Trees sway lightly in the breeze, and monster textures look much better than they ever did, and that's saying a lot. Ruins of Kunark has slightly more stringent hardware requirements than the original EverQuest, simply because the new continent is much more visually complex, with its more detailed textures and animated environment. Subscribe to IDG.net's free daily newsletter for computer geniuses (& newbies too) Questions about computers? Let IDG.net's editors help you Every class of Iksar has a series of 'newbie quests' for lower-level characters to complete, making young life in Kunark seem much less like a game of 'rat hunter 3D' than almost anywhere else in Norrath. The Iksar are a great example of what Verant can do if given half a chance - the Iksar themselves flesh out very nicely, and their city is definitely one of the most complete as far as quests and things to do go. Ruins of Kunark adds an entire continent to the already massive world of Norrath, and it introduces a new player race of lizardmen, called the Iksar. Verant's slogan says 'You're in our world now,' but it's really all yours. If you're not in for fighting, you can just hang out with friends, fish on the docks, and watch the sun come up over the Butcherblock Mountains. While you're there, you'll fight slimy goblins, cruel gnolls and treacherous humans as you constantly strive for the next level. If you've been living in a cave the past few months, here's the deal: you log onto an EverQuest server, create a character from thirteen races (from ogres to elves) and fourteen classes (from warriors to bards), and go out into the online world of Norrath in search of adventure. To commemorate the success of their groundbreaking online RPG, Verant Interactive and Sony bring you EverQuest: Ruins of Kunark, an expansion set that shows just how far EverQuest has come in a year.

(IDG) - Despite anyone's expectations, EverQuest continues to go on strong even a year after its release. EverQuest shows its staying power with Ruins of Kunark From.

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