Rating: 
Summary: FINALLY...
Review: After the titanic failure of Morrowind, I had almost been put off of computer RPGs permanently. The game market these days seems to be awash with substandard, buggy, crashy pieces of dubious origin and design, and it's VERY refreshing when a company releases a game that's fun, good looking, delivers what it promises, and works right out of the box. I've only been playing for a few days, and by far it is the most enjoyable piece of software I've bought in the past several years.
I hope bethesda softworks is taking notice, and doesn't try to pull another hoax on the gaming public- if they wanna avoid their imminent financial collapse, they might want to take a few pages from Bioware's book... If you Like RPGs, this is your game.
Rating:
Summary: OMG this ROCKS
Review: I got this game as a gift after having my wisdom teeth removed (wink). It works wonderfully. The graphics are great. Hair and clothing/armor movement are excellent, and shaddows just add that little cherry on the top. I am running the game at about medium settings (1024x768) and can't wait to play it on my new machine I'm building; there are sooo many different options like wind settings for grass (I'm guessing that grass will wave in the wind or something like that) different shadow modes, and texture quality. Another great feature is built-in Anti Aliasing (I have never seen this before!), though I don't use this feature because I dont want to tax my machine any more.
oh, and level (aka Module) design is a sinch. I have had only a couple of problems playing the game. The first is that if you press the windows button (next to the alt button) it'll swich you out of the game and can crash slower machines. The other is random freezes for a moment I get when entering a new room. Granted these problems could be fixed with more ram or a faster CPU (having WindowsME certainly dosnt help the issues either). I haven't tried multiplayer yet, But from the reviews I've read it should be spectacular. The package includes:
3 disks (2 install 1 play)
a huge manual (at least 100-150 pages)
Quick key sheet
and a cloth map of the world (or at least parts of it). One word of wisdom I would give people who are looking to buy this game: Make sure you have a pretty good machine. Otherwise you'll be stuck in low settings or run the game poorly. This game diserves more. Dungeons and Dragons fans will love this game.
Rating:
Summary: Finally..someone did it
Review: I was a little leary at first, knowing the kinds of bugs that are usually in new games when they first hit the shelves but I was pleased to see that bugs are really not that bad. The game and its graphics are wonderful, the story line is great but the module builder is really what I looked forward to. It pretty much offers everything that is in the game, as far as graphics and templates, but more and more is becoming available thru the various fan sites. Bioware has been very good at answering questions and if they keep even half the promises made for more material for the tool set, well.....I see many more late nights coming.
Rating: 
Summary: Too many problems with the game
Review: Your saved game will be corrupted many times preventing the player from starting where the game was last saved. Is seems to me that Bioware has released this product without thorough testing! What good is this game if you receive corruption errors when loading your saved game? I have looked elsewhere on the web and have noticed this to be a common problem. I have also noticed that Bioware releases an abnormal number of updates. This usually indicates that the developer's are constantly fixing regression faults (Faults created when trying to fix their initial bugs). This product is a real let down. In addition, the AI is terrible. For example, when fighting the main battle, I didn't have to do a thing! The main enemy stood right over a continuous spike trap that slowly killed it. I just watched it die. The game was way too easy because of situations like this.
Rating:
Summary: COULD BE MUCH BETTER
Review: I eagerly awaited the newest edition to the D&D genre, but have been displeased overall with Neverwinter. For me, the one of the biggest reasons to play is individual character development along with team development - meaning the party system. Also, the graphics of the game are not as good as I had hoped. Infogrames should take lessons from Blizzard entertainment and Warcraft 3. Running around in OK 3D is not near as fun as awesome enhanced 2D (like Warcraft 3...). Since I am not a huge fan of internet gaming and prefer the single player campaign I can say that overall the game is not living up to my expectations - I know it was developed for multi-player, but the game just isn't delivering what I had hoped. Still, it is way better than Pool of Radiance (don't buy that one!). I am hoping that Icewind Dale 2 will deliver more of what I am looking for in an RPG.
