EverQuest II So Far..

The top 10 things I am liking about EverQuest II the most:

1. player housing (you're given an apartment right after the n00b zone, and you can decorate it as you wish with 100's of items, including crafting nodes like forges and ovens etc). they also include a handy vault (bank), plus a 'market board' so you can set up a broker in your house to buy & sell items from, plus you can set it up to sell in your absence (kinda like an in-house auction house) you can also give other players and friends varying access permissions, so you can use your house for meeting, crafting, selling, and entertaining as you desire.
   
2. you can disable mob kill XP (to concentrate on crafting, or to complete storyline quests without fear of out-leveling the requirements, for example)
3. no corpse runs! when you die you get revived by another player, or hit a 'revive' button yourself and get transported to a nearby location (there are still penalties for dying: a small XP debt and 10% durability loss on your gear per death)
4. it's solo friendly for all classes and characters, with quests easy to find & in abundance (typically level a character to L7 or L8 within 90mins, with soloable content all the way to L70)
   
5. a Mentoring system (a low-level player can be assisted by a higher level player, who can mentor down to a lower level while still earning experience)
6. a huge selection of races (17) and classes (24) to choose from for your toon
   
7. an extremely slick, clear, and highly customisable UI (best I've ever seen) including a powerful and flexible in game chat system and LFG options
8. next-gen graphics (bump mapping, shaders everywhere, realtime dynamic lighting, incredible particle effects.. looks awful purdy) including full weather and day/night cycles
   
9. content updates ALL THE TIME (omg i've only been playing a few weeks and already there's been 2 major content updates, including one entirely new race and starting zone), and another major update due in a few months which increases the level cap to L80, and introduces *another* new race and starting zone
   
10. a mature playerbase (EverQuest has been around since Jan '99) especially when compared to WoW

I've got about 6 toons on the go at the moment, as I get to know all the classes. My fav's so far (and recommended to those starting out ) would be a Warden (Druid), Wizard (Mage), or Berserker (Warrior), depending upon your particular bent.

See here for a list of all classes and descriptions.

Given it's been around for so long, it's had time to iron out the kinks and simply get things right. Little touches make it enjoyable - for example, as I have begun a number of characters from scratch I've noticed little differences, such as upon leaving the 'starter island' you end up at different regions of the main city, depending on your race. Meaning, you can start another character and not play through the same content.

Crafting is exceptionally intuitive, fun, and most importantly; worthwhile and rewarding. Fishing is included here (unlike LOTRO where there is none) as is a unique 'collector' system: You can discover and collect items that are 'collectible', which you can add to various collections. Once a collection is complete you can turn it in for useful rewards.

Another little nicety is the ability to both fight and harvest while still mounted. And speaking of mounts, I saw someone on a flying carpet the other day.. don't see that in many MMO's! (scroll to the bottom of this page to see one, and all the other mounts explained) Another pic here, alongside one of the very cool 'spirit steeds'.

It's early days yet I guess, but so far I'm enjoying it more than WoW, LOTRO, or Guild Wars. It seems extremely 'complete' and optimised, and hopefully it will keep up the content and interest as I level.

There are a couple of trials available for people wishing to give it a try:

Trial of the Isle lets you play the 'starter island' in all it's glory (the place you start from in the normal game - kind of a n00b tutorial zone).

Play the Fae takes you to the new starting area of Kelethin (a treetop city) where you get to play as the new race called the 'Fae', who are basically fairies. I haven't tried this zone yet, but by all accounts it's the best content yet..

More to come as time goes by. I'll be sure to keep my opinions posted as I progress further into the game.

Good times. =)