Champions of Norrath: Realms of EverQuest (PlayStation 2, 2004)

Humans and elves are fighting a losing battle against orcs and goblins and other bad guys in the world of EverQuest, and they need a champion to turn the tide of battle their way. As you battle your way through this fantasy world, your quests change from hunting down an orc chieftain to saving the very universe. This is a basic hack and slash RPG with a fleshed out storyline and a great replay value. The gameplay will be familiar with anyone who's played Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance or the Diablo games.

In the beginning choose your form of champion from five character classes - barbarian, ranger, cleric, wizard, and shadow knight with a gender choice. You can even decide on the look of your champion, from long haired nobleman to mohawked tattoo canvas. The rest is pretty straighforward - fight your way through hordes of bad guys while completing various quests, exploring various dungeons, and buying and selling weapons and armor. Once the game is finished, you can replay it at two higher difficulty levels which gives you a nice amount of replay value. You can import your character as he was when he finished the previous level, with most of the weapons, armor, items, and cash that he had in his inventory. The menus are basic and easy to navigate

Along the way you pick up a staggering amount of items, weapons, and armor (there are ten thousand randomly dropped items!), and at some point you exceed your carrying limit. The handy gate scrolls that you purchase or pick up after fights allow you to teleport back to the last store you were in to sell the items for some much needed cash. Raising your experience allows you to "spend" points on the attributes and specific skills of your choice. This game also offers multi-player capability for up to four players online. The graphics of the game are excellent, and the variety of your destinations make playing a pleasure. There are small interconnected islands surrounded by water with deep caves to explore; sky high marbled battlements in the clouds; mysterious underwater caves to explore; dark shadowy dungeons with walls that can be broken through; peaceful calm forests and grassy plains; burning fire pits with innovative transportation; blood-splashed decaying stone walls and floors; and many other intriguing scenarios. This detail applies also to your foes, from the orcs and goblins to giant spiders, huge lumbering giants, pesky bees, formidable bear-type creatures, and ghostly wraith-like mini-bosses. You have the option of zooming in during play, which allows you to see the fine detail put into every aspect of the game. The soundtrack is beautiful and well nuanced, and relates well to the present action. There were at times some noticeable bugs on both the screen and sound. These were not major, more like a mild irritant, but it did take away some of the enjoyment of the game at times.

PROS: In-depth and varied gameplay with quests that increase in scope and difficulty; satisfying basic hack and slash gameplay; phenomenal graphics with exquisite attention to detail in both screen and sound; high replay value.

CONS: Several screen and sound bugs that detract from game enjoyment.

SUMMARY: Added together, these components make for a tremendously satisfying gaming experience that all should enjoy. You can also replay as a different fighter class and gender class. All in all, this is a great little game that any gamer should enjoy. My rating: 9/10.