If I had to characterize Everquest 2, I'd say it was a prettier, easier version of Everquest 1 designed in an attempt to grab the attention of the mass market - much like WoW (World of Warcraft) has. If you don't believe me, look at the new quest indicators over NPCs' heads - straight out of WoW, and all in the name of making your play experience easier and more action packed with fewer time sinks. For many of us hardcore MMO gamers, Everquest 2 leaves us wanting. It's hard to explain why. Maybe EQ 2 really is too easy. Maybe it's simply a nostalgia thing. Who knows? Ultimately I went back to EQ 1, even after getting to level 53 with my Shadowknight in EQ 2. I couldn't be happier.

Now, EQ 1 has been around for a long time, and the graphics are very seriously dated. That being said, I am simply amazed that they are still releasing expansions. I was also pleasantly surprised by the large amount of servers EQ 1 still has, a clear indication of a thriving population. Over the years, the expansions put out for EQ 1 have usually focused on new gameplay with a very small boost in graphic quality here and there.

I recently had the opportunity to beta test and take a press tour of some of the new areas in the upcoming expansion Prophecy of Ro. While I wasn't able to play as much as I would have liked to, I did get to run around and see a lot of new content and I must say I am truly excited by the level of quality Sony is putting out. I've always said that MMOs have a bad habit of ignoring the new player experience in favor of trying to keep their older, higher level players by adding high end content. While Sony hasn't put in a bunch of new low level content areas, they have done something I wouldn't have expected in an effort to make the new player experience more enjoyable and visually pleasing. With Prophecy of Ro, the devs have completely revised the Desert of Ro and the city of Freeport. We're talking near EQ 2 quality graphics here. They've revised the terrain so that it is more natural, updated textures to a much higher quality, added effects such as radial brush, and improved many monster models.

The city of Freeport is really nice looking now. The port area in East Freeport finally looks like a port, with merchantmen docked and galleons floating out in the bay. I did notice that the Desert of Ro is now made up of North and South Ro, with no Oasis of Mar. How this will work out for players who don't buy the expansion I'm not sure. It is possible I suppose that they're planning on releasing these changes for free, and the high level content will require purchasing the expansion, but don't quote me on that. There were several monster models in the Desert of Ro that are still using the original EQ models, which made them stick out like sore thumbs against the newly revised zone. The Ghouls and Sand Giants were among these. Hopefully they'll fix that before release.

All in all, Prophecy of Ro boasts 13 new zones (6 of which are instanced) and these zones are just beautiful. My favorite was the Theater of Blood, a land of vampires with blood red skies and gothic otherworldly architecture. The devs have put a much greater attention to detail into this expansion with effects such as colored light rays coming through stained glass windows and decal effects to simulate the light hitting the wall, as well as particles of dust drifting gently through the light rays. I saw fairly high poly count monster models such as the Banshee, which also had a nice translucent shader to give her that ghostly appearance. I did happen to notice some issues such as unmerged verticals allowing you to see outside the world in a few places, but I figure these are just typical beta release issues that will be corrected before release.

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to explore much of the new gameplay, as I said; however, one of the things added which I believe will add a very interesting element is that of player made traps. The dev who gave us the tour showed us how they work. He simply placed a trap, which was then represented in the game world by a floating rune. He then pulled a mob (monster) and we watched as the poor sap ran into the trap. This particular monster happened to be low level. The trap finished it off easily. Prophecy of Ro also adds destructible objects to the game world (though I'm sure you'll only see this in the new zones), a feature that goes a long way toward making the world feel more interactive. Some of the other, smaller ticket additions include more bank slots (8 I believe), and a new buff control feature that allows you to block certain buffs from being cast on you. I'm not really sure how good a feature that is, but I'm sure it has its uses, most notably as a way to keep people from griefing you somehow.

Since I quit playing EQ 1 long ago, I lost my old account and had to start from scratch when I went back. So my character is only level 18 currently. I have a long way to go before I can play the new level 60+ content that will be released in the Prophecy of Ro. Honestly, I can't wait to get there, because the new zones look awesome! And even without a lot of new gameplay features, I've always felt that Everquest 1 had/has some of the best game design already. Besides, ultimately what most players want is new content. New places to explore and new monsters to fight. That being said, Prophecy of Ro will include many new spells, missions, tradeskills, and disciplines. This is one expansion that is shaping up to be a must have.