Rating: 
Summary: Full of Bugs
Review: This is a nice game but I have not seen any game (aside from perhaps Pool of Radiance) as unstable as NWN. I have been playing NWN with my wife and regularly crashing or experiencing other strange problems - such as the images on the screen suddenly becoming garbled, the game crashing about once every hour or my bard becoming an "illegal character." Still, the game is so nice and the story well designed that I have been overlooking these issues. But today there is a new twist: all of a sudden several pieces of my inventory have become somehow locked where I can not move them, drop them, equip them or even just examine them. They are still there, taking up space and weight in my inventory screen, but they have become totally unusable. Unfortunately, these items happen to be my weapons and armor. So we figured that we take the Bioware recommended route and install the newly released game patch. Big mistake! Now my wife's computer crashes every time she tries to load the game and in addition to my inventory items being frozen, my henchman started to spontaneously attack me. Ok, so then I try to reload a previous game - and things get even worse. Now when I try to start the game I am placed in the middle of a completely black screen and cannot see anything at all except my character. ps: Oh yes - the vanilla bs answer is to "close out all other applications", etc., etc. Well, I have - I am running nothing on this darn box except my operating system. Furthermore, me and my wife have different sets of hardware and different operating systems (ME vs. 98) so I know that the problem is being caused by the game.
Rating:
Summary: Great RPG but something is missing
Review: Neverwinter Nights (NWN) is another creation by Bioware which is the same company that brought life back to the Dungeons and Dragons series, mainly through one of the all-time RPG series, Baldur's Gate. NWN is the first test for Bioware's new playing engine which promises to deliver Dungeons and Dragons with better graphics and smoother online play. The game begins with four options: One, you can play the included campaign by yourself; Two, you can join online and play the campaign with other gamers; Three; you can create an online server and host a game as the Dungeon Master (if you have a very fast connection and computer); Four, you can use the tool set which allows you to create any kind of campaign you can think of. My first warning about this game is that if you don't have a high-speed modem and a group of online friends to play with on a regular basis, the multiplayer experience in NWN will not be much fun. NWN is a revolutionary game in that it makes an honest attempt to simulate the pen and paper Dungeons & Dragons product by allowing someone to host the game as a Dungeon Master and control the adventure. The Dungeon Master can change the creatures the players are facing, create dialogue and alter other plot aspects to make the game more fun for online players. All pen and paper role-playing games rely on one player to control the game and this is probably the best attempt at having a Dungeon Master control a PC RPG game. Unfortunately, I haven't had much fun with it. The experiences one obtains from sitting at a table and watching a Dungeon Master articulate the adventure, roll the dice and act out a story are not present with a PC game. Most of the servers are password protected so the best way to enjoy NWN online is to already have a close group of friends that you can hook up with on a regular basis. The online experience even tries to simulate player vs. player scenarios and Bioware has already released an additional "Tournament of Champions" module that allows people to fight against each other. If your main intention is to player kill, you'll have more fun in an MMORPG. Also note that many servers only allow people to control server-based characters which means that you can only play characters stored on the server's hard drive and will have to join that same server to play the character again. ACTION FANS - 2 STARS - This is not a game for people that want action first. Some "RPGs" such as Diablo and Dungeon Siege are more hack and slash driven and draw in more action gamers than an RPG normally would. This game is not in the mold of Diablo so if you are expecting those types of fast-paced-cut-down-everything-in-sight-no-reading-required-dungeon-crawlers you probably won't enjoy NWN. STRATEGY FANS - 2 STARS - The campaign included has some puzzle solving but nothing that can't be figured out quickly. Probably one of the biggest appeals for strategy fans in previous Bioware games was taken out: the ability to micromanage your adventuring party. In past Bioware D&D games, you could pause the game and pick individual commands for other party members in battle which made the games more fun and added a strategic angle to the game but sadly this option has been taken out of NWN. While you can still pause and change the commands of your character, you can not do this with your henchmen anymore and even worse, the game only allows you to hire one henchman instead of the five members that tagged along in previous Bioware D&D games. ADVENTURE/RPG FANS - 5 STARS - This it the game that the pen and paper D&D crowd has been waiting for. Unfortunately, the only way to enjoy that experience is with a great group of online buddies and fast connection. For those that purchase NWN to enjoy the great single-player experience that brought in so many fans to games such as Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale, you may be disappointed. Bioware promised to pay as much attention to the singleplayer mode as it was to the multiplayer aspect but it looks like the singleplayer mode was neglected. Hopefully, Bioware will add some changes that the singleplayer fans are asking for. X FACTOR - NEW BIOWARE ENGINE - 3 STARS - While the new playing engine definitely improves the graphics and adds several user-friendly options like more control over the journal and maps, it seems like some of the previous perks of the old D&D engine were changed for the worse. One example would be the new camera angle which doesn't go below 45 degrees making it almost impossible for you to see ahead in a dungeon without drawing back the camera until your character is a little spot on your monitor. BUGS - 5 STARS - Very few bugs which Bioware is known for. While some have complained of bugs and crashes, I myself have only had one in-game freeze and I have played it for several days and too many hours to mention. There is also a very friendly updater in the game that allows you to easily patch it with any fixes that have been released. REPLAY VALUE - 5 STARS - While I haven't enjoyed the campaign included in the game as much as previous Bioware D&D stories I feel the redeeming factor is that an easy tool set has been included in the game that allows anyone to design a campaign of their own. Already, some small campaigns have been released at various fan websites. Comparing the editor to other games, it is very easy to use and Bioware has just released a great online tutorial for it. Considering the vast imagination in a fan community that plays D&D, I'm sure there will be several great mods released in the future that promise to bring hours of enjoyment.
