Champions of Norrath

"Online or offline, this is the hack and slash you want."

To be honest, I've never been much of a fan of the Everquest experience. Sure, I've know plenty of people who invest the time and money into the game and become immersed in the online world. However, online RPGs have never been my thing, so I have always taken a pass. When Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance was released for the PS2, I decided to pick up a copy and fell in love. The game was addictive, and I was sad when it was finally over. Like many other fans, I eagerly anticipated the sequel, but Snowblind, the developer responsible for BG:DA, was scooped up by Sony in order to create a similar game set in the Everquest universe. With this news and the subsequent release of Champions of Norrath, I decided to finally give the EQ universe a go. I'm glad I did, as CoN is one of the best gaming experiences currently available on a console.

Anyone who has played Dark Alliance will be immediately familiar with the gameplay here. However, the game is much deeper than Snowblind's previous effort. You begin the game by choosing one of five classes, any of which can be either male or female: barbarian, cleric, ranger, erudite wizard, and (my personal favorite) the dark elf shadow knight. Each class has unique abilities, and your class selection will go a long way to determine how your game progresses. Many of your quests are basically fetch quests or slaughter-everything-in-your-way missions, but other types of objectives, like escort missions, are also thrown in for variety. As you complete missions, you gain experience and are able to improve your character's attributes and abilities. Weapons and armor can also be modified, allowing for many different combinations which gamers can try. There is also a multitude of items (over 10,000) to find in the game, giving CoN some insanely high replay value.

Of course, one of the big draws of CoN is the ability to play cooperatively online with up to three other players. The online portion even supports Sony's USB headset peripheral. As I've already stated earlier, I'm not much of an online gamer, so I'm not going to be getting much use out of this option. However, for those dedicated Everquest fans out there, online play is a welcome mode.

One of the first things you notice upon popping Champions of Norrath into your PS2 is the incredible graphics. These visuals are of a higher standard than pretty much anything else to be found on the console. The level of detail is stunning, and character and monster design is simply outstanding. The randomly generated dungeons are also nicely rendered and varied.

The soundtrack here is of the epic Lord of the Rings variety, and all gamers should be glad of this. The music is always appropriate to the situation, and I don't think I ever once remember it getting on my nerves. Sound effects are also clear and provide a great sense of ambience to the proceedings. The voices do tend to get on my nerves after a while, but they are hardly anything complain about.

With all the different classes and options, the replay value of CoN is sky high. There is just so much to do here that you will be occupied for some time to come. And that's not even if you decide to go the online route. This is one game which is well worth your $50.

Overall, Champions of Norrath is wonderful game and should go to the top of every PS2 owner's wish list. I'm not even a big fan of these types of games, but with two releases, Snowblind has made me a believer. With all due respect to Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II, this is the best action RPG available on a console currently. Grab a copy for yourself and prepare to be addicted.

Overall: 10/10

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 02/14/04