Game News NWN picks up another Best of 2002 award

[Saint_Proverbius]

Tags: Neverwinter Nights

<a href="http://www.just-rpg.com/">Just RPG</a> has posted their <a href="http://www.just-rpg.com/default.asp?pid=240">Best CRPG of 2002</a> awards. The winner is <A href="http://nwn.bioware.com">Neverwinter Nights</a>, and here's why:
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<blockquote><b>Winner - <i>Neverwinter Nights</i></b>
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Nicholas Bale: <u>Black Isle's first attempt at 3D forgotten realms game</u>. It has a feeling of linearity at some points, but rocks nonetheless.?
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Ray Ivey: Of course it didn't live up the hype. Give it a break, the only game that actually exceeded its hype in 2002 was Metroid Prime. However, Neverwinter Nights is a beautiful, if flawed, game. Many players found the henchman system irritating, but the <u>freedom of the well-implemented 3rd Edition rules easily made up for this problem</u>. Add to that the three other elements of the game: The Aurora Toolset for creating custom adventures, the revolutionary Dungeon Master client, and the multiplayer option, and you've got a truly epic package.?
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Eric Arevalo: Neverwinter Nights is the best RPG I have ever played whether on PC or console. This game takes over your life with masterful music by Jeremy Soule, <u>enchanting story</u> and stunning art by the talented team at BiowWare. <u>The enthralling and immersive singleplayer campaign</u> as well as the use of the included Aurora toolset for fans to make their own adventures makes <u>Neverwinter Nights the best RPG released in 2002 or any other year</u>. BiowWare is to be complimented for giving me the most memorable RPG experience of my life!?</blockquote>
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<A href="http://www.blackisle.com">Black Isle</a> made <a href="http://nwn.bioware.com">Neverwinter Nights</a>? News to me!
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Spotted at <A href="http://rpgvault.ign.com">RPG Vault</a>

 

[Jarinor]

This makes me sad. I wonder how many of them are closet Bioware fanboys.

 

[Flink]

Hehehe, one of the main reasons that I come here (Apart from the up to date CRPG news of course ) is to read Saint's little comments after posting news about NWN or games like it... Heartwarming

 

[Vault Dweller]

It is actually very, very, very sad. People review, praise, give awards to games they hardly even played themselves. NWN by Black Isle???? What kinda moron think that? Icewind Dale 2 has a strong multiplayer? Harbinger idiotic review? And since NWN was mentioned, it makes me sad when I think of the time, money, and resourses that were wasted on this pathetic piece of crap, while many other games are having a hard time to find a publisher.

 

[Mistress]

Do people have real trouble checking their facts or something? There are an amazing amount of people out there that think NWN is by Black Isle, or that they have a significant level of involvement in it, even those that own the game. Did these people fail to notice the absence of a Black Isle logo anywhere on the product?!

 

[triCritical]

FACT: Bioware makes bad RPG's.
FACT: Bioware's only non DnD games were both flops.
FACT: In most of the reviews for NWN, cons from other games that are also readily apparent NWN were blatantly ignored.
FACT: In PC media success and a products quality are measured from how much the game was hyped.

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

I can see FANS mistaking that, but a RPG news site that claims to be "The source for RPG information" is just ironic as hell. Of course, like Mistress said, the BIS logo is NO WHERE TO BE FOUND on the box, or the load screens, or anything else. Furthermore, the ATARI logo is, and you'd have to be an idiot to be covering RPG news and not know that BIS and ATARI have nothing to do with one another.

 

[Constipated Craprunner]

FACT: Bioware makes bad RPG's.
FACT: Bioware's only non DnD games were both flops.

O yeah, whatever you say Aristotle.
Both of them, due to our limited human minds are considerd opinions.
MDK2 was fantastic, dispite it's limited selling and that one Mech game was good as well.

 

[triCritical]

O yeah, whatever you say Aristotle.

Plato, Aristotle morons!

Both of them, due to our limited human minds are considerd opinions.

Considering you have never actually been allowed to play a role in any of their so called to RPG's I would say that it is more then an opinion. And considering that shattered steel and MDK2 were both commercial failures I think that is indacative of them being flops.

MDK2 was fantastic, dispite it's limited selling and that one Mech game was good as well.

I did not say that they were not good, I said that they were flops. You are just proving my point, which is BIoware may have talent, but just not in making RPG's.

