saw were pretty good, although this game will have quite an unfortunate competitor in Blizzard's Warcraft III expansion. Lords of EverQuest is surely rooted in the 3D system and capabilities of Warcraft III, so the real question is what new does it have to offer? The answer is obvious: this one is based on the story, races, and mythology from EverQuest, and because of that, most hardcore EverQuest fans will love it. In single-player story mode, the developers promise seventy-five hours of combined gameplay in the three different factions, and lots of units and heroes. The developers really got their hands on it graphically, as well, with the colorful scenery and nice unit animations and textures. Look out for Lords of EverQuest this fall.

Goat aka Brandon Arnold
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