Neverwinter Nights 2 is the game that got me to buy my new computer. NWNW2 is not a particularly pretty, but the engine is very demanding. Even on the new rig, it still could not run with full settings.
I’ve been playing semi-regularly since building my computer back in February.
As an RPG, it has a decent and intriguing plot. The party is a bit stereotypical, but each has a unique twist to them. A classic drunkard dwarf who aspires to learn the ways of the Monk, but cannot understand it beyond the purely physical ability to fight. A thief who is also a demon and cannot avoid attention. The plot is slow to reveal, and I could not spoil much even if I wanted to. There is probably a twist coming; I hope it is interesting.
Despite bringing my system to its knees, the game is not graphically impressive. The viewing distance and vegetation are alright, but the character models simply look like something from “last generation”, even when they were new. Since the game has a powerful editor, much of the terrain is piecemeal. Still, it has that authentic DnD charm.
The DnD charm is Neverwinter Nights 2′s greatest strength. It is a legitimate DnD adventure. Even when nothing is happening, you are still surrounded by inns, shopkeeps, dungeons, treasure, and monsters; all familiar DnD creations.
You can also play the campaign co-op over the internet/network. This is currently how I am playing and definitely enjoy it. Or load custom created content made by fans. Entire campaigns of new DnD stories, or abstract new adventures using custom skins representing the crew of the Serenity. NWN2 is as much about the multiplayer as the single player engine.
Overall, I am enjoying it quite a bit so far, but it is not for everyone. It is a traditional western computer RPG, with large amounts of customization, multiplayer, and a long built in campaign. Not the prettiest, or have any particular “wow” factor (yet), but it is a strong base package.
detnap are discussing. 
Dave Augustine, and 
hintzilla are discussing. 
kirn are discussing. 
detnap 5:42 pm on October 14, 2008 Permalink |
I will say that the game is pretty good, but falls short of my hope that it would be able to tell the story in a more condensed version. I kinda liked the cartoon, but felt that it had too much filler (something I first witnessed in Dragonball Z). I thought that if a game could convey the general plot of the cartoon, I would look to that as a suitable replacement. Alas, it was not to be.
The gameplay’s pretty simple, but I can handle simple. The fighting, though simple, I thought let me beat the computer with what I would term “skill” compared to every other fighting game, where I would beat the computer with “hitting every button as many times as I can and using continues when I lose” strategy. It was simple enough and slow enough that I could do blocks and parries and counterattacks.
I would agree that the game isn’t really worthwhile if you don’t follow the cartoon, but mostly because there are a lot of other sandbox games out there that provide things this is missing (like a story)
Also, you can borrow my copy if you would like to try out a different disk.
phokal 1:18 pm on October 17, 2008 Permalink |
You’ll have to bring the disk by at some point
I’d definitely be up for some testing.