In the world of Norrath, things have changed in the thousands of years since the EverQuest saga. There was a cataclysm which split the land into several smaller islands and destroyed all but the two mightiest cities - Qeynos and Freeport. These cities are now separated by an ocean and have faction themselves, Qeynos to those with good intentions and Freeport to those with an addiction to ambition.

The world isn't just looking different in an overall manner; the graphics themselves have made so many great improvements that it would be impossible to list them. The overall graphics experience is something that must be seen in action - not even screenshots or trailers can truly grasp this game's radiance. Polygons have skyrocketed, animations flow very well, and the game is now in widescreen to allow greater immersion. There is only one possible complaint in the graphics department: the specs for a full-settings computer don't exist yet. Sony and Verant (now Sony Online Entertainment) were planning to make this a game that won't be left behind by the technology rush.

The game isn't just what is seen, but a full-on sense attack with sound quality that has no comparison. There are many theatrically released movies that wish their sound effects were this good. Not just the noises are great though, the voices do an amazing job. Everything from the opening movie to the random back-alley NPCs are professionally acted, some by big name stars like Christopher Lee and Heather Graham. The music that flows through (and sometimes over) the game is beautiful, but occasionally overdone. This isn't really a complaint, just strange when a character has an epic theme that would lay well over the final battle scene of the Lord of the Rings trilogy playing while scrounging for roots to craft with.

The most important element in any game is the gameplay. After all, that game could look like real life but require the player to grow an extra pair of hands just to be able to control their avatar. Luckily this is nowhere near the case in Everquest II. EQII looks amazing, with its own visual style that makes things shine in their own respect. However, Sony also has nearly six years experience from the original Everquest and knows that players want an experience beyond what they get on their local gym's treadmill. They have delivered.

EverQuest II has been made to be inviting to both veterans of the MMORPG genre and newcomers who sit and wonder about the need to make an acronym for EVERYTHING. The character creation process is expedited by the lack of need to choose a class (this comes later in intervals) and the idea that every race can play every class. Players choose a race based on its appearance, alignment options, and special, racial abilities. The character can be customized from every angle and muscle in the face to the size of their body as a whole, plus tattoos and other markings to make each character a little closer to unique.

Once the character is complete, the surprisingly good tutorial begins. It teaches everything from camera and character control, to navigation of the world and of the menus. Then it informs the player about quests, dialogue, experience, and combat. All of this is taught quickly, both through dialogue boxes and actual, slightly better than your average monotone flight assistant voice commands. Then it's onto the Isle of Refuge, where "newbs" are taught enough to make sure they can survive in the belly of whichever great city they align themselves to.

The game makes sure players always have plenty to do, with thousands of interesting and viable quests for thousands of hours of play. There are literal mobs of monsters begging to be slain, and a crafting system that would keep any 150-hour-per-week player happily occupied for months. Even housing is handled in an alternative and intuitive manner: every player gains a hotel room of their own soon after hitting mainland, and may customize this home with hundreds of pieces of furniture and more. EQII even includes the joy of paying rent on your place of occupancy (which can be later upgraded to bigger, better, and more expensive locations).

There are few complaints for EverQuest II. Most are expected of MMORPGs; things like long load times, laggy city travel, and connection issues. EverQuest II has all but rid players of the common connection trouble, and city travel is only slightly slower than normal play. The load times are here in full-force, however, with some zones taking almost three minutes to enter. The largest complaint is of much greater importance, though. Sony decided to opt out of ANY player-versus-player features. There are no guild battles, no arenas of free fighting, not even player duels. EverQuest II is only for players who enjoy player-versus-environment style games.

Sony has really done well with this. Many were expecting great things from EverQuest II, and few will be disappointed. With a staggered class system whose range covers everything a player could want, a much more understandable approach to death, and hundreds of other features, this game is set several steps above the rest. The only major problem is the loss of PvP audience. Perhaps they will add this in with an expansion or major patch. Whether you're a PvP fan or not, if you play online games, this is one you cannot pass up. It cries out to everyone who touched MMORPGs, which its predecessor revolutionized over five years ago.