Review NWN2 review at Gamezilla - Fans Only

[Vault Dweller]

Tags: Neverwinter Nights 2; Obsidian Entertainment

<a href=http://www.gamezilla.com>Gamezilla</a> has produced a massive 10-page long <a href=http://www.gamezilla.com/review.aspx?review=9363>NWN2 review</a>, going through every aspect of the game and answering every question you may possibly have.
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<blockquote>Don’t make a mistake here. This game isn’t what I’d call great. With a clumsy interface and some pretty serious performance issues, I think that NWN2 could’ve used a lot more polish. However, it is built perfectly for the hardcore DnD fan. It delivers a more accurate DnD experience than many other games I’ve seen, and if you’re into that, you’ll definitely find this game worth it.</blockquote>I haven't played NWN2, so I have absolutely no idea whether this opinion is accurate or not.
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Spotted at: <A HREF="http://www.rpgwatch.com">RPG Watch</A>

 

[Faustus]

Where's the other 9 and half pages?

I'm surprised I don't read many impressions about the awesome "loot finder" button, auto-heal, and insta-rez features.

 

[Vault Dweller]

Where's the other 9 and half pages?

Ok, I lied. There are 4 shiity generic-as-fuck paragraphs.

 

[aweigh]

Loot finder button???????/ wjere iz that?

 

[The_Nameless_Prick]

Geez, you people really need to catch on to sarcasm. This is the 3rd time today I saw VD's dry sarcasm go over someones head. You people are very intelligent and witty, BTW.

 

[Faustus]

The 'Z' button highlights all possible things of interest (i.e. things that need to be looted) in a given location. Kind of takes all exploration out of the equation but I cringe at having to explore when moving around is a constant pain in the ass. This is mostly due to the lack of any camera viewpoint intelligence and the poor framerates I'm getting.

 

[Faustus]

Geez, you people really need to catch on to sarcasm. This is the 3rd time today I saw VD's dry sarcasm go over someones head. You people are very intelligent and witty, BTW.

Nah, I thought he was being sarcastic. I just wanted to be sarcastic too. :wink:

 

[suibhne]

The "Z" button is great, considering the game's artistic design. Wander through Neverwinter in the original NWN and you'll find every other barrel full of a goody; here, the barrels/crates/etc. and even the houses are just scenery, and "Z" is your best shot at identifying the parts of the landscape open to interaction. When the alternative is mousing over every damn thing on the screen, I'll take a hotkey like this any day.

 

[Oarfish]

Kind of takes all exploration out of the equation but I cringe at having to explore when moving around is a constant pain in the ass.

And the infintiy engine had exactly the same feature.. Be nicer if it was tied to the parties search skill, but it still beats the 'gameplay' of having to play hunt the hotspot fallout style.

 

[Admiral Rimjob POOBUM]

The "Z" button is great, considering the game's artistic design. Wander through Neverwinter in the original NWN and you'll find every other barrel full of a goody; here, the barrels/crates/etc. and even the houses are just scenery, and "Z" is your best shot at identifying the parts of the landscape open to interaction. When the alternative is mousing over every damn thing on the screen, I'll take a hotkey like this any day.

Much like Tab in the original?

 

[suibhne]

Yep, exactly. Nothing too awful, and certainly nothing unique to NWN2. And because the overall design (in terms of barrel-smashing) isn't nearly as stupid as NWN's OC, this is actually more useful.

 

[Volourn]

No, no it isn't. Moron.

 

[kris]

Kind of takes all exploration out of the equation but I cringe at having to explore when moving around is a constant pain in the ass.

Finding the correct barrel to click is hardly exploration. If you want to complain abot exploration, complain about the small maps and lack of maps outside the linear story/game.

 

[Faustus]

Kind of takes all exploration out of the equation but I cringe at having to explore when moving around is a constant pain in the ass.

Finding the correct barrel to click is hardly exploration. If you want to complain abot exploration, complain about the small maps and lack of maps outside the linear story/game.

I'll complain about those too, but I think this is complain-worthy as well. Who said I wanted to hunt around with my mouse? I think it is good that since the backgrounds are just there to be pretty and there are very few things that you can actually interact with that there is a button to point out the things you actually can interact with. But why does it have to have limited interaction? The locations are reduced to monster killing and loot gathering. Is that interesting to you? Hack-n-slashers are all about those. Where are all the other challenges associated with exploring your evironment? Where is the discovery? Where is the opportunity to use your character's skills besides spotting a generic trap or picking a generic lock? I don't want to go around clicking on random barrels for gold pieces (why are there gold pieces in barrels anyway?) but it would be nice to have the environments that I'm going through actually be useful in the game. Most of it is just fluff and everything of interest is handed to you on a silver platter because it just easier that way. So yes, I think this state of affairs in rpgs is complain-worthy. I'm not saying I want to add tedium, I'm saying I want to add discovery, exploration and interesting interactive environments. Surely there are ways to improve this.

You enter a magnificent bedchamber. A plethora of finely crafted furniture fills the room. Exotic tapestries hang on the walls. Shelves overflow with dusty tomes and other interesting items. There is a large footlocker at the base of a huge four-poster bed with a thick feather mattress and satin linens. A beautiful ornate rug covers a loose flagstone floor and a subtle breeze wafts from behind the thick drapery near a high-arched window. Candelabra fill the room casting flickering shadows on everything within. An empty fireplace with a massive hearth stares vacantly from the corner. What mysteries does this place hold? What secrets await our discovery? Press 'Z'. Yippee, the footlocker has loot!

 

[suibhne]

I see that, Faustus. It is disappointing your Spot/Listen skills don't offer any interaction with the environment other than traps. I don't expect the game to let me loot every bureau and chest (only to tell me "You find naught but fine clothing" - or, even worse, offer me some meaninglessly small trinket almost every time), but it would be awfully nice to be able to search those sumptuous bedchambers for spare loot - a gold ring fallen behind the bed, maybe, or a false drawer secreting a family heirloom. This is especially frustrating because the artists went to so much trouble to convincingly portray such luxurious settings.

So sure, I wish it were done better. But I'll still take this over mouse-hunting any day.