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Neverwinter Nights

Neverwinter Nights

List Price: $19.99
Your Price: $19.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Greatest
Review: A must have and play RPG game. So rich, full, smart u will enjoy it no doubt.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: If you're looking for Baldur's Gate 3 - this isn't it
Review: NWN is actually 3 things in one: it ships with a single player campaign so you can play it on your own, much as you would other CRPGs such as Arcanum, Fallout or the Baldur's Gate series. It can be played (and indeed was primarily intended to be played) multiplayer, in which you typically team up with other players to complete a module. Finally, it ships with an editor so you can produce your own modules. Note that this means you can download hundreds (eventually undoubtedly thousands) of player created modules to continue enjoying the game. NWN is based on the 3rd edition Dungeon and Dragons rules.

Having said all that I want to comment specifically about the SP game: opinions are deeply divided on this issue, but IMO if you liked Bioware's previous CRPG offerings, the classics Baldur's Gate and Baldur's Gate 2, you are probably going to be disappointed with the NWN single player campaign. In a nutshell, you don't get a full party but instead can hire a single henchman, who has about as much character as a cold bowl of oatmeal. The story line is very linear, some would also say predictable. Loot is randomly generated, so you spend a LOT of time smashing open chests and barrels because you never know when you'll find something good in the most unlikely of places. All the screen art is composed using a limited set of standard tilesets, so it gets repetitive fast. The side quests, such as they are, tend strongly toward the "purolator" variety in which you simply retrieve an item and return it to the person who gave you the quest for a reward. Depending on which class you choose to play you may also find combat generally unchallenging. I could go on, but you get the idea. For many of us who thoroughly enjoyed the BG and BG 2 experience NWN was a major letdown. Don't take my word for it though, visit the official NWN website at nwn.bioware.com, where the pros and cons of NWN were hotly debated by the game's supporters and critics for weeks after the release.

I have not touched on the multiplayer game or the editor. Suffice it to say that multiplayer game can be a lot of fun if you are playing with people you know. You can join games with strangers, but that experience is often -to say the least- uneven. To take full advantage of the editor you need to be comfortable using a scripting language. You can design basic modules using only "stock" scripts, but the results will be bland. It goes without saying that although there is a large and ever growing number of modules in the public domain, only a minority of them are even medicore.

One final note: if you are looking for quality fantasy CRPG, with well-developed NPCs, an engaging storyline and a well rendered world, and you have not played Baldur's Gate or Baldur's Gate 2, don't deny yourself any longer, you're in for a treat!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A Good Start Towards Something Bigger!!
Review: Given that I actually played this game nearly every evening for the last two months, I MUST have liked it!

That being said, I was constantly plagued by lock-ups (which seemed to be mostly related to the video card) after having to buy a new video card just to get started. I also spent a great deal of time downloading/experimenting with various video drivers until I came up with a configuration that was stable enough for me to play. I never completely fixed the problem and my system is very stable for everything EXCEPT Neverwinter Nights. It also became a regular ritual to check for new patches, every evening before playing.

The game itself is nice, although I'm not sure what so many people find groundbreaking about the graphics. The story line is interesting enough, but the ending does seem to lack a certain degree of closure... and its not just to set up a sequel. I would have liked to have talked to certain characters at the end and wrapped up some loose ends, but wasn't given the chance. It just ended after the big battle... abruptly!

This games biggest strength is its potential. The interface is pretty nice and it does a pretty good job of sticking to 3rd Edition D&D rules. This game is the first real bid I've seen for marrying the open-ended, manual D&D gamers to the world of computer gaming (especially with the online and design capabilities). Even with the bugs, its exciting to be a part of that!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Greatest Game ever
Review: Having been playing this for daily since I bought it I think it is the best RPG computer game ever. Graphics are awesome. The content is awesome. Everything from watching you player fight to cast spells and interact with others is spectacular. I have completed this game once and am going back and replaying it with other characters. There are missions that are class specific. Still some I haven't tried. If you buy one game this year make this the one!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Some very nice aspects to the game, but overall, a let down.
Review: I'm gonna go over this review step by step, critiquing sound and graphics, gameplay, D&D implementation, single-player storyline, the toolset, and multiplayer play. Then at the end, I'll try and sum it all up.

1. Sound and Graphics.

This game is absolutely tremendous from this aspect. Basically we have here a game with a *minimum* resolution of 800x600, and w/ all the fancy effects and graphics turned off, it still looks amazing. Albeit, this makes it run a bit sluggish, even on high-end computers, but that's to be expected. Overall you have amazing environment sounds, the sound of clanging swords in combat, different phrases being uttered during magic spells, and a great deal of voice sets to choose from, to top that. As far as graphics go, you have some very crisp locales, and some extremely impressive lighting effects as well. Every character moves realistically in combat, moving and parrying almost as a real person might. In the aesthetic area, the game deserves a 5 all the way.

2. Gameplay.

Overall, the gameplay was a let down. And a fairly big one. In the beginning, it's fun to combat in the 3D world (and generally it stays that way), and the controls, the quick-slot menus, etc. is all very nice. But then you get hit with other things. After character creation, when you level up, you get to increase various skills (which i thought were pretty badly lacking, and if I'm not mistaken there were under 20), and feats (which are fairly plentiful, but so many of them were actually not implemented, and some quite uselessly in the game, I didn't feel there was much at all going on). And as we all know, gameplay is the most important thing in a game, and because of the fact I beleive the game deserves a 2 in this aspect, really takes a toll on its overall score.

