Customer Reviews

EverQuest: The Scars of Velious

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

Sharon Mach, in order to play this expansion, you will only need to have the first CD of Everquest installed on your computer. You do not have to have Ruins of Kunark on your computer to play this expansion.

The Ruins of Kunark expansion gave you the ability to adventure on a new continent as well as allowing you to level your character to 60 instead of the previous cap of 50.

The Scars of Velious will be another added continent based on an ice landscape with approximately 16 to 17 zones. The lowest level zone (and the most accessable zone) in Velious has been designed for characters level 30 to 35. There are rumors of a zone that will give level 60 characters a run for their money.

EverQuest is a hugely popular multi-user online role playing game, where players buy the base software and then pay a monthly fee to connect to the server. The server holds the worlds that the players explore 24 hours a day - a world populated by computer-controlled people (NPCs, or non-player characters), by monsters, and by many, many other gamers. It is in many way a role-player's dream come true.

Where Ultima Online uses a top-down, isometric view a la Baldur's Gate, EverQuest goes for the in-your-face style of Doom or Thief. You can rotate through to other views, but the character-point-of-view seems to work best, truly immersing yourself in your world. You begin by choosing a server to play on - each server hosts a set of characters, quests, and NPCs. A given CD can allow up to 8 characters on each server. If you don't like a character, you can immediately delete it and make a new one - a nice feature compared to some of the other gaming systems that make you wait a week or more. On the downside, your new character only starts with a weapon and some food. The other gaming systems start you with a good amount of cash, which is why they don't let you simply cycle through characters in an attempt to build up wealth.

With the characters being polygon-based, they have done a nice job of allowing different facial features on the characters. You can choose from a wide variety of races. The traditional human, elf, dwarf, gnome, halfling, etc. are here, but they throw in a lizard race, ogres, trolls, and intelligent black "erudites". On the downside, only the erudite is of color - everyone else is a "tan" with fixed hair and body. With Ultima Online, you can fully customize your hair color, length, and style, and skin color.

Classes (or professions) are done in the D&D-2 style instead of the new edition. This means that choosing a certain race limits which classes are available to you. The typical classes of paladin, warrior, wizard, ranger, etc. are available. You can choose from being an axe-wielding dwarf, a elven bowman, a human wizard, or many other combinations. You then customize your various statistics - strenght, charisma, intelligence, etc. to finalize your character.

There can only be one character of a given name in each world, which cuts down greatly on confusion between characters. Where some other gaming systems might have ten "Bilbos" running around, some good and some bad, in EverQuest you are the only character of your name in your server.

You start out in a city that promotes your race and profession. You can talk to the guild leader there, get some initial training for free, and maybe hear about a quest or two. You can start talking to other characters that roam the city, finding where the best lairs of monsters are, or perhaps of other interesting goings-on. Once you practice moving about in the city, it's time to head out into the Real World.

The world of EverQuest is *huge*, and as in most of these on line servers, it can literally take hours to walk across the continents. With the frontal view of EverQuest, you walk amongst the trees, past the shrubs, and see the monsters fly and wander right past you, scaled appropriately to size. The small snakes slither underfoot, while bats fly past your head and larger beasts tower over you. This is one area where EverQuest clearly shines - the immersive quality of exploration is fantastic. You have to learn 'sense heading' as you go. Each time you use any skill, be it swimming, fishing, clothes making, direction finding or fighting, you gain experience and knowledge in that skill.

After killing a few of the vermin of the forest, you gain items and money, which you can trade in for better weapons, armors or spells, and on you go. The beauty of the system is that it is open-ended, and that there are always players to interact with, no matter what your schedule is. If you work third shift or are an early riser, there are players there. If you're a night owl or have a few hours free in the afternoon, there those players are. You can leave your character when you're done, and when you return, your character will be exactly as you left it. The world around you, however, will NOT be - it has been growing and changing in the hours you were away! It's an incredibly dynamic system, constantly changing, with real life people interacting with it.

The ability to learn trade skills (like fishing, or cooking, or clothes making) greatly helps you become 'self supportive' and even create things for other characters. The inventory system has its good and bad points. The graphics are great, letting you see large, 3-dimensional images of the swords, backpacks, spell books, and other items. They are easy to keep track of and use, compared to other on line systems. On the downside, you can only carry 8 types of objects other than what you are wearing. If you get a backpack or sack you can increase this amount, but that is a bit limiting in the beginning.

