There must be something to be said for MMORPGs that still have a presence more than fifteen years on after the initial release. To maintain a fanbase with a constant flow of patches and updates and content to keep players engaged year after year requires quite a lot of effort, I'm sure.
But for all the Free to Play incentives to draw new players in, can you even get into MMORPGs that are this old? Does the gameplay still hold up? Is it even the same gameplay as it was a decade and a half ago? What does an old title offer that a newer title doesn't?
As usual, I've no idea how to answer any of that, but we'll be asking it of the next must-play according to the 1001 list, EverQuest II.
Fun Times
After signing in and downloading enough to get started, EverQuest II greeted me with a character creation suite of various classes and archetypes, before throwing this thing in front of me. Kudos for starting on the random button, rather than the generic human, I guess.
As funny as that'd be, that's not the Templar looking dude I'm aiming for. Settling on a generic human male, I'm given the choice of where to begin my journey into the world of Norrath, and the game can begin.
Frustrations
With a splash screen asking me to buy stuff, obviously. It's how you make your money as a free to play MMORPG these days. It's quick to be closed, and I can see myself on a ship sailing the seas.
All sorts of things are blinging off and sparkling, none of which I can identify right now, except for the notification from P2 which causes me to hop out of the game, which flips it into windowed mode, and now all my screenshots will be on the squarer side of things. Like they would have been in 2004, I suppose.
I WASD my way around the place, clicking on people to interact with them. The controls seem easy enough so far, and I'm rewarded with voiced NPCs and dialogue options. Well, what would be dialogue options, if I were given any. They float around the place, along with the speech bubbles, giving EverQuest II a look of its own, I think.
I'm hesitant to say I like its looks, but I am a little surprised by it. I went into this not knowing what to expect, and all these bright 3D visuals and the ability to move my camera and myself around the place while still engaged in conversation with someone was unexpected. I note that various HUD elements seem to be displayed over the top of others, but that's bound to be due to the window switch. I can let that slide.
So, Captain, what are we doing?
Fetching hats. Excellent. Adventurous, even. At least it's not rats, right?
Joy! A kill the rats quest!
Now, I want you to all be aware of how tedious this was. It's not that it was a rat killing quest that made it dull, nor that there were two rats to kill (two!). Not knowing how to equip a weapon or how to attack did make the start of the quest a little slow, definitely, but that wasn't what was tedious.
The animations were awful. Cumbersome, inelegant, laughable... pick your favourite word to describe horrible attack animations and put them here. For my first piece of action in EverQuest II, these rats don't show it off too well. Maybe I should have used some spells on them.
A wyvern or something spiced things up - at least the ship was on fire now, that's exciting. It also let a goblin free, and it's running riot on the deck. Naturally, I - the stranger plucked from the seas - am the only one on this ship capable of killing it.
Let's go slug a club in its general direction then...
I am not liking my time with EverQuest II. It looks alright and doesn't sound terrible, don't get me wrong, but I am having no fun whatsoever. I am, however, determined to make landfall and see what the game is actually like on terra firma. I owe it that much, right?
About to introduce myself to the guards, a new quest popped up, telling me to follow a magical line towards some guy at the tower there. I guess I'll introduce myself to him first, shall I?
Aaaaand that's where I lost all interest and closed the window.
Final Word
I can't comment on what makes EverQuest II a favourite for so long, because it wasn't a favourite of mine for a minute, let alone a decade.
It just wasn't engaging at all. I completely understand how new players need a tutorial (me especially, with my knack for not reading any manuals beforehand), but serve it up to me with something special, eh? Hats and Rats? Are you kidding me?
I was asked to buy something from a merchant on the ship but didn't have the money. Nor did the quest giver, but she suggested I could do something for the merchant. At least I think that's what she said. What I did instead was to sell my reward for giving the dwarf his hat back, then buy the thing that the quest giver wanted. What was my reward for doing so? Money. Of course it was bloody money. What a stupid quest.
I have no time for MMORPGs in general. The most I've put into them are however long I've spent playing EVE Online, and that only captured my interest because of it being set in space. It's still just as tedious and annoying and frustrating as EverQuest II and others. It just looks impressive and captures my interest, unlike the others.
Fantasy settings with everything glowing and sparkling, everyone dressed like a fool, you being the only person capable of getting anything done... I just don't get the appeal.
Whatever I'm missing, I hope you're enjoying it instead.
Fun Facts
EverQuest II was seen as more of a spin-off than a sequel. Set in a different time, it allowed players to pick their favourite world and stick with it. Ideas for future developments often suited one of the worlds more than the other, so both games were still worked on - for many years to come.
EverQuest II, developed by Sony Online Entertainment, first released in 2004.
Version played: PC, 2004.