Distraction

Since this is unpublished by the paper, I feel that it should published someplace else. Because I kind of like the way the words "Never" were played on to allude to longevity. I like to have themes in a review, and I thought I did a good job with this one. It's free to read :) unlike those that are actually published where you have to either buy the paper or pay for the online subscription. So here it is, my unpublished NWN2 review, in its unedited form.

Never Leaving NeverWinter

Game title: Neverwinter Nights 2
DL Rating: 8.5 /10
Price: $59.90
Genre: RPG
Platform: PC

Neverwinter Nights (NWN) is a role-playing game (RPG) with unmatchable longevity. With a multitude of expansion packs and fan mods, NWN can still found in the hard drive of many an RPG fan long after its release in 2002.

In this much anticipated sequel, the story starts off in the quiet coastal village of West Harbour that is suddenly attacked by the King of Shadows’ hordes. You set off to Neverwinter in attempt to solve the puzzle of a mysterious crystal shard which might have sparked the attack.

NWN2 has many elements such as music, voices and sounds that were featured in the original. Significant differences are the new Dungeon & Dragons version 3.5 rules, the addition of new races and new prestige classes. In addition, three other fully controllable characters can join your party and you can control all aspects firsthand, from selecting their skills and feats to organising their inventory to choosing equipment. Only problem is, you have to handhold them a lot more.

NWN2’s excellent writing shows in the story, characters and dialogue - expect plenty of entertaining and feisty insults between your party members. You can also expect less reading than before with the help of more voiced animated cutscenes.

The graphics are the greatest improvement. Characters are so detailed you can zoom up close and see the vein on a dwarf’s temple. Environments are breathtakingly realistic with reflection and refractions of water, vivid flames and fire and even rooms with ceilings! Spells are bigger, brighter and more spectacular than before, which made spellcasting so enjoyable. NWN2 even allows for the amount of gore to be adjustable, from no blood for the haemophobic to a playful splatter for the blood lusty.

Unfortunately, NWN2’s execution falls a little short. Bearing the curse of its heritage, NWN2 also has a fair share of glitches which will hopefully be ironed out with future patches. I encountered bugs that cause the entire party being stuck in limbo between walls, sound glitches that cause fluctuations in volume and involuntary teleportation of characters.

My biggest gripe is the user interface - the original radial menu that allowed for quick and easy control is replaced by a less sophisticated system involving toolbars, drop down menus and tabs. Not only is it cumbersome, essential commands like telling party members to stay put cannot be executed. Inventory management is also more unwieldy especially with Magic bags that require plenty of scrolling to locate items - a royal pain for packrats like myself.

All in all, NWN2 is a fabulous RPG that is a must-get for all RPG fans. If not for the disappointing user interface, it will deserve a 9.0. Like its predecessor, with so much to see and do both online and offline, you can expect NWN2 to stay in your hard drive for a long time.

[The writer] is a freelance writer who intends to take up permanent residence in Neverwinter.

Posted by Unknown on Monday, December 04, 2006 at 12/04/2006 12:22:00 AM | Permalink