Highly recommended because of the large number of roleplayers that help populate this world, and because of the high quality first-person graphics. Downsides include the integrated player-vs-player combat, where other systems keep pvp in its own 'area' so those who do not wish to fight players do not have to. Another downside is lack of detailed customization of a character's appearance.

Well, it is still August and this software comes out in December, but I love it aready. Everquest has become my favorite game...ever.

I have read some of the bad reviews about this game being based on good 3-D graphics that aren't really that good. I disagree. The graphics in this game are wonderful. The different areas of the game look very different. Aside from the basic square design of the 'zones' they usually aren't very alike. The suroundings and NPCs look very different.

My second argument is that game is not BASED ENTIRELY on good graphics. This game is based on the interaction of real people from all around the world. When your character reaches higher levels it gets harder to do battle by yourself. They planned it this way so you would want to group with people and make friends. You don't have to group, but it is much easier to play and is, in my opinion, a lot more fun. This is a role playing game. YOU make it fun. Not the graphics or the sound. YOU. The great graphics sure make it a lot easier, but there is no substitute for good ol' friendship.

This game has so much variety already. Now they come out with the 2nd expansion which has another whole new continent! I don't see how this could be a bad purchase.

Have fun, Happy gaming!

I have played this game since the second month it was released in 1998. It is an amazing experience. You can decide to play however you like, some play for power, items, weapons, and armor, while others play to chat and talk to their online friends, much like you can in a program like the Palace.

You can work on skills like Swimming, Tailoring, Blacksmithing, Alchemy, Poison, etc... It takes a little while, some perseverance and time to become a master, but once you do yo uwill reep the rewards byt being able to sell the items you can craft and yo uwill make alot of friends if you have some of these skills ;)

Although I usually only focus on the skills I need for my personal characters, you can create up to 8 unique characters per server in Everquest! You can create these mules (toons) to hold extra lore items or to just have an arsenal of characters to play whether your guild or friends in a guild need a specific class for a raid (killing dragons, adventuring into difficult dungeons or even Altered Planes (Hate, Fear, Sky and more))!

I love this game!

It has taken more hours of my life away than any single activity in the past two years (almost) than any other.

You can now customize the color of the different types of text on screen to your liking, use Voice commands, Move the different on screen info panels around and resize them etc...

It is truly becoming better and better every time they patch it. But dont be dissuaded as stated here, the game is not perfect or without flaws, but overall its the best game I have EVER played. And thats saying ALOT.

I am 30 years old and some people dont understand how I can spend so much time playing EQ, but I just tell them they will never understand until they try for themselves.

Good Luck, and see you in Norrath or Kunark or Vellious!

I've logged 187 play days to date in EQ....that's 187 x 24 hours....a wee bit more than the blurb's "several hundred hours"....why? Cause it's fun...it's immmersive and yes..your family will wonder where you've gone and why you are "still playing"?

EQ to date has been amazing. The world is huge and there is pretty much always something to do. I expect the new release to be interesting because it will be deviating from the current pattern in the game and will be a nice change.

I have pre-purchased and expect to enjoy it. RoK helped alleviate boredom in the game and gave us much more "stuff to do"...I expect the same from SoV.

Enjoy =)

A 60th level Sorceress on The Rathe.

"BOOM"

Everquest began in 1999 with a world named Norrath, there were 3 continents, Odus, Antonica, and Faydwer, which were filled with creatures such as humans, trolls, and elves. In Early 2000 the Ruins of Kunark was released, this added a new race, the Iksar, a lizard type creature and the continent of Kunark was discovered south of Faydwer. And then in December 2000, the Scars of Velious was released, which completed Norrath with Velious, the icy island in which the life energy of Norrath was deposited by the crystalline dragon Veeshan.

This expansion adds much to the game, although there is no new playable race, there are new quests and hunting grounds for levels 30+, players choose from many different races and many different classes such as warriors, wizards, rogues, etc., but if you are just beginning on Everquest, I recommend you get a character into the high 20s before grabbing this, you can get the weapons and armor from Velious without it. The game only has a few setbacks, such as the $10 per month fee (It's worth the cash though), and the recently developed problem of server overcrowding, some of which are now populated with close to 3000 people. But if you're looking for adventure and a great online game, pick up Everquest.

