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EverQuest
has been a phenomenon in the online gaming world. Currently
it's probably has the largest number of subscribers and players of
any massively multiplayer online game. What
sets EverQuest apart from Ultima Online (they still claim to have
more subscribers), is that EverQuest is a first person perspective
game and it offers more unique races to play than UO. Gameplay
is more straight forward and follows the typical level progression
found in nearly all other RPGs. EverQuest
owes a lot to the venerable MUD community who frequented the many
text based RPGs in the years prior to UO and EverQuest. The
game can be accurately described as a graphical MUD. It's
combat is simplistic but that also makes it relatively easy to
learn. The
world of EverQuest is quite large and the world heavily populated
with creatures to fight. There are a number of different races
to choose from making it strangely unique in the world of massively
multiplayer online graphical games. Asheron's Call and UO only
let you play human characters. The norm for the old style MUDs
allowed you to pick from dozens of Races. While
EverQuest doesn't let you pick from dozens of races this is a major
difference that attracts players to EverQuest compared to its
rivals. The
game's graphics are somewhat clunky compared to normal off-the-shelf
games today, but compared to Asheron's Call and UO and Meridian 59
(snuck that one in there for all you old timers) it's pretty good.
The interface is generally pretty good with ways to lay out your
screen that gives easy access to most game functions. EverQuest
has recently put out an expansion to their world called the
"Ruins of Kunark." Like the original game you must
buy a boxed version before you can play online. The cost for
playing online is the typical $10/month. The boxed games come with
several months of "free" online gameplay. They don't
have a single player game so you must play it online. Gameplay
is very similar to MUDs in that you go out, find a creature to fight
and then you start fighting it. In EverQuest, like most MUDs,
you begin the attack and they your character automatically attacks
over and over. No need to click or guide the fighting.
This automaton fighting is pretty shallow stuff but the fighting
isn't quite as boring as you might think. You still have to
pay careful attention to what's going on so your mind remains
active. Even so, this is one of the major criticisms of the
game. Yet that hasn't stopped it from getting hundreds of
thousands of subscribers. From
a Christian perspective the game isn't much different than any other
RPG. It has its fantasy gods, its magic and its bizarre mix of
certain pieces of various religious and cultural groups. It's
not hard to find the influences of Christianity or far eastern
mystical religions. There's not particular theme here.
It's just a grouping of what the designers thought would make the
game "cooler." One
annoyance is the way female characters are "drawn" in the
game. Despite your choice of armor, it seems that all women
wear scant clothing designed to accentuate their voluptuous
bodies. Probably pretty cool for teens and young adult
boys/men who enjoy the titillation, but it's a bit insulting to
women by portraying them as sexual objects exclusively.
Final
Score
Highlights: Only
online RPG currently that has all the major RPG races. Fighting
takes no brains. Game encourages you to work in groups which is what
makes these games so enjoyable.
Lowlights:
Game forces you to group up with others at higher levels.
Otherwise you die a lot and that leads to some seriously frustrating
moments for players.
Hints:
Plan to hunt in a group so make friends early on.
Recommendation:
Not much in it for Christians but it's a fun game nevertheless and
if you can get past the obvious problems you'll find this a fun and
rewarding game.
Age Appropriateness:
Young Teens and older (though if you don't like the way women are
"drawn" in the game the age Appropriateness should be
higher)
Christian
Sense (CS): 2 –
As a typical MUD experience it's a mixed bag of philosophies and
cultural ideals. Mostly easy to ignore but occasionally that's
impossible.
Game
Engine (GE): 3
– It's adequate but not particularly impressive compared to what's
on the shelf today. Compared to other current online RPG's
it's among the best you can find..
Game
Play (GP): 4
– Despite its weaknesses the game delivers. Being the first
of its kind (first person perspective) gives it the extra edge here
over Asheron's Call.
Overall:
3.3 – Perhaps
overall the better experience among the major online graphical RPGs,
it doesn't offer much opportunity for Christians to play
Christian-oriented Characters. |
