First NWN2 review - 81% (without the toolset)
First NWN2 review - 81% (without the toolset)
Review - posted by Vault Dweller on Tue 31 October 2006, 16:15:20
Tags: Neverwinter Nights 2; Obsidian EntertainmentPC Format UK mag features the first Neverwinter Nights 2 review. Metadigital was kind enough to post the review on the Obsidian forums 10 days ago, but since nobody told me...
The tricky part is that Neverwinter Nights 2 isn't a game with a toolkit, it's a toolkit that happens to come with a game. As with its predecessor, you can sit down and make your own epic multiplayer RPGs — dialogues, characters, levels — and in a few months' time, anything in the box will already have been forgotten...Sounds like a great game.
Compared to the original NwN's campaign, NwN2's single-player mode is bliss. It has character. It has satisfying quests. It's more focused on being a game, whereas the first all too often felt like the world's most expensive sample construction kit project. The KOTOR feel is undeniable, from the way that characters in your party affect the encounters you have, to the style of the cut-scenes — but this time around, rather than a couple of static characters, you have the whole D&D ruleset to play with. You can be good or evil; talk your way out of trouble or rush in, swords flailing.
That said, there are some major annoyances. NwN2's construction kit origins make many of the areas feel very samey, as does its tendency to extend quests far beyond their welcome. With your ability to Rest almost anywhere, and a full-team instead of NwN's solitary Henchman, there are a few surprises during your missions, and little challenge — provided you can beat the baddies in the first room, chances are it's only the boss you'll need to watch out for. In short, when adventuring, NwN2 is great fun — in dungeon crawl mode, it's fairly weak. You might even say that some of those dungeons 'drag on', though of course we're much too polite.
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If all you're interested in is the singleplayer campaign, we're talking around 81%.Doesn't sound very impressive, but let's wait for more reviews.
The tricky part is that Neverwinter Nights 2 isn't a game with a toolkit, it's a toolkit that happens to come with a game. As with its predecessor, you can sit down and make your own epic multiplayer RPGs — dialogues, characters, levels — and in a few months' time, anything in the box will already have been forgotten...
Compared to the original NwN's campaign, NwN2's single-player mode is bliss. It has character. It has satisfying quests. It's more focused on being a game, whereas the first all too often felt like the world's most expensive sample construction kit project. The KOTOR feel is undeniable, from the way that characters in your party affect the encounters you have, to the style of the cut-scenes — but this time around, rather than a couple of static characters, you have the whole D&D ruleset to play with. You can be good or evil; talk your way out of trouble or rush in, swords flailing.
That said, there are some major annoyances. NwN2's construction kit origins make many of the areas feel very samey, as does its tendency to extend quests far beyond their welcome. With your ability to Rest almost anywhere, and a full-team instead of NwN's solitary Henchman, there are a few surprises during your missions, and little challenge — provided you can beat the baddies in the first room, chances are it's only the boss you'll need to watch out for. In short, when adventuring, NwN2 is great fun — in dungeon crawl mode, it's fairly weak. You might even say that some of those dungeons 'drag on', though of course we're much too polite.
...
If all you're interested in is the singleplayer campaign, we're talking around 81%.
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