As our whirlwind journey through E3 continued, we had the opportunity to visit Sony Online Entertainment's booth. Every year SOE puts on a spectacular show at E3 and this year was no exception. As is tradition, the booth was lined with several demo computers so event goers could try out games while SOE developers interacted among fans. Of course the immediate entrance to the booth was a special area where beautiful models costumed as EverQuest heroines pose with eager fans. At the heart of the booth was a special VIP area where we had the privilege of getting up close and personal with SOE's flagship title EverQuest 2. We started out by talking with Ryan Shwayder and viewing a video of the next EQ2 expansion, Echoes of Faydwer. While details are slim as of now, the expansion looks to bring EverQuest 2 back to its classic roots. The biggest feature is the addition of the Fay race, small fairy-like creatures. In addition to the Fae race players will be able to adventure through over 20 zones with 40 new creature types that range from level 1-70. Also included in Echoes of Fader are the much-requested cloaks, armor sets, an increase for the maximum guild level, tinkering, and an expanded achievement system. Unfortunately the expansion was not being shown as playable, but we were assured it would be released in November of 2006.

Next we turned our attention turned to Erik Theisz, Associate Producer for EverQuest 2. Erik Theisz, who showed us "The Fallen Dynasty, EverQuest 2's next adventure pack. Fallen Dynasty was created with the Taiwan Studio, and it shows. The Asian influence is prevalent throughout the entire expansion, not only in the architecture but also the weapons. The upcoming adventure pack adds 3 huge zones, and at least one is outdoors. The level range, 55-70, should satisfy the higher end of players. The first zone we saw, Mystic Lake, was an extremely beautiful aboveground zone targeted to levels 60-70. The size was comparable to Antonica, and the look was also similar. One of the more unique things here was the Pig Race. What looked like a bunch of drunken party coding was actually a fun mini-game that anyone can play - simply pick a pig out of about 8, and see which one comes out first.

The next zone we saw was Nizara, City of the Nayad. This underground dungeon was filled with waterfalls and huge, arching land bridges. The dungeon is the home of the Nayad, "Large Snake Ladies, a mystical and magical race, that doesn't get along with many people, even though they look like booth babes. We also saw a few other things such as the new weapons that are unique to each class, and all have impressive graphics. Fallen Dynasty will be released June 13th, and carry a $7.99 price tag - no preview will be given for this Adventure Pack due to the non-instanced overland nature.

Overall EQ2 looks to be heading in the right direction and we appreciate SOE taking the time out of their busy schedule to give us the lowdown. Be sure to check out our video interview and our EQ2 site, known for the best databases in EQ2!