EverQuest

aka: EQ
Moby ID: 275
Windows Specs
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Description official descriptions

EverQuest is a fantasy-themed massively multiplayer online role-playing game.

The game's basic concept is reminiscent of earlier MUD (multi-user dungeon) games, replacing text-based gameplay with a graphical interface. In the beginning of the game, players create their avatars. Character races range from traditional elves to creatures unique to the game's world, such as the dragon-people Drakkin. Afterwards, the player assigns a class to the avatar, choosing between several categories which include various types of warriors, spellcasters, and clerics. It is also possible to customize the avatar's physical appearance.

The player then ventures into the medieval fantasy world of Norrath. The basic gameplay is similar to that of most other RPGs: the player character fights monsters, accumulating money and experience points, and completes quests given by non-player characters. Trading with other player characters occupies an important place in the game; characters' trading skills can also be improved.

Social interaction between players is often essential to build a balanced, efficient party of characters in order to tackle dungeons and bosses as a group. Players can interact with each other and discuss strategies, as well as join in-game player guilds. The game mainly focuses on cooperative gameplay; dueling is confined to restricted PvP (player-versus-player) areas.

Spellings

  • エバークエスト - Japanese spelling
  • 无尽的任务 - Simplified Chinese spelling
  • 無盡的任務 - Traditional Chinese spelling
  • 에버퀘스트 - Korean spelling (Hangul)

Groups +

Screenshots

Promos

Credits (Windows version)

164 People (110 developers, 54 thanks) · View all

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 84% (based on 24 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.4 out of 5 (based on 46 ratings with 9 reviews)

Welcome to the 'Real' World. (?)

The Good
D'oh it's Everquest! There are only two reviews and not that much stuff on it on Moby Games because everyone who has it is playing it right now! It is the hugest online game ever created. More than 600, 000 people play it and there are limitless possibilities from creating a character type to making a dent in the world! I would like to go into more detail, but it would take a loong time to explain it all. The Basics are: You make a character, and depending what race you are, you start off in a different city. There is no real point; you do what you want; sell stuff on message boards, chat, adventure or make a name for yourself. Just don't fight around a city, or you'll be killed witout haste by a guard, and you don't want to fight them. So, stock up on the caffeine (either Coke or Coffee) and get ready to put in at least 10 hours a week. Note that there ARE quests you can accomplish, however.

The Bad
You have to pay $5-$10 a month, and when you get killed you'll have to find your body to get your items back, which no one but you can take.

The Bottom Line
HUGE RPG where you do whatever you want, all over the internet, all for a small price.

Windows · by Dragoon (106) · 2000

If you like to spend most of your time watching your character sit down, then this is the game for you

The Good
I liked the good graphics and the mediocre spell casting. I also liked the fact that the CD makes a very nice coaster.

The Bad
I hated the downtime. THere was no such thing as logging on for just an hour..you had to log on, walk a great distance to fight a monster, spend more time gaining levels, and then there is the added fact that you are likely to die while fighting. When you die, you start off where you last binded your self too..and you have a limited amount of time to recover your things before they become lootable by all..so all in all, you are looking at spending about 2 hours on doing something that is very simple.

The Bottom Line
If you want to impress friends at a party, bring a bunch of EQ CDs and use them as coasters..that is about the most fun you will have with this game

Windows · by xTSx (13) · 2001

A wonderful concept brought to life in a 3D world tainted by its juvenile inhabitants.

The Good
(I should point out that I haven't played Everquest in over a year now, and since then there've been a few expansions and a much needed graphics overhaul. So some parts of my review might be slightly off)

Once upon a time elves were nothing more than E's on a screen cluttered with ASCII, and dragons would be four D's, indicating how very large they were. The E's and the H's and the D's would team together and combine their powers to take down the evil dragon and save their little world.

We've taken many steps forward in the evolution of computer games, and Everquest is a landmark on the online RPG timeline. Ten years from now you won't be able to read about the latest online RPG without seeing references to Everquest. But does being a landmark mean the game is good? Not necesarilly. In fact, Everquest being a landmark may be the only reason it's bringing in new business, because people want to know what all the fuss is about.

People flock to Everquest because of its popularity. After all, if something is popular it's good, right? We're shelling out ten bucks a month to play with other people, so the more people, the better, right? Yes and no. I'll point out the reasons why not in the "The Bad" section.

But first, "The Good".

