I began playing MMORPG's (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) with Ultima Online and played that for about a year until Everquest was release, at which time I switched. Everquest was the game everyone was talking about: Insane graphics, Huge world, Deadly foes, Unique character development. Needless to say, those things are true. Unfortunately, shortly after it's release, the game turned into a free-for-all of eBay profiteers. Here's the deal...

The object of this game is to develop your character. Just like in most RPG's, you kill evil critters to gain experience (XP), you get XP to gain levels. When you gain a level, you then learn new skills that can help you so that you can adventure farther and see new things, and kill new baddies, and thus, gain more XP...etc. I'ts a spiral.

Now, to protect yourself from baddies, you obviously want to wear some type of protective clothing, or use some awesome weapon...usually, the rarer, the better. EQ allows you to (after paying your monthly $9.95 fee) go on quests, or kill certain monsters to get these items. The problem is that when you arrive at the location where the item is supposed to be, you have to stand in line....that's right! There are about 20 people in front of you waiting for the Baddy to "spawn" so that they can kill him, loot his body, and take the "rare" item. So...you spent 3 months working your way up to level 28 so that you could come here and kill this monster to get a "rare" item that everyone has. To make it worse, it's a magician-only item, but half these people in front of you are warriors...what are they going to do with it? That's right, sell it on eBay! Some level 3 guy with his mom's credit card is going to have that same "rare" item that you have worked so hard for...it just kinda sucks. Crazy...

Don't get me wrong here, the game could be fun....the developers are putting in stuff for the people who are getting bored of seeing the same old stuff. So they make these new long-lost lands or extensions to the current lands. But you have to be level 35 or 50 to go there. So you have to go kill some real baddies to gain a lot of XP to make new levels to go there. So you have to go get some good armor, so that you can kill some real baddies, so that you can get some good XP, so that you can go there. So you have to go stand in line...behind 20 people, waiting for your turn to kill a Baddy who spawns every 3 hours, and has a 50/50 chance of dropping "the" item. Crazy...

Although the game started out really cool, it has turned into a waiting game. Most of my friends who I went to EQ with now have quit and gone on to the more fantastical, and less monotonous, Asheron's Call. Those that still play EQ, play to make money on eBay. My brother-in-law seriously makes about $1000 a month off of this game, by selling in-game stuff to people who have the money but not the time. Another friend of mine has seriously (not kidding) quit his meanial day-job and plays the game for his income..he has 6 different accounts! Just plain crazy...



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