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Review by Gupp
Neverwinter Nights Review
Well this is my third RPG review on this forum... as you can
see I'm an RPG fan :D.
When I heard that the creators of the Balder's Gate series were
producing another Forgotten Realms game based on the latest version
of the D&D rules I was quite excited, being ofcourse an RPG
fan. What got me even more excited was that I found out it was
in 3D, developed with the new Aurora Engine it promised to produce
stunning visual effects.
I finally got my hands on this game a while ago and played the
through single player. I was a little bit dissapointed with the
single player story. Having come from the heights of BG2 I felt
that NWN lacked some of the freedom that BG2 had. The game world
of NWN felt smaller and restricted. Which made the game feel VERY
linear also the number of side quests seem to have shrunk from
BG2.
However the usual character development, classes, stats etc.
that we have come to expect from Bioware have been tweaked substantially.
There are now more classes and skills than ever before. The number
of character class 'kits' have also increased from BG2. I also
did like the focus shift, NWN forces you to focus on one character
(the character you created at the start of the game). Though a
henchmen can be recruited later on your control over them is very
limited, much akin to the mercenaries of Diablo 2 or the party
members of Fallout. I believe this is a good move and builds an
attachment to your character, understanding of your character
also increases. You know exactly what you character is equipped
with, exactly what their skills are, exactly how much exp they
need to level up etc.
Visually... the game is stunning. It delivers on all promises
in this department. A camera zoom feature is included, you can
pull back to see ALL the action or you can zoom in to see the
fine detail on the orcs that your Fighter is cleaving apart. Spell
effects are extraordinary, a far cry from the 2D sprite days of
Baldur's Gate 2 and music/sounds match the mood of the game. The
music will change seamlessly as you enter/leave combat. NPC voices
are also very well done, I swear if I didnt' know better i'd say
they hired REAL dwarves to do the dwarf voices.
Another aspect of the game I liked was items. Lots and lots of
items for you to find and cherish. Many of your favourite Baldur's
Gate 2 items also make a welcome return. For example the Ring
of Protection +1 series are back... they even have the same item
bio as they did in BG2!
Although I was dissapointed with the Single player side of the
game this was more than made up for by the Multiplayer side. NWN
incorporates the revolutionary 'Dungeon Master' role into Multiplayer
games. This allows a human player to be the Dungeon Master, if
you are familiar with D&D than you will be aware of what this
person does. They create quests, NPC diologue, place items, place
monsters etc. The possibilites of having a living, breathing,
thinking, human control and change the game as they see fit allows
for UNLIMITED replay possibilites. Having a friend who knows you
personally be the Dungeon Master will see them create quests,
items and NPC's that have a personal touch. The satisfaction gained
from saving a princess (with your girlfriends name) from a evil
wizard (with you bosses name) is quite fun :D
Multiplayer in action.
Overall NWN is worth it, just for the Multiplayer side of the
game. If you found the quets lacking in single player well then
you can simply boot up a Multi game with friends and let your
imagination run wild. A great game for RPG lovers and a MUST for
the hardcore D&D enthusiast who always complained that they
couldn't be Dungeon Master in BG2.
Graphics: 9
Sound: 8
Length: 6 (single player aint' too long)
Replay Value: With Multi...10 the possibilites are unlimited
Time Suckage: 8 if you can get a multi game up with friends over
LAN or Broadband.
Overall: 8.9
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