 

[Constipated Craprunner]

It depends.
Chapter 2, for example- the Guild or the Vampires. The choices are there, they just dont effect very much in the long run. Micro-non-linerarity is gaining ground as a term on these borads after the Zero Sum guy's usage.
Opinion depends upon the criteria set, and if your criteria does not match those given to you by the BG or NWN games, than they suck in your view.
To be perfectly honest I disliked NWN, and the majority of the game is bad under any non-masochistic criteria. I also disliked major poritons of most IE games, though I find the story and overall nostolgia of playing it make up for it.

 

[Spazmo]

>Insert generic hateful remark towards BioWare/NWN here<

>Insert generic wish for recognition in the gaming media of truly deserving games here<

 

[triCritical]

Chapter 2, for example- the Guild or the Vampires. The choices are there, they just dont effect very much in the long run. Micro-non-linerarity is gaining ground as a term on these borads after the Zero Sum guy's usage.

I don't think micro-non-linearity is a new idea. I have not played prelude to Darkness, so I cannot comment on that game directly. However, I can say that micro-non-linearity as you have put it is essentially non-linearity that results in no long term consequences and limits how open ended a game can be. This is not a bad thing, one of my favorite series of all time, Wizardry has a lot of these elements.

However, what I meant by playing a role encompassed more then just non-linear decisions. I was essentially talking about the ability to solve quest based on the kind of character you are playing. With Bioware, there is only one way to solve quest and that is through combat. Needless to say, Bioware games are Blizzards answer to a story. Same lacking mechanics with a strong story, whether that story is a good or not. I'll be honest, I have a little soft spot in my heart for BG1, I thought the exploration and the atmosphere was really cool. However, it wasn't a good RPG.

To be perfectly honest I disliked NWN, and the majority of the game is bad under any non-masochistic criteria

I have to honestly say that this is the first game I have ever played, that actually was just not fun. It felt more like work, then a game. It was painful. I find it astonishing how anyone can like this game. But this is just my opinion. :wink:

 

[Constipated Craprunner]

I ate up my first game of NWN, and enjoyed some MP playing.
I stoped in about 5 weeks and gave it to a friend.
I dont want it back.
You would be surprised how many answers there where to quests, though, if you play BG2 thru a few times.

 

[Crazy Tuvok]

You would be surprised how many answers there where to quests, though, if you play BG2 thru a few times.

surprised wouldn't begin to describe my reaction if this were true.

hey I liked the BG series for what it was (fantasy tactical combat, and I use tactical loosely); but I never liked it for being a quality CRPG.

choices in BG (1 and 2) come down to: I will fight you now or I will fight you later.

could you talk Sarevok or Irencius out of their plans? for that matter could you solve any of the quests without kicking ass? I can't remember a single instance where anything mattered other than how much smack you could lay down. Anybody who played these games put *any* points into CHAR? Or find it viable to take as a party member or create say a Bard (excluding masochists)?

 

[DrattedTin]

Actually, charisma affected shop prices, so you had to raise it 18, unless you opted to always wear the ring of human influence.

Also, bards were generally sucky, but with the ToB expansion, they -could- get pretty wicked...

 

[Azael]

Actually, charisma affected shop prices, so you had to raise it 18, unless you opted to always wear the ring of human influence.

Also, bards were generally sucky, but with the ToB expansion, they -could- get pretty wicked...

Yes, wicked in the "I can kick your ass" sense, not wicked as bards.

 

[Jarinor]

Actually, charisma affected shop prices, so you had to raise it 18, unless you opted to always wear the ring of human influence.

You know, in every CRPG I've played, I've always become filthy rich, even with little to no barter skills, and without doing that cheesy powergaming style so prevalent in Morrowind of trading in one item for a shopkeepers entire inventory and selling it back to them piece by piece. Once it was because of what could qualify as the luckiest encounter ever in Fallout 2 (or it was an extremely fortuitous bug), but all the rest were simply gathering copious amounts loot, selling it at bargain basement prices and not spending my gold. The point of this is, I doubt you'd need 18 charisma to gain enough gold to buy the things you want.

On a side note, are BG1 and 2 worth playing at all? My brother is obsessed with getting them (because of a friend's recommendation), so if he does, would I be wasting my time playing them? On yet another side note, what about IWD2? Good or bad? NWN needs no comment .

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

You know, in every CRPG I've played, I've always become filthy rich, even with little to no barter skills, and without doing that cheesy powergaming style so prevalent in Morrowind of trading in one item for a shopkeepers entire inventory and selling it back to them piece by piece..

Try Prelude to Darkness then, you definitely won't end that game rich.