The new content itself is pretty good. The ogres, though they look like big dwarves from the game's default third-person perspective, are somewhat stronger than the other races, though they're not substantially different to play as, in practice. Fans of the original EverQuest may be interested to know that Frontiers ogres can choose to be necromancers, as well as warriors, shadow knights, and shamans. EverQuest fans will also be interested in the new alchemist character class. Though alchemy has always been a trade skill in EverQuest--available to shamans--the alchemist is a full-fledged character class in Frontiers that specializes in battlefield support. From the get-go, alchemists can brew powerful, explosive potions that, when thrown, are functionally equivalent to a wizard's direct-damage spells. Alchemists can also buff their party members' resistances and things of that nature, thus bolstering their groups for battle.
Also, the previously mentioned class mastery system is rather complex and interesting, and it resembles the system introduced into the PC version of EverQuest in one of the later expansions. Essentially, high-level players can choose to divert a percentage of their experience points, earned from killing monsters and solving quests, into an alternate advancement pool. Eventually, you earn class mastery points, which can be spent on various skills intrinsic to your character. For example, specific skills may be available based on your character's race and class. You won't be able to buy them all, so you'll have to make some tough choices about how to specialize. Some of the class masteries are pretty compelling. For instance, paladins can learn to resurrect themselves when they die. But, again, don't even think about getting to the point of being able to learn these types of abilities until you've played the game for a long, long time. It's also worth mentioning that trade skills have been added to the world of EQOA, which means that you can take a break from all the monster-killing to try to stitch together leather jerkins or cobble together suits of armor by combining the necessary ingredients. It's eventually possible to make powerful, useful items, but this nonviolent pastime is every bit repetitive--if not more so--than the combat; it's just not as exciting.
The new graphical frills in Frontiers include little patches of grass and such, which give the miles and miles of plains and hills you'll be seeing in the game a bit more texture. You'll also see a new fog effect, and the player character models look a bit different than before but certainly don't look good by the PlayStation 2's standards. On its own visual merits, Frontiers looks rather ugly at times, and it suffers from frame rate problems in certain places, which--at worst--can lead you and your group to an untimely demise. Some aspects of the game do look decent, but overall, Frontiers looks mediocre. It sounds better, though battle effects are simple and repetitive. There are some new orchestral music pieces that have been added as well. These compositions are actually quite impressive, but since they accent the disappointing graphics and start and stop abruptly, they just come across as overblown.
Frontiers is a substantive expansion pack that's worthwhile for dedicated fans of EQOA--most of whom have already purchased it. Anyone else who's otherwise interested might as well pick up a copy of the original EQOA from the bargain bin first. Then they can take the 30-day free trial and see if they still want to keep leveling at the end of it.
EverQuest Online Adventures: Frontiers (PlayStation 2):
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