Lords of EverQuest

"Looking for a RTS? DON'T buy this game."

I played Everquest for the PC for four years, and absolutely loved the game. So, when I saw this game announced, I was delighted. I bought it as soon as I got the money. Soon after, I took it back.

Sony does NOT know how to make Real Time Strategies (RTS's), and this game shows that. They ARE very good at RPG's (like EverQuest), and they mixed a lot of RPG elements into this game. Now, RPG's and RTS's are my favorite genres, so you'd think I'd love this game. Wrong.

The game designers did a VERY crappy job of mixing the genres. When I bought this, I was expecting a classic RTS style mixed with a few RPG elements, like Warcraft III (which I love and still play). But no. Here's what I got:

Story (3/10)

The story positively SUCKS. Characters were talking about events that happened during the game, and I had no clue what they were talking about. The story just flits around so randomly that it is impossible to keep track of.

Graphics (7/10)

This is really the only decent part of the game. The graphics are smooth and extremely detailed. They look a lot like Warcraft III graphics. However, they are very dark and occasionally even dull. If they were a bit more colorful, maybe I'd be more attracted to this game.

Sound (3/10)

The sound is the most annoying garbage I have ever heard put in a video game. Seriously. Often I find myself with a party of a few ogres and other assorted units along with my hero. When I select the whole thing, the hero is the sub-group hilighted and it's the hero whose spells I see. However, when I tell the group to move, it's the ogre's annoying voice I hear. Every time I click the mouse to move them. I have tried several different ways, but I can't get the sound of my hero's somewhat-cool voice to play.

Each unit says one or two things for each function. Please, do NOT try clicking them over and over, to get those amusing ''angry voices'' we hear in other RTS's. The unit will never say anything different.

Gameplay (4/10)

This game is just sad. There's no other word for it. It is more an RPG than an RTS. You ''Build'' structures buy selecting ANY ONE of your buildings, click the ''build'' button, and then picking a spot to build it. No, your workers don't need to be working on it. They don't need to be anywhere near it. It's automatic.
There's only one resource: platinum. No wood. No ore. Nothing. Just Platinum. The only point of having workers at all is just to harvest this one resource. It's so boring.
There is no particular building to increase the unit cap. Any building you build increases it, except for defensive buildings. So, you want more units, you need 5 summoning stars or something cheap. It's so stupid.
There's a somewhat interesting little feature called knighting. Once a units reaches level 6, your lord can knight him, giving him one more ability. But just one. You can only have two such knights at once time.
The Dark Recruiter can resurrect your hero and knights. But, and other units, including high-level ones, that die on the battlefield, are dead for good. You have to produce low-level units to replace them. Very very crappy.

Replayability (3/10)

Oh, please. If you make it through the first time, you've got a very boring life. Play it a second, and you belong in an asylum. The only difference would occur if you chose a different hero, which would change nothing gameplay-wise except for the fact that the new hero's name will be said in conversations, rather than the old one's.

Overall, Lords of Everquest is a waste of 50 hard-earned bucks. Please, PLEASE, don't waste your time and money with this.

Reviewer's Score: 3/10, Originally Posted: 01/06/04