3. D&D Implementation.

The D&D Implementation here was pretty bad, and severely lacking IMO. First of all, 3rd Ed. is just pretty bad in general, compared to 2nd Ed., and the worst part is that so little was actually implemented into the game. only a fraction of the feats, skills, and spells were implemented, and the DM function is not nearly as rich as it would be in a D&D game, rather then the DM actually taking much action, the modules just unfold themselves in the storyline. More importantly, only the basic classes were available, absolutely no prestige classes. This made me pretty disappointed, as I was looking forward to playing a Psion, a Gatecrasher, etc. Now, you might think this is a lot to ask, but in fact, the toolset features no ability to add classes either, making it even more disappointing, as I would have been content to just add them myself.

4. Storyline.

The story line is actually quite well written. I won't reveal any of it, but suffice it to say, it was extremely original, rich, and character development was pretty good. The dialogue and voice-acting was top notch, and overall, I was quite happy to play through the game, just to discover the storyline completely. It deserves a 4 or 5 in this category.

5. The Toolset.

The toolset for the game is actually acceptable. I won't go into too much detail here, but overall it had some features that were nice, everything you might expect from building an environment from scratch, and also the ability to edit some creatures, items, and graphics in general. However, as I mentioned above, being that there was no option to edit races, or add prestige classes for that matter, the toolset was more just for your average modder, than a creative DM. I'd give the toolset a 2 or 3, being that it's not bad, but very, very mediocre.

6. The Multiplayer Game.

The multiplayer game in NWN is alright. It can be fun to go on a LAN and play together, but generally, it lacks all the richness of a pen and paper game, and there is little to be gained from a multiplayer game. Overall, the choice to have one was nice, but I don't think it is anything all that spectacular, a 3.

Overall, the game was a let down, as I said. I'd say, buy it if the idea appeals to you, but don't expect to be on the edge of your seat, after playing for a couple hours.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Slow starting but gets better with age!
Review: This is one of those games that if you no nothing of hardware I'd say skip it. I spent a month comparing and researching why the game wouldn't play on my system, and I found hundred's of others were in the same boat. Bioware came out with patch after patch, finally I got the game playing. Mind you not to the potential the game can offer you. That is why I rate this game high. The game as I play it is as interesting as it can be, the options of how to play are unlimited it seems. Yet I still am not enjoying the full 3D video and audio experience it could be because of hardware limitations. I can't wait to play this thing with a new system. But if you don't know anything about hardware and don't have the patience to learn, skip this game, for now.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: "Quicky"
Review: And I do mean quicky. This game took me ten hours to beat, going straight threw andi gnoring the side quests only ten hours in three days. A rather difficult ending with not nearly enough play time before hand to prepare for the fight against the "queen butt-head." I've been playing RPGs since I recieved my first computer (fifteen years ago) and this is not a game I would recommend to an older RPGer.
Someone who is just starting out I would say go for it, it has nice graphics and NEVER freezes up and I have yet to find any bugs. However I would highly recommend either Arcanum or Buldur's Gate over this quickly and easily completed game (which is probably why so many people like it...)
Don't buy this game if you are looking for a challenge. However, if you're bored and you have about ten hours to waste go-for-it.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Neverwillplay game should be called not Neverwinter Nights
Review: It's a shame. Looks like this could be a good game but after installing the whole game, it just would not run on my computer. After reading the reviews, I'm leary about installing patches - so I just uninstalled. BioWare should never have released a game that works only on certain computers?

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Never Played NeverWinter Nights
Review: What a shame. I purchased this game, installed it but it just won't run. Make sure before you spend your hard-earned dough that you check to see if your video drivers are up to date. I only have a Pentium II 10 Gigabyte computer which is still only 87% full but there is a conflict with the video drivers & because of this, the game will not load.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Single-player is only part of the fun...
Review: Basically, if you're reading this, you're either already set on buying NWN, or you're actually looking for helpful suggestions. Now, I don't have any of the competitor's games in this field, so I can't make comparisons. However, I can tell you a bit about my problems and triumphs.

I never encounter very many freezes. A few happen when switching between different types of armor (i.e, from chain to leather, etc.) after long periods of play, or when I've Alt-Tabbed or been forced out of fullscreen by another program. Occasionally these freezes are bad enough to warrant a full restart, but not often.

The storyline is deep and involving, if predictable at times. I won't spoil anything for you, but there is at least one story point that will have you going, "I KNEW he wasn't to be trusted!"

Gameplay is simple point-and-click, with a few more clicks involved if you're a spellcaster or have certain feats.

As the title says, single-player is nice, but the real meat of the game lies in fan-created modules and online play. If you look around, you can find campaigns and worlds to fit nearly every need. There are a number of builders out there working on translating your favorite PnP adventures into NWN. There's already several versions of Keep on the Borderlands out there, and at least one module of Pools of Radiance. However, Caveat Emptor is the order of the day, since there are quite a lot of incredibly ... modules out there as well.

In a nutshell, my advice is this: Buy it for the single-player, keep it for the multi-player.

May Gond Wonderbringer grant you knowledge,
DareonClearwater


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