Everquest for the PC

Courtesy of Sony

It's better than good, it's a digital addiction. People have ditched school, missed practice, even skipped dessert to play this game. It's started fights, split up friends and sucked up more spare time than TV.

Why? It's not the graphics. They're 3D and good, but not crazy-good. It ain't the sound effects, they're almost bad. It could be the powers you can get - everything from spinning back-kicks to smokin' fireballs and magical swords. But they're still not enough to make Everquest devour your spare time like a black hole. What's the trick?

Courtesy of Sony

Courtesy of Sony

Everquests trick is to hook you up to an online server. The server has a whole digital fantasy world full of ugly orcs, fearsome dragons and thousands of real people. Once you log in you make a fantasy character by choosing a race, and a class. Races include humans, dwarves, even trolls - each with their own city. Your class let's you be a mighty warrior, a powerful wizard, or any of a dozen others. Once your character is made you're off to start adventuring.

The big thing behind Everquest is making friends and adventuring with them. Whether you're exploring an ice fortress with your neighbor, talking to an ogre from Australia, or fighting orcs with a dwarf from Russia. You'll make friends and spend hours online with them. But remember to play it safe, don't give out personal info and if anyone starts getting creepy let your parents know.

Just don't forget to eat, sleep, and go to school.

How hard is the game?
It takes a while to learn but there are lots of peeps who'll help you out.

Age Rating: Teen.

Thumbs Up:

Thousands of people to play with.

Huge world to explore.

Thumbs Down:

Totally addictive.

Server crashes can keep you offline.

Lag! (It's not their fault but it still sucks)

Systems:
PC Windows 95/98, 166 MHz CPU, 32MB RAM, 4MB Video Card, 500MB HD space, Internet Access.

Rating: