Massively multiplayer online games didn't used to be like they are now. Most new ones feature a vast, persistent, 3D-rendered world in which you and thousands of other players can create a character and then fight monsters, explore, and gain experience levels and loot. Without a doubt, the massively multiplayer genre as it is now has been shaped by Sony Online's EverQuest, whose fully realized fantasy world of Norrath has enthralled thousands of players in the five years since its release. And now the studio is working on EverQuest II, which will take place in Norrath many years after the events in the first game and feature an impressive new graphics engine and many, many changes to the EverQuest gameplay. We were able to join the game's recently launched beta test, and have some early details on the game to share.