EverQuest II (EQII) was demoed by SOE in a private booth during E3 in Los Angeles, but before I get into what was shown I’ll give you some of the game basics in case you aren’t aware of them. EQII is set 500 years after the original game in a world that will at once be familiar and strikingly different to EverQuest players. A moon has since exploded, sending meteorites down to the planet below and drastically altering the landscape. This setting allows the designers to provide EverQuest veterans with a new world to explore without abandoning everything in the universe created by the original game. The downside to this is that if you play EverQuest then everyone that you knew in that game is dead. EverQuest II will not support the import of characters from the original game, so everyone will just have to begin anew in the new world.

Not only will the world of EQ II be different than the original, it will look different. EQ II will feature fully 3D graphics, allowing for an incredible looking world and realistic player and monster models. The move to a 3D engine also allows the game to give players the power to truly customize their characters, not just in their clothing, armor, and accessories but in their very appearance. EQII will let players customize their characters’ faces, skin tones, eye and hair color, and even their age. With 16 races in the game and 48 classes, you’re pretty much assured that each character will have his or her own unique look. The 3D engine will also make possible a large variety of character animations, including individual combat animations: spellcasters will move their arms and bodies as they work their incantations and fighters will have a variety of moves with which to dispatch monsters. And the monsters will benefit as well with unique animations of their own. The E3 demo showed demons summoned through a swirling vortex and a dragon blow a sweeping breath attack across an unfortunate party.

The towns in EverQuest II come to life.

Another aspect of the game that will be in for a major upgrade in EQII is NPCs. In EQII every NPC will be voiced so interacting with the world’s inhabitants will no longer entail reading through volumes of text. Also, don’t be surprised if some big name voice talent lends itself to some of the game’s NPCs. The NPCs will also get a life of their own and be freed to actually move about. No longer will you enter a town to see every NPC standing in the exact same spot that they were in the last time you came through town. Imagine walking through the gates of a city and watching guards on patrol, armies forming ranks for drills, and people walking about and going about the business of their lives. These cities will also be home to players’ characters as EQII will support player-owned real estate. In fact, every player will begin the game with their own apartment. From there you can move on up to bigger digs or join in with other players to create a house for your guild.

With the degree of customization and the number of changes over the original game, it may seem all a bit overwhelming to new players or EverQuest veterans making the move to EQII. Because of this the game’s designers have worked to make the new player experience as smooth as possible. EQII features a special extended tutorial that actually plays as part of the game’s storyline – you don’t have to go through contrived mouse-look exercises here. The tutorial takes place on a ship that includes NPCs, but will not include other players. Each player will be able to play through and learn from the tutorial without being distracted by a few dozen other players trying to go through the same motions. Once you complete the tutorial you’ll find yourself on shore with the whole of the continent for you to explore.

That’s about it for the game features on display at E3. I can tell you that the game looks great and can easily compete with the best looking single player games out there. If you played EverQuest, you will be amazed at how much more realistic the world of EQII looks. Online massively multiplayer RPG games are entering a new generation, and what better game to lead the way than EverQuest II?