Software: Buy Neverwinter Nights Online

Average Rating:

Now of course I'm rating this ENTIRELY on the Multiplayer aspect, I personally don't like to play the game alone. I've joined an online guild, play on five consistent world servers and play smaller mods with people all the time, and I will say that so far I've had a blast, and this is despite the small number of feats, skills and average number of spells. I don't play with people I know, and most people I play a mod with I never see again but hey, that hasn't stopped me yet.

The graphics are very good, spell effects are sweet and, with the help of the toolset, item possibilities (not to mention adventures themselves) are endless. NWN has all of the classic AD&D races and the 3rd Edition Half-Orc as well as all your favorite classes, including Paladin, Ranger, Monk, Sorcerer, Druid, Bard etceteras. Really it depends on the module, but battles can be stunning and viscous, with your characters ability to parry and do attacks aimed at certain body parts (called shot). Rogues can sneak attack, Bards can sing, Druids can summon animal hommiez (Rangers can too), Sorcerers and Wizards can call their familiars, but alas, you paladin will go without his trusty steed. Writing your character a biography can really help when playing online because other people have the ability to read it and can role-play their characters interaction with yours better.

Now yes a fair amount of the 3rd Edition rules have not been implemented but I can understand that and all the important stuff is there.

Take my advice and go buy this game you wont (shouldn't) be disappointed.

I have not played much multi-player, so this review is based on my time doing the single player (all scores based on 0 to 5 scale)

GRAPHICS: 2
NWN looks like Baldur's Gate. There are some interesting spell graphics, but the inability to completely control the camera and move to a first person or "shadow" aspect (i.e. DAOC, AC, etc). is very limiting IMHO.

Compared to other games released lately (Dungeon Siege comes to mind), the graphics were a major disappointment.

SOUND: 2
Nothing special here but the totally annoying NPC voices caused me to go from a 3 to a 2.

STORYLINE (Single Player): 2
The story line is "locked", i.e. you cannot complete certain quests or even leave certain areas until you have completed pre-requisites. I prefer my RPGs to allow me more freedom to move and explore. I'm hoping that people create large, open worlds to multi-play in. Otherwise the "storyline" is quite droll and you lose interest in most of the quests except to gain XP.

CHARACTHER CREATION: 5+
This is what saves the game. Finally a game that does not lock you into narrow race/class limits. I've actually spent more time studying the classes, races, spells and feats than playing the game. Having my unique creation of a character that isn't a cookie cutter of everyone else's is major plus.

So, at this point the game is more appealing as a challenge to learn the rules and intricacies involved. NWN has gone from a long awaited game to a place holder for AC2 at this point. I'm hoping the multi-player experience changes that for me.

Side Note: I recently replaced my Motherboard/CPU from an Epox & P4 1.7 to a Soyo & AMD XP 1900 and NWN would freeze up during game play. I went back to the P4 setup and it works flawlessly.

Neverwinter Nights is a fantastic RPG that uses the 3rd Edition Dungeons & Dragons ruleset. The gameplay, camera controls, multiplayer, and graphics are all excellent, easily earning this game five stars. But the real meat of this game is the editor.

NWN's editor is a superpowerful tool of destruction, easily accessible to newbies, and making it easy for new dungeon masters to plop down a castle filled with orcs and take it online. Countless "wizards" and easy-use tools make creating monsters, weapons, and treasures a breeze. The more advanced features of the editor (namely, anything that has to do with scripting) shift the gentle learning curve to a learning sheer cliff, but hopefully Bioware will be releasing wizards that will make scripting as easy as everything else.

For those more interested in a deep single-player experience, you'll find your money is well spent, even if you won't discover what makes this game so great. The game's main campaign takes your mercenary hero through a quest to save the city of Neverwinter from the ravages of plague. It's admittedly a bit hack-and-slash, which will turn off traditional D&Ders, and it feels somewhat lonely with only your henchman to keep you company, but it's a fun, interesting experience.

Multiplayer, as one would expect, is almost always a blast. Barring occasional crashes (there's some sort of bug with a DM posessing a creature), you'll be hard-pressed to find yourself bored. There are several different channels to choose from; if you prefer Diablo-style slaughter, hit the Action channel. If you're an old school D&Der who enjoys his "thees" and "thous," I'll see you in the Roleplay channel. There's room for every game type, and aside from the aforementioned crashes, there are very few complaints.

In the end, Neverwinter Nights is worth every penny, whether you just want a good RPG experience or plan on using the included tools to create the dungeon of your dreams. Don't waste your money on other so-called "RPG"s like Dungeon Siege -- for your role-playing budget, NWN is this summer's blockbuster hit.