Here's some more info for you. Although not all inclusive, these are the things that stand out to me. I'm sure there are many other points that others will make :)
Evequest:
PRO's
- Vast world with many expansions and a ton of zones, items, mobs, etc. Since it's been on for 5+ years, you can expect a few expansions.
- Most bugs worked out (mention I said most, not all).
- Huge and well-established databases throughout (Alakazam for one).
- PVP servers.
- Power Leveling (PL'ing) where a high level character groups with a lowbie, buffs him up, then helps him kill powerful critters. Lowbie levels FAST. Could be good or bad, depends on your opinion.
- Most character balancing issues worked out.
- Good Bazaar player-trading system. You can buy and sell stuff between players. Ability to do a detailed search for exactly what you need.
CON's
- Low end graphics, polygon'ish at times. Terrain is especially polygon.
- Unexciting combat moves. Lean forward, swing, stand upright, repeat.
- Group problems and dwindling population (already mentioned)
- Low amount of quest-givers. Hard to track your progress.
- Simple (old) user interface. Can only have 8 (or is it 9?) spells/abilities available at a time.
- Possiblity for someone to camp a mob or Kill Steal (KS). That's when you fight hard to kill a critter to get a special drop, and someone comes in at the last second and kills it, robbing you of exp.
- No player housing.
- High price for dieing. You loose exp, in fact you can loose a level.
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Everquest 2:
PRO's
- Huge amount of quests to complete. Nearly every NPC can give a quest.
- Quest log to track your progress. You can have up to 50 quests active.
- Smooth graphics and detailed surfaces. Ability to set to extreme graphics (which will burn your block down, so don't try it yet)
- Unexplored portions.
- Improved combat, spells, moves. I like the Monk's moves best.
- Expanded and improved craftsman system.
- No KS'ing due to locked combat.
- No PL'ing due to group level caps.
- Have multiple 12-button Action Bars up. I usually have 4 up.
- Player Housing system. You have a room that you can decorate, craft from, or invite your friends.
- Guild System and Houses. Young system, but growing.
- Less penalty for dieing. You can't loose a level.
CON's
- Smaller amount of zones. Expect more expansions, I think they plan 2 per year.
- Armor appearance between classes is not that different. That is being fixed.
- I hear there is not much content beyond level 50, but that is being worked (expansions).
- Some quests are bugged, fixes happen almost every other day.
- No PVP servers.
- Broker (player buy/sell) search ability is too simple, not able to do a more specific search.
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Here's some personal thoughts:
EQ1 is coming to the end of it's life. It was made 5+ years ago, has done it's time, but it's capabilities have been reached. Only thing to do now is add more expansions. But with dwindling population, I don't see it lasting past another 2-3 years. It may even turn into a free game eventually. Lots of exp grind to push through. I had to do 6 levels of nothing but fighting once.
If you want a well-established environment with older graphics, then EQ1 is for you.
EQ2 has been built with updated graphic engines and abilities. It is designed to run on systems that will appear in 3-4 years. That means when you upgrade your system, you can crank up the game as well. It runs well on the lowest setting on my little machine (Compaq 1.5MHZ, 720MB DDR RAM, 128MB NVidea Video Card). The graphics are still fantastic to look at. Less of a exp grind, lots of quests to do (you also get exp for doing a quest)
It is a young game that will expand, given time.
I like the thought of being part of the "discovery" of EQ2, finding new things, figuring out how a quest works, etc. I started EQ2 as soon as it came out, and haven't looked back.
Best of luck to you in your decision.