Everquest combines many elements into one glorious package. From the classic dungeon crawler to the Internet chatroom, Everquest covers its bases very well. Join with a pack of adventuerers and charge into the dungeon with swords swinging and spells flying. Collect your loot and head back to town to sell it, or auction it off to people willing to buy. And while you're in town, talk to a woman and get a quest to go on. To say this game has "replay value" is misleading, since the game is in a constant state of change, there is no replaying since the game will always be new when you next log on.

The entire game world is large enough to keep you occupied for quite a while. Certain areas will be off limits to you (you'll be killed on sight) depending on your race. Not all races are welcome in all towns, and a dark elf wandering into a human town will be seen as a threat and disposed of quickly. Need something in the town? Gain enough levels and take down the guards yourself, or try and sneak in. If you use your brain, many things are possible in the game.

Most cities are quite vast and appropriate for the racial population. The elves live high up in the tree tops, the ogres come from primitive rock buildings, the trolls from murky swamps. They really give a feel for where you are in the game.

If you die, you lose everything you have. You can get it all back by getting to your corpse, of course, but if you died somewhere out in the middle of the desert, an area surrounded by ugly sand creatures, and all you have is a set of boxers and a stick...well, either you find someone to help you out or you'll just have to start all over. This element makes for some very strategic thinking. You also have to keep yourself fed and watered.

The Bad
That's about all I can find good about the game. Looking at the game at a generalistic point of view, the game is quite good. If I were able to play the game without having to pay ten dollars a month and log on to the 'net with my wimpy 56k modem, I think this game would be all that much better.

My biggest problem with the game is the people who play it. It's hard to say that a game is bad because of the people who play it, but it is an MMORPG. The people who play it basically make up the game. Granted, the last time I played was over a year ago, but I doubt the people have grown up much since then. But I'll get to the people later.

Everquest looks like the type of game you can really immerse yourself in. To be that adventurer who battles the odds, to wander from place to place in search of more adventure. The hero, who goes home with a giant back of gold over his shoulder. Everquest looks like that type of game. But it isn't. At all.

Unlike Asheron's Call (once upon a time it was Everquest's lead competitor), Everquest's landscapes aren't vast at all. In fact, they're all very flat and dull, save for the dungeons or canyons. Throughout the game, you'll get this feeling of being "boxed in", since you're not playing in a giant world. You're playing in a single zone, that may have one or two exits to other zones. The zones aren't particularly large, either. And monsters can't follow you into zones, so a particular "strategy" that was quite common was to pick a fight with a beast near a zone, so that in case you feel you're losing the battle, you can take a few steps back and viola! be free of him. The entire Everquest game world isn't that large. Compared to Asheron's Call, anyway. In Asheron's Call, to run from one side of the island to the other would take an entire day. In Everquest, you might do it in a few hours, provided you aren't attacked along the way.

The dungeons in Everquest are fairly unique, and they may have little quests for you to do. Just hope there isn't a line. Everquest is so overpopulated that to do just about any quest that involves a spawning monster, you'll have to wait your turn, and even then someone will probably cut in line.

Everquest is set up so that you CANNOT fight the game alone. Somewhere along level 20, you are REQUIRED to join with a group of people to fight monsters, since any type of monster you can fight solo will no longer give you experience, and any monster that will give you experience is going to kick your ass. This is Everquest's worst feature. I wanted to play with people if I wanted to, I didn't want to be forced into joining a bunch of people I probably don't particularly like anyway.

Another way Everquest isn't immersive is the fact that while you're in a zone, you're subject to "yells", "out of characters" and "auctions" being broadcasted by anyone in the zone. It really gives the feeling that you're playing in a 3D chatroom, not an RPG. There is an option to mute it, but then you'd be muting ALL incoming texts. (Note: this feature has most likely been updated since I played) And then where would you be? Your options are to either fight alone (which as I pointed out you can't do for long) or to play in a chat room.

The people who play Everquest are...well, to say the least, they're immature juvenile idiots. Of course I can't say they ALL are. I myself came across a few who were very good people, but that was quite rare. Throughout your journey in Everquest, you'll be hearing Everquesters calling each other "gay" every other line. "This is gay." "You're so gay." "That town is gay." "Elves are gay." and the like. Of course, they don't spell it as well. It's insulting, and it's annoying.

There is an option to set your status to "role playing", which a lot of people thought was neat, except role playing seems to be illegal in Everquest. I once dueled a man in a fair battle and proceeded to sell his belongings after I'd won. Because I'd done this (note: he was a human paladin, and me being a dark elf shadow knight - we were quite opposite and destined to be enemies anyway), and though we were both set to "roleplay", I was ORDERED by the Everquest cops to get back his items or be banned for a day. And since I'd already sold his belongings, I'd been banned. I was banned because this kid whined to the Everquest cops after I'd beaten him.

