The minute it popped through the letterbox I really fancied a go at Everquest Online Adventures. I'd played and enjoyed plenty of offline RPGs so I had a fair idea of what I was going to have to do, but it was my first taste of an MMORPG which meant I had absolutely no experience or expectations, just a very newbie-like enthusiasm.

After a rather long-winded bunch of introductory/connection menus, your first job is to create your character, and this is the first indication you get of how in-depth EQOA really is. You're given the choice of 10 different races and 14 classes, each with their own special abilities, strengths and weaknesses. Making the right choice from the start is very important, as it influences everything from the types of weapon and armour you can use to the city you start in and how popular you'll be in certain areas.

EQOA isn't one of those games that throws you in at the deep end, you're eased into the gameplay and given easy instructions to follow when you first start, but even without this the general idea of the game is relatively easy to pick up. As I mentioned before, where you begin the game is decided by your race and class choice - For my first character I chose a Western Human Paladin and started in Qeynos, one of the biggest cities in the EQ world (Tunaria). The amount going on around you is initially quite daunting, but this leaves you in no doubt that you're part of a community and as well as other players there are literally hundreds of NCPs for you to interact with.

   

The game structure is mission-based, but still totally non-linear as you can choose to wander off at any time and do your own thing. Early in the game you'll mostly receive quests from friendly NPCs in your starting city, and these are usually quite easy to complete on your own. As you progress however you'll start to be given harder tasks to carry out, which is where you're forced to socialise with other online gamers (if you hadn't already) and ask for help.

Communicating with other people is done through an in-game keyboard (you can connect a USB keyboard and use, but I haven't got one), you can send messages to individual buddies, talk to a group or shout out to everyone in a certain area. There are also plenty of preset commands, questions and responses that you can activate with R2 and the D-pad, which come in very handy if you're lazy like…err…some people.

The gameplay itself doesn't really bring anything new to the genre, but at the same time does the job very well. Movement is assigned to the left analog stick, targeting enemies/friends/items is done with R1. The X button performs an attack with the equipped weapon and Circle uses magic or abilities. The camera can be freely rotated and zoomed in or out with the right stick, and you can also choose to play the entire game in first-person mode - It feels slightly strange but it's nice to have the option all the same.

   

Graphically EQOA is less than striking, the textures are very flat and simple but you can't fail to be impressed by the sheer size of the landscape, the world of Tunaria is simple massive and to run from one side to the other would take literally hours. The character modelling isn't half bad though, the people move very convincingly and some of the enemies look great - bears, lions and wolves in particular.

As well as the hundreds of quests just waiting to be…err…quested, EQOA has more than its fair share of distractions to eat away at your spare time. You'll spend the majority of your time looking for a group of like-minded gamers and heading off into battle with them and taking on something way too powerful for one person alone - defeating a mighty enemy is always great feeling. The "smithing" feature is also something I managed to waste quite a bit of time on; by buying the right items and equipping the appropriate tool you can create your own weapons, armour and accessories, which is a serious waste of money but still good fun.

On the whole I really enjoyed Everquest - still am in fact, and will certainly extend my subscription. I could sit here all day and pick holes in the game but I'd be being over-critical, the fact is that the game is incredibly immersive, graphically sound and I haven't been so addicted to a game since Vice City. The size of the world can be frustrating if you have to walk everywhere, but thankfully there's a "Coach" feature that allows you to travel instantly from one place to another. In the early stages battles are repetitive, but if you stick with it the game becomes more and more rewarding, tactical and fun. As with every online game there will always be those few that like to argue and insult people, but EOA seems to have a remarkably helpful and friendly community as well. This game obviously won't appeal to everyone, but if you are the sort of person that is always looking for something more from an offline RPG, or if you're a fan of PC MMORPGs, I seriously recommend you give it a go.

(Comes with a 30 day free trial, after that it'll cost you approx. £7 a month)