Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir

"Great tools and a mediocre module"

As with all Neverwinter games, this title really warrants two separate reviews. First I'll talk about the toolset additions and improvements which I would give a 7, then we'll get into the campaign itself which gets at very most, a 5.

The toolset now includes some new classes, feats, an overland map, teamwork feats, and a trading system. The new classes, a standard for all expansions, are lackluster compared to previous NWN and NWN2 expansions. We have the Doomguide and Hellfire Warlock for the prestige classes, and the new Swashbuckler base class. The Doomguide is perhaps the only fully functional class of the three, though the addition of the Hellfire Warlock provides a much needed, and rather powerful, prestige path for dedicated warlocks.

The Classes
The only problem with the Doomguide is that it really belonged in the previous expansion, being (at best) a rough fit with the themes in SoZ. Aside from that it is a welcome addition for divine casters and high level paladins, without being overpowered. The Hellfire Warlock on the other hand is an even more over-specialized nuker than the warlock class, but will likely be fairly popular choice among warlock enthusiasts regardless. The swashbuckler, while being nicely in theme, is a generally worthless class to put any poor soul into, though that is really the fault of TSR, and Bioware can hardly be blamed for including a class that had been so highly requested.

New Feats and Teamwork
In addition to the usual smattering of "even better than before" feats, the expansion introduced teamwork feats, that provide small but meaningful new abilities to parties that share certain synergistic traits. These do not take up normal feat slots, but instead have modestly difficult prerequisites that the entire party must meet, and use their own set of slots. The differences are nice, and the prerequisites only really require that you plan your party for the feats that you want, but they are not so powerful that they change the game, and the bulk of them work with the new overland map system rather than combat.

The new feats bring in a couple of the heritage series feats, fey and fiendish, which many players will likely have fun with. The rest of the feats fill out existing niches (new turning based feats for clerics) and offer new build options (fighters can have nigh-unstoppable will saves for a handful of feats). If nothing else, the new feats brought in prevent some of the "feat fatigue" some characters tend to experience at higher levels, just by virtue of offering more options.

Party Roster and Conversation
The ability to create and control a full party rather than a single main character is a long-overdue addition to the toolset, but one whose application should be curtailed to specific uses and applications rather than thrown into every single module. While it puts the technical gameplay more fully in the hands of the player, it also removes the need and ability to create a cast of personalities that have their own motivations and ideas. In particular it blunts the ramifications of acting out of alignment, given that with a diverse party any number of choices becomes valid, even though said party should by all rights implode. Personally I also found that its use removes the sense of playing an RPG rather than a tactical game, though this will be different from player to player.

The party conversation system is fairly good, though the execution encourages the designer to do fewer cutscenes and put less focus on the characters involved rather than the tactical choices. Unfortunately it appears that if one wishes to use the party conversation tools, the ability to weave the conversation into a cutscene is limited. I'm sure a number of enterprising fan developers will work around this, but they really should not need to.

Overland Map
The new overland map adds a whole new layer to the gameplay of Neverwinter Nights, and allows a much greater sense of space and distance to be achieved in a module or campaign that was possible before. The ability to hide special encounters and secrets in the world is much more significant, and far more enjoyable as a player, being reminiscent of the Fallout/Fallout 2 experience. The downside is that it allows a gm to get lazy with the world, setting, cities, and encounters. Basically allowing everything to be reduced down to a few lines of text, and maybe a couple rooms rather than a full living, breathing city. The system also strongly rewards having a specific kind of character in your party (a rogue/ranger with able learner dominates the overland map), given that it's next to impossible to go anywhere without stealth and awareness.

Trade
The trading system is a wonderful and, after the overland map, the second most important addition to the NWN2 system. It is not without its flaws however. Most surprisingly, the system came out, and as of the writing of this review, retains a significant UI bug that can cause a great deal of frustration to a player caught unaware (short version: do not transport rare resources back home, carry them yourself unless you have put in a fix). Bugs aside, the trading system as it stands is pretty bare bones, and more interesting refinements will still need to be developed by the user-base. It's a good tool to have, but really needs a good designer to put it to any interesting use.

The Campaign
I would immediately point out that my rating of the campaign itself may be generous, there's really nothing special or compelling about it, and it feels like something between a demo of the new features and a really solid user-created module. The voice acting has actually gotten significantly worse from the original campaign, some of the quotes sound so out of context you can see the script (and the confused VA's face) in your mind so clearly you'd thing they were there with you.

The developers also fell victim to every shortfall and trap of laziness they'd written into the new tools. Thanks to the party system they basically dropped anything but the most vague suggestion of character development. The overland map reduced the various cities to a pair of recycled rooms (the same inn and temple layout are the only things you can see in almost any city that didn't exist in the original campaign). There were few if any cutscenes, removing the sense of personal involvement. The trade system was implemented with little real thought, such that the fastest way to make money in the game quickly becomes to just sleep.

Conclusion
Overall the new features are welcome but unpolished, and the campaign feels even more half-hearted than usual. I expect, as usual, we will see more quality development from the fanbase than from the creators. This most recent expansion leads me to believe that the developers have concluded that the fans will do everything for them, so they need not bother doing it well. I would recommend this game to anyone who is looking for an RPG, simply because the fan submissions always make it worthwhile. Obviously, if you're a serious fan of the NWN franchise, then this is a must have, for future compatibility if nothing else.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 01/12/09

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