PC Gamer Reviews of WoW and EQ2

Old news, but I only picked up the January 2005 issue of PC Gamer UK yesterday, because it had World of Warcraft all over the cover. Turned out there was not only a WoW review, but one of Everquest 2 and EVE:Exodus as well.

The World of Warcraft review was interesting insofar as it was written by somebody who had tried, but never liked MMORPG. Then he started with WoW (Euro beta) and got totally hooked. So WoW got a fantastic 94% score, and "must buy" label, in spite of not even being out yet.

Everquest 2 got a distinctively cooler reception, and a mediocre 74% score. Quote: "In the final count, there's no doubt that EverQuest II is a good game. But why play a good game when there's a brilliant one available as an alternative?" I couldn't agree more. It is only a rare species of power gamer, seeking much more challenge, for which EQ2 is the better game. But as this challenge is only one of dedication, and not of brains, I'll stick with WoW.

Surprisingly even the EVE:Exodus free expansion got a better score than EQ2, 88%. I might have underestimated this game, it keeps growing, and now has 55,000 subscribers, all on the same server. But again this is a game which only shines if you dedicate a lot of time to it. For a quick playing session it isn't suited at all, with very little short term activities on offer. I'll still pass, and wait until somebody publishes another form of "Elite Online", with lots of quests. After the distinctive success of WoW's quest system it is only a question of time before all new MMORPG will be loaded with quests.
- posted by Tobold @ 6:56 AM Permanent Link