Neverwinter Nights 2

"An addicting game that will leave you desperate for an expansion"

Neverwinter Nights 2 is definitely worth the name. The game is as true to pencil-and-paper DnD as it can be and still make sense, yet is simple enough that people who care little for the details can get right to playing. The game has downsides, yes, but the successes make up for them and then some.

Story: (8/10)

The story was very intriguing and will keep your interest, but was a little short for my taste. There were parts of the story, such a trial, that forced me to return to a previous save, just to play it over, and the parts that were tedious were few and far between. The best part, however, is the inter-party dialogue, which often had me gasping for air because of the laughter. There were two downsides, one, mentioned before, was that the story was too short, even with all of the side quests. However, despite this, there were parts of the game that seemed to drag on. The first problem can be fixed with an expansion, and the second is over before it becomes too annoying.

Graphics: (10/10)

A beautiful game. A warning, however, that unless your computer is of cutting edge quality, you will not be able to max out this game. My computer was able to run barely over the minimum, and my system is nothing to laugh at. However, even on low settings, the game is dazzling, with characters, landscapes, and even spell effects. Definitely never got tired to look at.

User Interface: (6/10)

The controls are a little jerky and very confusing at first, but you do get used to them as time goes on. To get the best effect, mess with the camera options until you find one to your liking. There are two problems in the game that brought the score down so low. One was that it took me nearly to the end of chapter 1 to discover that if you hold right click over something, options appeared. I was frustrated constantly with being unable to talk to my companions or bash open a chest. Most games require a mere click, but once the holding down is discovered, there is no problem. The second difficulty was the camera angle, which seems to fight you throughout the entire game, desperately trying to keep you from seeing what you need to. Once you get used to moving it around and fighting it, you get into the habit, so it becomes less noticeable. Otherwise, the interface is quite easy to use.

Difficulty: (8/10)

The game is easy enough to keep you from getting frustrated, but hard enough to keep you from getting bored. Rarely could I leave my character alone, but that was not really a problem. What makes this an eight are a few battles that seem to be, quite simply, impossible. This is most likely because I am a relatively simple player. Simple in that I hate casters and generally just send melee fighters into the fray and hope for the best. About three battles throughout the course of the game frustrated me in that even with some cheats (used after I failed about 10 times the honest way) were difficult. Now, I understand a boss battle, but when an enemy regenerates faster than you can damage it and the end result is a perfectly healthy enemy and a dead party, that is frustrating. However, there are only 2-3 of those battles, the rest are just right.

Music and Sound: (9/10)

Not much I can say here. The sounds were excellent and the music was fitting and moving. The voices are perfect for the characters, and added to the game so greatly. The only reason this is not a 10 is that I would have liked more original music, rather than the soundtracks from Neverwinter Nights 1 copied and pasted over. This was not displeasing, but variety is always good.

Overall Score: (8/10)

I expect that this game, once fully complemented with some mods and expansions, will be excellent and take its place as one of the better rpgs of our day. For now, however, it will have to settle with being a great rpg that already has me on my third character. Good show, Obsidian, what else do you have in store for us?

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 12/13/06