The epic is on; embark on the new age as the Lords of EverQuest rise again. This strategy game from Sony Online Entertainment and Rapid Eye calls up the world of Norrath in depth and detail. Lead your Lords to victory through three opposed factions, 35 challenging missions as only the folks at EverQuest could provide.
Bring on the tactics, bring on the campaigns
For those of you who are Warcraft fanatics, for those of you who have lost years to EverQuest… this would be your game. The strategy of Warcraft III, meets the narrative of EverQuest, all under the southern lights of Norrath. You know what to expect from Sony Online: lots of campaigns, lots of characters, warring factions. You want it: it’ll be there. The diversity among faction characters and technologies is in there, fifteen different Lords, there in there, The Elddar Alliance, the Dawn Brotherhood, the Shadowrealm… don’t even ask, there in there.
What stand out about Lords at first are the highly developed visual and narrative aspects of the game. Take my advice, chose a mission in the artic cold- you won’t be unsatisfied. The video graphics for this game at times are truly amazing. Guess what you won’t be expecting: the land of Giants. They are one of my favorite characters in this game, needless to say, they’re huge- either casting magic or slamming your faction with a battle club.
The campaigns in Lords of Everquest rock for two reasons. First, they all go somewhere. Your first campaign story leads to the second. And guess where you start, as the Shadowrealm. Unlike a lot of strategy games, these single player missions are well thought out. There is nothing like a challenging mission, and they are hard to come by these days. But expect some tough battles through Norrath. You’d be smart to keep an eye peals for the balloon goblins, the elephant bowmen, and the bones piles.
Added to all of this is the army building capacity of Lords of Everquest. Get the gold, build the structures, cast your army, and refine. You’ll find great graphics throughout. Especially beautiful are the Elddar Alliance buildings. Long leaves cast and turn as your army builds, as your buildings grow. So, what do you do when you’ve developed your army: your next bold move goes online.
Through SOEGames.net, you’ll find a lot of custom multiplayer games. Look for the Last Man Standing, or the Body Harvest for good times. Of course, like all SOE games online, you have to shell out for fierce combat. And like all good strategy games, the game design editor allows for new worlds at your creative fingertips.
So, why did this game get four and a half stars out of five: creativity. While the graphics and narrative are well developed, Lords doesn’t get away from its comparison to Warcraft III. The two are alike more than they are different. I was looking for further development of this strategy world, beyond the skeletons, orks, and humans. Still, if your looking for a rocking new edition similar to Warcraft, look no farther than Lords of EverQuest.