Kiss your Real Life goodbye... Enough said!

Verant finally has shown there is more than just Kunark. The Ruins of Kunark was good... Scars of Velious is BEST. This expansion is very well done. The art is exceptional, with the snow areas being shown in a most realistic fashion. This expansion also brings out the concept of grouping with others. For some this is a detriment, for others it is a welcome venture. For those who are solo players, this is not for you. Most creatures are designed too tough an obstacle for one person to take down. For those who like to group, this is a dream land. XP is given very well for even grouped folks, but made so a solo character will not see much XP gain for the creatures they will be able to defeat. I myself am a grouping person so I found this an exceptional buy. I thought kunark was good, then I bought Velious.

While this game is not yet out and so I don't reallyhave the knowledge to review it, I would like to counter the review written in here earlier. Everquest is the most dynamic game that I have ever had the oppurtunity to play. The graphics are awe-inspiring at times to behold. The gameplay is very well laid out and improvements are made in the game on an almost weekly basis via patches. To all the negatives mentioned in the other review, yes, sometimes Everquest can be tedious doing the same thing over and over. But i think that this person did not play extensiviely on EQ to reach those higher levels. Of course at an early level you find your self doing the same thing. You have to do that in order to gain levels and reach adulthood (lvl20 where u gain your surname). After that the fun is exponential. There are so many zones to visit in the game and so many other interesting players to meet and group with you will never be bored.

I do hear a lot of complaints in game, on the chats, and on webpage forums by people complaining about class balance, why they dont have better armor/weapons all the time. It's these 'power-gamers' that gives this game a bad rep. The fun to be had in Everquest is not to see how many cool weapons, sick armor, awesome wands, etc. that you can get-but instead an immersion in a world of Dynamic proportion. If you want to powergame go buy Baldur's Gate get all the cheat codes then go on your merry way with plate+4 and a holy avenger...If you want to have fun in a multiplayer immense world that is the closest resemblance to the pen and paper games I used to love playing as a teenager, buy Everquest. This new expansion pack brings more exciting developments into a game that I've played for 10 months and still haven't seen everything there is to see. Woo boy now another whole continent for my 30+ characters to explore? Wow and I thought I was an addict before =) Do yourself a favor if you never want to spend time on any other games and don't buy EQ. Otherwise, grab EQ, Ruins of Kunark, and this new expansion and get ready to have the best time you have ever had in a game.

EQ is a great game. It is diverse, and lush. EQ: SoV is an area that I can't even get to yet. I am only level 9. There are good and bad points to this game and its expansion.

I rate EQ higher than I would the expansion. Most people are criticizing the fact that it's devoted to higher level characters. They also mention the fact that the game itself takes hours of play to reach the higher levels. This is true, but you can spread these large number of hours to the span of several months or even a year. This game offers a LARGE variety of things to do. This game adds to those who do devote a large amount of time to the game. This game may get boring if all you do is kill. However, there is much to explore in this world and an almost endless array of rewarding things to do.

Pros: 1) Long time players get added variety and more zones. 2) Benefits as new items get added and traded about-- even players that do not have SoV get this benefit. 3) Customizing Windows has been made more readily available. 4) Some previously useless skills are now implemented. 5) Rumors abound about new quests and the ability to gain factions with Dragons or Giants.

Cons: 1) Lower level players will not enjoy full benefits. 2) You will grow envious of those auctioning of Vellium items. =) 3) Those tired "power" players, or those with time to play-- will dislike this expansion.

Overview: EQ core is fun but Scars will not be for everyone. This offers some nice features but best for those with level 30+ or 35+ characters. Graphics continue to improve. Three stars because it adds variety to the game in the form of new graphics and user interface devices. Bad because it accentuates power guilds, power players with a lot of time on their hands.

Personal note: Con #3 will exist in almost all games. Those with time to practice it will be better at it and higher in level. True of Ping Pong, Basketball, and Everquest. If they work hard at something, they get that reward for the time and effort at learning the game.

Hint: Find people that make you laugh, that you group and work well with. This is the true path the enjoying the game called EQ. This is regardless of what expansions you buy, or what you do in RL.

Hope this review helps. shooman out