So Gamespot reviewed the new Everquest 2 expansion and give it a 7.5! a 7.5!!! Complete bullshit. Needless to say, I wrote in and gave them a piece of my mind.
7.5 for this expansion? Wow, how out of touch with your users can you be? Apparently in your hour of gameplay testing you are too busy comparing with the upcoming WoW expansion and can’t give the game a clear view. Your users are rating Echoes of Faydwer at an 8.7! Maybe there is something we’re seeing that you’re not!
First of all, of all the things to deduct points for – gameplay would not be one of them. This expansion smoothly guides you from adventuring area to area, with fluidity of quest layout and informative signs and directional quest content. For someone who is just starting out with Everquest II, this expansion provides them an engulfing world that sucks you right in. The quests are well thought out and plentiful. The environment is spectacular, from the tiny swarms of bees and the delicate wisps floating about, to the vivid changing skies and the bright foliage. The world feels realistic (in a fantasy sense of the word) and is as immersive as an environment can be. The new Fae race is combined with in-depth new lore for the community to fawn over, fluid animations, detailed and varied character model customization, new combat voiceovers and emotes (which can be changed in the options if you’re not a fan of the ‘cutsey-poo’ sound).
You also state that the engine is still sluggish. That’s an interesting aspect that you would deduct points for, considering the engine performance has been noticeably improved. That has been a large amount of praise directed at SOE for this expansion. What specs are you guys running the game on? My computer isn’t ‘godly’ by ANY standards, and I run with full shadows and everything just fine. I get 30-40 fps regardless where I am. That includes in populated cities. Its unfortunate when an element previously criticized has been noticeably improved drastically, yet it’s a source of negativity in your review. Learn to do some research.
In addition, the game is filled with too much noise?! Welcome to immersion buddy. That’s what players want. We want a world where when we run by a stream we can hear it bubbling. We want to hear the whoosh of the fishing rod as we cast out our line, we want to hear the crickets chirping when its night time. We want to walk through a town and feel that it’s alive; the NPC’s calling out to us and the merchants heckling and bartering. Those are elements of a true immersive RPG. The sound in Echoes of Faydwer is definitely one of its strengths. The music is a phenomenal trip back in time to the first days I explored around Kelethin and fell off the side, plummeting to my untimely death as a level 1 in EQLive. The sound element of Echoes of Faydwer is a beautiful wholesome experience that deserves praise, not criticism.
The best quote in the review comes in your paragraph regarding high level character issues. You stated – “Players who worked hard for their current loot will be disappointed to find it no longer does the job.” Well, what genius designed that godly mechanism? Imagine that, a new expansion comes out with new content, new loot and gear, and a new deity system with blessings and miracles that requires you to actually gear up in the expansion to be able to down the bosses! You don’t always need a level cap increase to appease the high level players. Players want to have something to do, and this expansion gives them just that. The high end raid content shouldn’t be handed to players on a silver platter. I’d think a higher level of difficulty is something that EoF raiders should boast about. Players WANT to upgrade their gear, that’s what keeps raiders raiding.
Although I appreciate and respect the praise that was given in this review, I think that if you’re going to dock rating points for anything in this expansion, make sure it’s accurate. People come to these review sites to get a firsthand depiction of what they’re to expect if they purchase the game. You can’t state that this is the best Everquest II expansion to date, but then give it a LOWER score than Kingdom of Sky, and the EQ2 classic game. It’s unfortunate that you may have turned potential newcomers away by spewing this untruthful garbage of a review. It’s a good way to discredit your reviewing staff by scoring this game a 7.5 when its been an overwhelming success as a whole, both by current subscribers, new subscribers who saw the box in stores and the wealth of players who came back just because of this expansion.
Tami Baribeau is the Associate Producer for Metaplace, Inc, currently working on Island Life. She is also the Lead Editor of feminist gaming blog The Border House, and the National Facebook Games Examiner for Examiner.com. She can be reached on Twitter or by email.
