EverQuest Online Adventures: Frontiers

"Evercrack continues to devour the souls of players.."

MMORPGs are a very addictive genre and no one really knows the specific reason why they are that way, but they are. The original EQOA was released sometime in February or March of 2003 and was equally addictive as its PC counterparts. In November of 2003, Sony released an expansion to EQOA, and any hope of those being released from Everquest's grasp was lost when Frontiers came onto the scene.

****STORY****
Everquest has no story set in stone, but does have background information about the races, cities, etc. Of course, most people don't play this game because of a story; they play because of gameplay.

****GAMEPLAY****
The original EQOA boasted a nice chunk of gameplay with a level cap of 50 and some high end gaming (like the infamous Isle of Dread). Well, Frontiers has taken that and adde MUCH, MUCH MORE. First of all, the level cap is now 60 and the leveling to that cap will take a good while. Another addition is the plethora of new areas to be explored. If you thought the original EQOA's world was huge (and it was), well Frontiers' world is much bigger with the addition of the continent of Odus, the opening of the Great Unknown on the original continent and new areas like the Plane of Sky and Lavastorm Mountains. That is not all, my friend. A new class (Alchemist) and a new race (Ogre) have been added as well.

There is another thing that was added to the gameplay that makes the addiction even greater, Class Mastery system. With the Class Mastery system, one can make a more unique character by making them stronger, making them heal a lot more, or by even making them a lot more balanced. Also, one can obtain the rank of one of the Master Classes, which are unique to each class. For example, a Shadowknight can become more offensive with the MC Slayer or more defensive with the MC Death Knight. With the Class Mastery system, the game has a lot more depth.

****SOUND****
I must say that the sound effects are fairly weak and so is the music, though a lot more music has been added into this game than was in the original EQOA. Each town and dungeon has a song attributed to it, but it is nothing special. You'll most likely either mute/turn down the volume and put on some of your own music while playing.

****REPLAYABILITY****
Once you get a character to level 60 and 1,500 CM points or get tired of said character before you've reached level 60, you most likely will probably create an alternate character to try and play a different style. You could switch between characters for weeks until you find one you like. Personally, I think this game has a lot of replayability and will keep you hooked while it devours your soul.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 12/28/03