Neverwinter Nights

"It sucked, then I started playing it right, and now I love it."

This is a great game altogether, so I will just jump straight into the review area. I would like to say that in my view, the true point of a game is to make you feel like you are exploring another world, truly killing a clan, and really buying that double-axe. not just to see another person doing this tasks.

Graphics 8/10
The graphics in this game were pretty good, but they can also be very... bad at some places. When I was in the graveyard, I did not get that eerie feel that I got in Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. The graphics looked good... but they had no feeling, no meaning behind them in most of the places. I was not feeling like I was inside of a temple, like I was exploring the depths of a catacomb, or like I was truly facing a zombie. I felt like I was sitting in front of my computer staring at a screen, thinking that I need to put my contacts in.

Music 3/10
The music was not done well in this game. It was too random, again, with no feeling behind it. There was no music that really sent a chill down your spine, no music that made you freak out and jump across the room in fear. The battle music can make you jump if an enemy jumps out from nowhere, but all games can easily do that. Most of the areas didn't even have background music! In the places that did have background music, it was not submersive enough to really make you feel like you were there.0

Sound 10/10
Sound effects in this game were perfect! Screeching of doors, footsteps, voice acting, all perfect. Even the distant screams were really exceptional. The sound effects are utterly flawless, and can submerge you into the game. After all, where the hell is that scream coming from, anyway?

Controls 7/10
The controls in this game are just like most other RPGs. Three different camera modes are nice, and you can move with your mouse or the W, A, S, and D keys, or, as I prefer, both. You can easily move about, find your way around things, and talk to people. However, sometimes the transition between 2 areas can be very bad (EG you will face the way you came from instead of facing foreward). The camera modes can also not function correctly or well at certain corridors and small areas.

FUN FACTOR 10/10
As my title said, at first I hated this game. The plot wasn't very deep, it was too hard to figure things out, so I gave up. Then I tried again after I got my computer and talked to people! The plot now has me submerged into what will happen in future events, if that guy's brother still lives, and there are still hundreds and hundreds of sidequests waiting to be explored!

Online 3/10
I give this a low score in online simply because it seems that online mode was rushed and remains pointless. However, this does not matter because Neverwinter Nights was made to be played solo, which is so addictive my dad had to drag me off of my computer last night, even though I was sick and about to fall asleep. If you do want multiplayer, it works best if you are on the phone, or if you have voicechat. Network play is PERFECT, so perfect that I got hooked over network play.

Replay 6/10
The replay isn't too good on this game because you already know what will happen, where to go, and you basically have a walkthrough in your mind. This category did not get a (very) low score because no matter how many times you play this through, you are probably going to find more and more sidequests to explore/

OVERALL 9/10
This is a fun game to play, especially if you do not have internet at home. You don't need a game guide to avoid apathy, you don't need somebody to help tell you what to do. I first discovered this game at my friend's house, we played over the network, and I was instantly hooked.

True, if you average out the scores, you probably don't get 9/10. But that stuff doesn't matter, the amount of fun you have playing the game is what really matters.

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