Neverwinter Nights (pc)
Gameplay: 95%
Story: 100%
Graphics: 90%
Music/Sound: 95%
Overall: 95%
About five years ago Bioware announced a RPG game that would take all Dungeons & Dragon computer games to a whole new level. This game would set the standards for every hack and slash game to grace a PC from here on out. This game is Neverwinter Nights. D&D fans will really enjoy this game, but if you are like me and know nothing about D&D or its rules, you will still have lots of fun with this game for a very long time.
The story of Neverwinter Nights begins with your character (which you create from scratch or use the preset options) in a training school. When you take control of your character you are told to go to the combat room to finish up your training. Once in the combat room you are taught the controls of the game, how to use items and most important, how to fight. Once you complete the training, you are told to go meet a woman in the main hall. She explains to you about a plague that is taking over the town of Neverwinter Nights. The plague is called the Wailing Death. Your job is to find out the cause of the plague, and find the cure for it. This sounds easier than it really is because there is a lot of other things to do in the game. There is also a tool set to add more to the story and the game.
The gameplay in most hack and slash games is really simple, you find a enemy click on it, and then hack and slash it to death. This is not so in Neverwinter Nights. In Neverwinter Nights, you will have to use more strategy. You will have to read a lot of books to get info, you will have to sleep to regain energy, and have to pause so your character can remember spells.
At the beginning of the game you will create a character. You can use the preset options for making a character or you can do it yourself. The key to this is making sure you make a well-balanced character. Just like when you create a player on a Madden football game, you do not want a quarterback who can read the field but can’t throw. In Neverwinter Nights you have the option to make your character strong with weapons, or strong with magic. If you choose one character class they might be able to do things that other classes can’t. Bioware also included a recommendation button. The recommendation button is there to help you put together the best combinations of attributes. This is good for beginners like myself who know nothing about D&D rules, and in this game they use the 3rd Edition rules. Once your player is ready you can check your journal for the latest quest, and information. Talking to NPC’s (non-playable characters) is a must in Neverwinter Nights. They will help you get new quest and lots of information.
A lot of people try to compare this game to games like Dungeon Siege, Diablo 1 and 2, and Baldur’s Gate. This game is a lot different. In the games I named, you create a party of characters that you can control throughout the game. In this game there is no party creation. You have henchmen for hire. You can go to various places and hire henchmen to come along with you on your quests. You are probably saying that it still sounds like the games above. That’s where you are mistaken. The henchmen are NPC’s. You cannot control them. This might turnoff some people from playing this game if they are used to control all of the characters in there party. You can issue commands to your henchman like use a sword or use a bow. Also your henchman don’t gain levels like you. He/She will always be a level or two below your current level. You also need to be careful about what henchmen you choose. If you are going on a quest that will require a person who is good with theft skills then that will be the type of henchmen you will need. The henchmen also have no kind of inventory. All you can do is give them potions if their magic or health is getting low.
To make any progress in any RPG you must level up and in Neverwinter Nights it is not only important but also a lot of fun. As you level up, you will gain skills for your class. If you are a rogue, you will get skills in lock picking or disarming traps. If you decide that you are bored with being a rogue and you are now ready to be a wizard then go ahead and change. The cool thing is that you get to keep the rogue skills. This shows you how open ended the game is. Also, some options that are not available to most job classes is allowed in this game. Your fighters can identify magic, and wizards can wear armor. These new options can have their down falls too. A wizard with full metal armor will fail trying to cast magic a lot faster than a normal wizard in normal wizard armor. The armor and weapons is also another good feature in NWN. When you find or buy a new helmet or shield, you will see it on your character. You will see the different kinds of weapons in your characters hands.
The best feature in NWN is the Aurora Tool Set. This is the engine that Bioware used to create the wonderful world of NWN. This tool set comes with NWN and with the right amount of time spent on the tool sets you could be creating some of the best story lines or as Bioware calls them modules. The tool set comes with all kinds of trees, buildings, ships, and items to make any scene you can think of. All you have to do is select what size area, what type of item and then put it where you want it. The hardest part of the Aurora Tool Set is scripting events. You have to know a little about C++ to get this down on the first try, but is not too hard though if you do not know the programming language. Also, Bioware released two guides for this game. One of the guides is for the Tool Set. It teaches you how to do everything from A-Z. I strongly recommend this guide if you think you will be using the Tool Set a lot. Once you get the scripting events down, you can have a town being attacked by monsters or people walking and talking. You can create items and set traps. Your brain is your only enemy. As long as you can keep thinking up ideas, then you can make anything. Also, if you go to the official NWN website you can download new modules for the game. There are currently over 514 modules for the game available for you to download. This game will keep you busy for a long time or atleast until the next Final Fantasy or Kingdom Hearts is released.
Combat in NWN is not as easy as most games in its class. I do not know all about D&D rules but I do know that the rules have a lot to do with how many HP you take off someone and if you can even hit someone. If you don’t know the D&D rules you can learn a lot by just playing. When you see an enemy you can click on it and you are presented with the options to hit it with a weapon, use magic, throw a rock, etc. You can also pause the game and choose an option if its too hard for you to do it in real time. There are all kinds of magic in this game but if you are not a wizard or do not acquire the skills needed to pull the spell off, then you will most likely fail the spell. Leveling up is a major factor in NWN because if you do not have the right skills for the job or enough HP, you will not survive the major battles in this game. This is why this game should never be compared to Bauldur’s Gate or Dungeon Siege.
Graphics is one of the major things that can make or break PC game. If you do not have a PC that can handle the graphics or meet the minimum requirements, then you may not be able to play. NWN is a very beautiful game. The buildings, the water, and some of the other items look good. The lighting effects look great on NWN and so does the shadows. When have you ever seen a game where the shadow stretches as you move away from the light, or see the shadow wrap around certain objects? All of this is great but the flaw is the characters in the game. They all look blocky, but the best thing is what I said about the items and weapons. The fact that you can see them on your character is great. The game looks dark most of the time, mainly inside of buildings. Its not so bad once you get use to it. The camera work is also good in NWN. It never moves to places you do not want it to and it never gets stuck behind objects in the game, which is a common problem in most games these days.
The music in NWN is something to be heard. The world of NWN is medieval so that’s the kind of music you will hear throughout the game. The sounds used in NWN is also done very well. When a crate breaks into pieces, you can hear the wood falling apart. Sounds such as of people yelling and screaming in fear when prisoners escape and attack a nearby town are done very well. The sounds of swords clashing against each other during a battle is something to hear. The voice acting is also good. Important characters will tell you the most important informations and most characters will say “Hello” when they greet you. When you have all of these sounds going along with a game that is as good-looking as NWN, then how can you complain?.
Overall, NWN turns out to be a step in the right direction for all of the games in its class. The story is great with a lot of side quest and the Aurora Tool Set makes it even longer. If you have the PC that can handle the full settings of the game you are in for a treat. The sound is also good and the music is the best I have heard on a PC in a long time. The combat in the game is fun once you get use to it and with all of the different classes of characters, you will be trying new options for your hero all of the time. The whole package will keep you busy for a long time.
Categories: Reviews, Role Playing
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