Neverwinter Nights

"The Game That Will Keep You Playing"

Unless you're a troll that's lived in some cave for 5 years, then you've probably heard of Neverwinter Nights. The 3D D&D. The game to end all games. But does it truly live up to it's hype? Here's an unbiased review on the game.

Story - 9/10
The plot of the original game is no Lord of the Rings, but it is nice enough to keep you interested in the game. You start out in an Academy in the city of Neverwinter. The city is quarantined off from the world because a deadly plague, the Wailing Death, is killing millions off. The story isn't much, but since the single-player game isn't the main aspect of the game, it doesn't matter that much.

Graphics/Sound - 9/10
The graphics in this game are VERY nice. It's amazing how you can have 20 detailed players/NPCs/monsters on-screen at once without the game lagging much, or even at all. What's even more amazing is that this game has low system requirements. Even a crappy GeForce 2 MX 400 can play this game with ease. A GeForce 3 Ti 200 can play the game wonderfully with most settings turned up all the way, and those are barely over $100. As for sound and music, I can only say the quality is great, and it fits the mood. The sound effects are good, too.

Gameplay/Replayability - 10/10
I want to give this a 5,000. But I can't. The normal gameplay is very fun, and the single-player game will last you ages. Moving is usually done point-and-click, and values from attacks, traps, attempts at acts such as pickpocketing, and more are all done D&D-style, with a die roll. This is done behind-the-scenes, but you can look at what happened at a bar at the bottom of the screen if you want.

This game also lets you create dungeons and towns and stuff with extreme ease using it's Aurora Toolset. Also, it has scripting capabilities, which allows for even greater customability. You may say, ''But Morrowind can do all that, too!'' But that leads to the point where Neverwinter Nights truly shines.

This game has one of the best-designed multiplayer systems ever. A Neverwinter Nights game creator can put his world on the net, where people can directly connect and play it via in-game menu. Worlds, or ''modules'', can link to each-other, and players can even use their players from their single-player game in multiplayer games, given that the Creator of the module allows. One nice bit is also the addition of the DM, a player that is usually the Creator, but can be someone chosen by the creator. A DM, or Dungeon Master, plays normally, but he is invisible to the other players. He can edit the game as he sees fit, inserting monsters and changing difficulty levels of things, or he could go possess an NPC and control it's actions and dialog. He has the power to do anything he wants to make the game more interesting for everyone.

Final Word
I gave this game a 9. It deserves more. But a 10 signifies a perfect game, which few games deserve. This game has it's share of bugs, though most are fixed by the new patch, and can can seem hard at times. But it is a great game, and lives up to it's hype.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 06/23/02, Updated 06/23/02