EverQuest offers options for just about all of the CPU-sucking features in the game, including the levels of sound realism and music. Cranked all the way up, you hear subtle hints of environmental rustlings, as well as the obligatory footsteps of not only yourself, but of your group mates, NPCs, and monsters. Different monsters have different sounds they make when moving about, from the buzzing of giant hornets, the wingflaps of large bats, and the strange supposedly arachnid sounds of large spiders and scorpions.

Most of the more interesting sounds in EverQuest come from spellcasting. When someone begins to fire up a spell, it's clearly audible from a good distance away. Different spells have different chants or summoning sounds, and seeing and hearing a display or battle between spellcasters is just too cool to not watch (from a safe vantage point of course).

The music in EverQuest, which was only recently implemented in the beta, is MIDI based, and sounds best on SoundFont capable sound cards (Creative Labs AWE and Live cards) but will support all MIDI capable sound cards by the time the game is released. While most of my adventuring in EverQuest was before the music was added in, my limited exposure to it seems to indicate that it's done pretty well. It was not obtrusive and seemed to add to the mood at the right times. When I ventured into a volcanic mountainous region wandering from the Dark Elf hometown of Neriak, a dark, daunting, eerie music began to play subtly in the background, making me feel a bit uneasy. It was well warranted, as I was run down and slain by a fire elemental while taking screenshots of lava (what first-person game wouldn't be complete without the obligatory lava?).