It seemed that I was the only one in the Everquest world who actually earned what I was fighting with. It's quite popular to just get hand-me-downs from higher level characters. Though it seemed that once upon a time this was considered unpopular, since those who do it are called "twinks". I doubt the people who call them that know what a "twink" is, since themselves have done no different. People in Everquest got a kick out of mocking me for not having an unearned level 30 weapon at level 2. It was gay.

The Bottom Line
So. You're not allowed to roleplay. You're not allowed to fight by yourself. You'll be mocked for earning your items. Your entire game world consists of tiny flat zones that link together in an unconvincing manner.

This game is potentially good. If the Everquest cops would stop listening to the whiny kids who lose their "hard earned" items and instead police them for being boneheads, the game would be a lot better.

The game itself isn't too bad. There are improvements that could be made, of course. But do something about the people who play it. Make it more enjoyable for the people who've passed the sixth grade.

Windows · by kbmb (415) · 2002

[ View all 9 player reviews ]

Trivia

1001 Video Games

EverQuest appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

Controversy

Verant Interactive was in late 1999 and early 2000 under the suspicion of having based EverQuest on DikuMUD source code, which would be against the DikuMUD license since EverQuest is a commercial game.

This was a minor controversy, but ultimately led to Verant Interactive issuing a sworn statement to the Diku Group on March 17, 2000, that EverQuest was NOT based on any DikuMUD source code.

This statement can be read at: http://www.dikumud.com/everquest.aspx.

Novels

In 2005, CDS published two novels set in the EverQuest world: The Ocean of Tears, by Stewart Wieck, and The Rogue's Hour, by Scott Ciencin.

Title

Because of how addictive the game was to some people, players sometimes referred to the game, jokingly, as EverCrack or NeverRest.

Awards

  • Computer Gaming World
    • April 2001 (Issue #201) – Multiplayer Game of the Year
    • November 2002 (Issue #220) – Introduced into the Hall of Fame
  • GameSpy
    • 2001 – #15 Top Game of All Time
  • GameStar (Germany)
    • Issue 12/1999 - #65 in the "100 Most Important PC Games of the Nineties" ranking
  • Game Informer
    • August 2001 (Issue #100) - #33 in the "Top 100 Games of All Time" poll
  • PC Gamer
    • April 2000 - #28 in the "All-Time Top 50 Games Poll"
    • April 2005 - #24 in the "50 Best Games of All Time"
  • PC Player (Germany)
    • Issue 01/2000 - Best Online Game in 1999

Information also contributed by LepricahnsGold, Pseudo_Intellectual and xxxxxxxxxxx

Analytics

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Related Games

EverQuest: The Shadows of Luclin
Released 2001 on Windows
EverQuest II
Released 2004 on Windows
EverQuest: Depths of Darkhollow
Released 2005 on Windows
EverQuest: The Planes of Power
Released 2002 on Windows
Lords of EverQuest
Released 2003 on Windows
EverQuest: Gates of Discord
Released 2004 on Windows
EverQuest: The Ruins of Kunark
Released 2000 on Windows
EverQuest: Lost Dungeons of Norrath
Released 2003 on Windows
EverQuest II: Desert of Flames
Released 2005 on Windows

Related Sites +

  • EverQuest Corner
    News and events relating to EQ.
  • EverQuest EPK
    Electronic press kit for the game released in 1998 before the games actual launch, featuring in-game footage.
  • EverQuest Stratics
    THE comprehensive source of statistics and advice for EverQuest. Also features news and message boards.
  • EverQuest Vault
    A glossy fan site specializing in the news, events and happenings of Everquest. Includes FAQs, advice and message boards.
  • This World is Your Playground
    An Apple Games article about the Mac version of EverQuest, commentary being provided by Director Richard Lawrence (March, 2003).
  • interview (March 23, 2009)
    for WarCry with artist Kevin Burns
  • interview (March 4, 2009)
    for Massively with artist Kevin Burns

Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 275
  • [ Please login / register to view all identifiers ]

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by nullnullnull.

Macintosh added by Corn Popper.

Additional contributors: Dan Homerick, PCGamer77, Unicorn Lynx, Attila, Jeanne, Apogee IV, Zeppin, Paulus18950, Cantillon, Patrick Bregger, Rik Hideto, FatherJack.

Game added September 16, 1999. Last modified March 4, 2024.