[PS2 Game] EverQuest Online Adventures

Flash · 22 Marzo 2006

Questo è il commento(in inglese, purtroppo...) a questo gioco PS2 molto fantasy... :shock:

Guardate la "parte" sottolineata in rosso...direi che è molto interessante! :shock:

Game Rankings SCORE: 87

Okay folks, let me make one thing clear before you read this review: I'm an EverQuest newbie. I have never played the PC version although I've heard a lot about it I just never found the time. I was given the opportunity to play and enjoy EverQuest Online Adventures for the PS2 and now I can see why everyone is hooked on this game.

Before we go any further, let's go to the official fact sheet which details the game features:

"Prepare to enter an enormous virtual environment--a huge seamless world with its own diverse species, economics, alliances and politics. Choose from a variety of races and classes, customize your character and begin your quest in any number of cities or villages in the world of Norrath. Team up with people from around the globe to fight monsters and explore dangerous and spectacular locales.

Each game world is designed to support approximately 5000 simultaneous players and our network can support enough separate worlds to keep hundreds of thousands of players online.

Choose from 9 races and 14 classes, including elves, dwarves, trolls, wizards, rangers and rogues.

Hundreds of spells to uncover and learn, with seven separate magic-using classes.

Adventure alone or find safety in parties to complete quests and take on powerful monsters.

An amazing array of creatures to discover and monstrous foes to overcome.

Sounds interesting? I thought so – but does it sound interesting enough to fork over $10/a month? Are you still there? Yes, this is the first PS2 game that requires online access and a monthly fee to enjoy – however Sony Online tells us that the game environment will be constantly changing giving you value for your money. The game does come with a free 30 day trial which I originally used, but in the interests of full disclosure this reviewer was also given a press account which is provided for the purposes of reviewing at no charge.

Before we get into the nitty gritty of the game, if you are serious about it, you'll absolutely positively need a USB keyboard if you want to make the most of the game. You'll also need almost ½ of a memory card in order to play this game – in addition to your network configuration file on the same memory card. Using the virtual keyboard (by pressing R3 and hunting and pecking) will almost certainly drive you insane, even at the initial sign up screens.

Speaking of the sign up screens, if you've never played a PC subscription based game before, you'll have a few minutes of setup required before you can jump into the game and play. The instruction manual provides you with detailed instructions making it a breeze to get in. A special note to all renters: according to the manual you'll need a special 'rental key' that is provided by the rental store in order to play the game.

Once you're through all that, the rest is easy. You create a character's name, race, class and gender as well as the character's looks, distribute attribute points as you see fit and you're good to go.

As you start playing the game, you'll immediately notice other gamers online in the world. Some will talk to you, some will be endlessly wondering around ,asking you to find the stables, and others will just go about their business. In addition, some characters aren't controlled by others and usually they will give you quests to accomplish.

Game control is handled surprisingly well. Usually one command will lead to a menu with another command, and all are selected with the d-pad. Although it sounds rather convoluted, it's actually pretty intuitive.

Graphics are good but 'dumbed down' for this type of game – which is understandable in a game that is strictly online. Characters aren't acutely detailed, but they're all easy to recognize. If you don't recognize them, thankfully you'll see their names above their avatar, making things pretty easy.

The gameplay is definitely the thing in EverQuest Online Adventures, and of course it's where the game really shines-especially if you have friends in the game. If you don't have any friends – make some as this is really the only way you'll truly appreciate this sort of games. All of the classes of characters are interdependent on others, so definitely get a variety of classes together.

As with most RPGs, combat is done in a turn-based system. Very easy to understand, but not really big for the button masher crowd. Online play is very fluid and pretty much lag free.

When comparing this game to another online console subscription game, Phantasy Star Online, I think I would pick this one over PSO, even though it costs $1/month more. PSO desperately needs a keyboard and none is available in the US for starters. Sony Online and Sega both have been running EverQuest (PC) and PSO (Dreamcast) for years, so they are both familiar with MMORPGs. Sony has continued to increase their fanbase and the general consensus is that Sony's gamespace just adds a lot more to the replay value of the game.

Here's a game that just screams for the use of a USB headset, but that isn't in the works. Nonetheless, EOA is a very good game that has a lot of potential. We'll have to keep watching to see if there are more players online to really enjoy these quests.

Flash · 22 Marzo 2006

Questo è il commento(in inglese, purtroppo...) a questo gioco PS2 molto fantasy... :D

Guardate la "parte" sottolineata in rosso...direi che è molto interessante! :D