EverQuest Online Adventures

"Is this game worth $9.99/month?"

Lets examine some of the features of Everquest Online Adventures before making that judgment call of whether or not this game is worth $9.99 a month.

As with any game that is purely an online game only (Everquest is one), the first question you have to ask is whether or not there are enough people online to warrant even playing the game. After having the game for about 2 weeks, I can say that there is never a shortage of players that are online at any one time. The developers at Sony Online Entertainment had to bring another server online to accommodate the wave of new players.

The second question to ask about an online game has to do with the connection speed. Can I play this game successfully using dial-up or do I need broadband? For those of you who know about Socom which is a great game, but requires broadband for online play, Everquest is not like that. A 56K Modem will work just fine with almost no noticeable lag. This means that there will be a variety of players online.

Now that those two questions are answered, let's answer the monthly bill question. What is the $9.99 fee for? In Everquest, the developers are always making quest updates and gameplay adjustments to make the game better. In the first week I had the game, there were about 20 different updates to the game making it better. Granted these updates were rather small, but I hear of large updates in the future that make the possibilities of this game endless. Also imagine what the developers could do to keep those cheaters out of the online experience. Anyone who plays online knows what I am talking about.

But is the game worth it? Let's examine the purpose or story of the game. You basically run around in this Everquest world trying to gain levels by smashing monsters and finishing quests. There are small achievements along the way for finishing a quest, but there really isn't an overall storyline like a regular RPG would have. This type of format will appeal to the explorer type play who could spend hours running around in the world trying to scout every piece of the map that he can and see what there is to see. You can avoid monsters all together if you want and just go exploring. For Story I give it a 5.

The graphics, no matter what others have to say, are very appealing considering that there is no load time at all, ever (except when you warp or die)! This means while you are playing you might never have to wait for a loading screen. The landscape is nice and the character models are okay. The monsters are pretty neat also. I give the Graphics a 7.

The gameplay can be complicated at times, but you mainly press X to hack and slash and O to use magic. You MUST have a keyboard for chatting otherwise you will have a hard time communicating with others which is essential to character development. I like the menus and how the buttons are arranged. The keyboard shortcuts make chatting a pleasure. For Gameplay, how about an 8.

Replay value is huge in this game because it is so large! You can do so many things in this game it is almost ridiculous. Replay Value is a 10!

The music is horrible, but you can listen to your own stuff I guess. I give the Music a 4, not the worst I've heard.

The replay value and fresh approach to this game make it worth the $9.99/month in my opinion. If you like the online style and RPGs, this might be worth picking up.

Story: 5
Graphics: 7
Music: 4
Gameplay: 8
Replay Value: 10
Overall: 7

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 03/13/03, Updated 03/13/03