EverQuest II

Within EverQuest II, each player creates a character to interact in the 3D, fictional world of Norrath. The character can adventure (complete quests, explore the world, kill monsters and gain treasures and experience) and socialize with other players. The game also has a 'tradeskill' system that allows players to create items for in-game use. Players can make items such as spells, potions, armor and many other items.

The player chooses their character's race and type, which affects their abilities. Characters collect experience to advance in level. EverQuest II enables social interaction with other players through grouping and the creation of guilds. Like players, guilds can gain experience and levels, partially from players completing special tasks called Heritage quests, but primarily from guild-oriented quests and tasks called "writs", and gaining guild experience by killing epic monsters.

SOE markets EverQuest II not as a direct sequel, but as a "parallel universe" to the original EverQuest. It is set in an alternate future of the original game's setting, having diverged at the conclusion of the Planes of Power expansion (the lore is explained in an in-game book). This allows both development teams to pursue whatever direction they want to take without impacting the other, and allows players of the original EverQuest to continue receiving updates without forcing players down a specific path. In that sense, they are two completely separate games bound together by name only. Players of the original EverQuest will find many familiar places and characters, as well as "heritage items" that are similar in name and function to items known from EverQuest and can be gained via heritage quests.

In Europe, the game was published by Ubisoft, followed by Koch Media. As of 2010 it lacks any European publisher and is distributed in Europe only as a digital download.

EverQuest II had mostly positive reception from critics, earning an 83 out of 100 average score from aggregate review website Metacritic. Many reviewers compared the title to the original EverQuest, which was viewed as one of the best and most influential examples of the genre. Greg Kasavin of GameSpot said that EverQuest II isn't the massive step for the genre that its predecessor was, but it can still be a fun and addictive online role-playing experience that provides to offer for new and experienced players. Mario Lopez of GameSpy commented that it was "much more inviting, convenient, and forgiving" relative to the first game, but that it was less groundbreaking.

The reviewer would find that the breadth of voice acting, however, was its biggest advancement. Lopez would ultimately declare that EverQuest II was "extremely fun to play, frequently rewarding, and designed with just the right amount of user convenience in mind".