Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir

"This storm is not that perfect"

Storm of Zehir is the second expansion to Neverwinter Nights 2. With it comes two extra races: Yuan Ti pureblood and Grey Orc. The Swashbuckler is an added base class and the Hellfire Warlock and Doomguide are the new prestige classes, but I haven't experimented with these so I will concentrate on the core mechanics and big picture issues of the game. Whether or not progress was made with this expansion probably depends on the personal preferences of the players. If you read my tagline I suppose you have a gist of what my opinion is. This installment isn't terrible, but compared to Mask of the Betrayer it is lacking in depth.

A nifty improvement is that you can now have up to six members in your immediate adventuring party - four of them (including yourself) are entirely customizable. The remaining two slots can be filled by "cohorts" who are pre-designed characters scattered throughout the game, but you can level them up along any path you see fit. While the freedom of choice in party creation is quite a delight, it comes with the cost of some story depth. There is no meaningful interaction, no one memorable, no one to form any kind of attachment to. Even the cohort characters are essentially empty husks, and the only futile attempt they make at convincing you otherwise is to occasionally make a single, forgettable, uninspired, and barely audible comment in some of the game's environments.

World navigation is the next major change. Instead of the usual instant travel, when you exit an area you enter the Overland Map where you must physically run your way to the many locations residing on it. There will also be random special encounters are more frequent enemy traveling band sightings which you can choose to engage or evade, but they will most likely catch up to you if you flee. However, if your party leader's Hide and Move Silently skills are high enough they can help to avoid such inconveniences if you're not looking for a fight. Speaking of party leader, you can switch it to any character while on the map. If your fighter is not very fleet of foot, select your rogue to lead for some more incognito traveling. Other skills such as Survival will aid you in moving faster.

The map is littered with areas of interest, and almost all of them are lackluster. Uninspired cookie cutter dungeons and caves are sprawled throughout, and the towns (with the exception of the important ones like Neverwinter, Port Llast, and Samargol) are unexplorable. You can only enter their respective Waukeen Temples, Inns, and Trade Posts. Each minor town has a quest associated with it, but it almost always leads you to a monotonous copy and pasted area that you've seen before. Nevertheless, there is a certain albeit tiny thrill in discovering a new place which you can report to Volo (Sorry, forgot to mention Volo was a main character in this) for an exploration related feat if you find enough locations. Unfortunately, navigating the Overland Map can become quite tiresome if you have to traverse one edge of the map to the other. You'll eventually be able to make use of a portal which will allow you to instantly go to any city you have established a trading post in, but this portal is only accessible in one location which is your Merchant HQ at Crossroad Keep.

Speaking of these trading posts I've referred to, you'll eventually become part of a merchant company in addition to being an adventurer. With a cost, any town you visit on the Sword Coast will have the option of establishing a trade post there for you to rest for free and to improve the battered economy of the region. It's much like the Crossroad Keep management of the original NWN2 campaign since you can spend resources to upgrade the armament of the Greycloak road patrols, your Merchant HQ portal, etc. Seeing a network of trade caravans inching their way along the map brings a good amount of satisfaction in witnessing your economic prowess bloom. They can be waylaid by enemies on the map though, so be prepared to upgrade or repair them.

The visuals have remained the same. Optimization has been improved, but the engine has not aged gracefully. Textures are bland, polygons are lacking, shadows are very strange on the Overland Map; the graphics make this game seem withered for its young age.

The game's musical score has an added whimsical feel to it and is still of commendable status. However, I cannot comprehend why sounds from the first Neverwinter Nights are still around without any kind of noticeable makeover. Boot them out and make room for the future.

The story in this expansion feels less dimensional than its predecessor. It is quite simplistic and at times has awkward pacing which is evident in some of the rather sudden plot developments. I had no idea that the ending boss was actually the ending boss and expected bigger things to span out from that battle, but to my dismay it actually marked the conclusion of the rather disappointing story. When all is said and done your player character in Storm of Zehir feels more like a footnote without having done many of the epic things that heroes put on their resumes. Well, I guess you saved the region from a Yuan Ti plot (Sorry, forgot to mention the story centers around the Yuan Ti), but it could have been presented with more impact. A lot more impact. And as is Obsidian's trademark, a good bundle of bugs have nestled in with the packaging as well. Even since KOTOR2, they still have failed to hire better programmers. While I appreciate Obsidian's efforts I sincerely hope that Bioware will take the franchise back someday in a refreshingly high quality direction.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 12/02/08

Game Release: Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir (US, 11/18/08)