Graphics

Ruins of Kunark’s new zones (in Kunark, of course) use a slightly updated graphics set that includes such eye-candy as swaying palm trees and….er, more swaying trees. The new creatures look nicer than their old-world counterparts, and the new starting city for the Iksar is beautifully done and reminiscent of Incan and Aztec architecture.

Lost in the wilderness

Sound

The sound effects for many of the creatures of the Kunark continent, and even of the Iksar race, was buggered up at launch and not fixed for nearly a month. For a while, if you smacked a lizardman, he yelled like a human. Nobody screws up quite like Verant, I’ll give them that.

The sound effects that accompany the new creatures are like their old-world counterparts: boring and flat. Upon whacking one of the local fauna with a sword, one is greeted with a variety of sound-derivatives of the noise "fnert". Not once throughout all of Kunark was I impressed with a sound made by a creature.

Conclusion

Ruins of Kunark is what every expansion pack should be- more of its predecessor. Unfortunately in this case, it’s a large order of steamed cat turds with a side of crappy customer service and a frothy glass of stupidity. If you happened to like Everquest, then you probably already have Kunark and a lot of infomerical crap like the Lean Mean Fat Grilling Machine. If you were thinking of getting the EQ/Kunark combo box and experiencing Norrath for the first time, my advice is to give it a pass and pick up Asheron’s Call.

Gameplay – 3/10
Fun for a few weeks, then horrible reality sets in.

Aesthetics – 5/10
Either you like the graphics or you hate them.

Sound – 4/10
Not many new sounds, and they botched the implementation. Docked marks for stupidity.

Value – 0/10
Unless you ordered quickly, they ding you for the original and the expansion pack.

The Verdict - 3/10
Everquest sucked, and Ruins is just as bad.

Take me back to the main page! My eyes are bleeding!

1 - Introduction

2 - The Game

3 - Conclusion / the Verdict