"Neverwinter Nights 2 Delivers"

Sequels always seem to have the problem living up to their predecessor. This one however, not only lives up to its predecessor, but passes it. If you loved the original, then you'll love this one. If you hated the original, but liked RPGs like Baldur's Gate or KOTOR, than you'll love this game. If you hate Console RPGs... you might want to look at a different game. It's also safe to say, that this game is not Oblivion. The two games are on opposite ends of the RPG spectrum. Nevertheless, all together the game is quite good. It has a feel of Baldur's Gate 2, yet manages to keep up with the pace of today's games.

Graphics 8/10: It is a step up from the original and maybe a bit better done than other games like KOTOR. It's not the stunning visual masterpiece of Oblivion, but it's a lot easier on your computer too. It's a good looking game that's easy to get into. I might've given this a better score, but there's many many complaints about the game running laggy for people. But even if you run the game on low settings, it still looks very good. You won't feel like you're missing out on anything.

Sound 5/10: The same exact sounds and music from the original. Tsk tsk... while the sounds are still good and the music still keeps you in the mood, I'm just docking points for lack of originality.

Controls 1/10: Horrible. The camera is choppy and unresponsive. Outdoors it's fine, but indoors you find yourself in some tight spots sometimes. Even with all the different options and "fixes" you'll find on the boards, it still has a bad feeling to it. There's also no way, that I've found, to change the keys. 90% of you won't have a problem with this, but my fellow left-handed people know what a pain it can be to try using a mouse and the w-a-s-d to move. You can control party members, but that's a pain. You can customize their AI, but that's a pain too. For the most part, they're pretty good. Mages don't go burning off spells. But they will run blindly into danger at times. Plus there's no control to have the party spread out, or stay put, they all just bunch up all the time. Not the greatest tactical position.

Gameplay 10/10: Well, if you like D&D games you'll like the gameplay. It isn't as hack&slash as the original. While combat is still the main focus of the game, there's a larger focus on using skills like Bluff and Diplomacy to get out of situations. You'll also find a lot more options that end up changing your alignment towards good or evil, chaotic or lawful. You have your main character, plus 3 other people you can place in your party. These party members will interact with each other, and you can interact with them, gaining and losing influence depending on your actions. The game is very very similar to KOTOR and KOTOR 2. Just picture it with dwarves instead of Jedi. Still, I find the gameplay stays true to the original, while making many welcome additions for a better game.

Story 7/10: It's not as epic as Baldur's Gate or even as compelling as KOTOR. But it's less confusing than KOTOR and a lot deeper than the original NWN. A big step up from the original NWN's main quest which involved 3 acts of going to the 4 different areas to grab 4 different items with optional, shallow, story thrown in there. I'm not finished with the game yet, but so far it's been good enough to keep me playing, and there's enough dialogue options and twists and turns to make it worth going through again with a new character.

Replay? There's millions of different race, class, skill and feat combos to try. Put that in there with the different storyline options, and there's plenty of reason to replay this game.

Bug Rating *** (3 stars): There's been a few early bugs in this game. Nothing a few patches shouldn't fix. Amongst the big ones are issues with SecurRom 7 and people without great DVD drives, and the Direct2Drive version has some issues when it comes to patching. Other minor bugs here in there. But like any game, your mileage may vary.

I hesitated between a 7 and an 8. To me, a 7 is a good, quality game and an 8 is something you should go out and buy right away. To me, it might be worth waiting for the post-holiday price drop. Just to see what expansions are due out, see what the fan community has done in terms of mods, and see if any good online servers start up. This game has 8 potential, but for now I can only give it a 7.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 11/07/06