Rating: 
Summary: ALMOST Perfect
Review: First off let me say I like this game alot. I have played I believe all of the bioware D&D games, Baldurs Gate, I,II,Throne,Planescape and Icewind Dale. So far my favorites have been Baldurs Gate 2 and Planescape. If you played any of those games and liked them you will love this game. In case you are wondering why this game only got 4 stars, I thought it was a step down from Baldurs Gate 2. There were no different quests for different classes. I really enjoyed the diferent replay value and the way so much of BG2 was designed around your individual classes. I realize one of the great things about NN is that you can make your own modules and build them how you would like too, but I really missed this built into the single player game. God knows they had plenty of time to do it. I think I have been hearing about this project for at least 3 years. If you ever liked D&D this is a must buy.
Rating:
Summary: REVOLUTIONARY RPG!!!
Review: If I could describe how many excellent things Neverwinter Nights possesed, I would have maxed out on the 1,000 word maximum!!! So, to keep it short, I am going to describe in a short manner why NWN is an excellent game. First off, any fan of D&D will be familiar with the rules of this game and how HP and attacks and ect. are affected in this game. The rules are based off of the tabletop D&D games. It gives the game a life of its own. Secondly, the graphics in this game are stunning. The game is created in a completely interactive, 3d environment, where you can go almost anywhere (and who knows how many more things you can explore in areas of the past when you level up), you can talk to ANYONE, and never does the same thing happen twice! I also think its excellent how you can be a theif and steal things and be a criminal, while fighting bad dudes. It gives you such realistic characters. Now you can feel like you are living the life of the dwarf, half orc, ect. (i will get into detail about character customization next). Characters are extremely customizable and you are able to get as close as to changing the type of beard your person may wear. You can choose to have a male or female, choose Human, dwarf, elf, half orc, ect., and as classes you can choose many, including fighter, magician, paladin, archer, ect. There are MANY items you can buy and pickup throughout the game. The armor can cover your face, shoulders, body, hands, legs, and feet. There are many different potions for all types of uses, including healing. Gems, stones, jewels, whatever you want to call them, there are lots of them out there to optimize your weapons and armor. The story is superb in NWN. The town of Neverwinter holds many mystical creatures within its training center within the core of the city. Unknown enemies attack the academy, slaying everything and everyone in its path, until the creatures are stolen. These creatures are very important to the city of Neverwinter, and you, being a highly and unusually tallented trainee at the academy are chosen to protcect the city of Neverwinter, get back the creatures at all costs, and find out who has done this attack. After that, twists and turns in the story foreshadow the very incredible and unexpecting ending. The level editor is also convenient, alowing you to make complex levels and edit them without having any knowledge in programming, or even how levels are supposed to work. If you know how to basically work Windows, can type in Word, Copy and Paste things from Paint to a Microsoft Front Page document, then you can definetely make a work of art without struggling to figure anything out. Everything is simple and that is how I like it! To close, this game is the one of my favorite RPGs ever, and it kicks all other games' butts from this year or last year. Good bye Mr. Tedium in Diablo 2! Cya Mrs. Simplicity from Dungeon Siege! Here comes King Awesome from NEVERWINTER NIGHTS!!!
Rating:
Summary: Eons Ahead of Computer RPGs
Review: A major advance in how we look at and enjoy computer based RPGs. It is the closest thing to tabletop gaming as I have found on the computer. You can play online with as many as 63 other people each controlling an independant character in the same world...and something that one person does directly effects everyone else in the game.
Some problems I have with it...Too damn linear. I understand it is a quest based game, and not a Diablo Hack and slash. But there is a lot of hacking, and just as much slashing, and little if any political intrigue or establishing a Name for your character, at least not in single player. I would like to be able to buy my warrior a castle and attract followers, set my assassin up as head of the guild, and even found a underground cult with my priest of death. No go in this game. Too much treasure hiding in barrels too. The monsters should be using the full plate +2 and the Long Sword +3, not leaving it in a barrel somewhere. But overall, the best game...EVER!
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