Neverwinter Nights 2 Review

With so many Role Playing Games (RPG’s) making an entry into the market it is becoming more confusing for gamers who play RPG’s to make an effort to differentiate between games that are equipped with the most advanced graphics, sound and gameplay. Obsidian Entertainment’s Neverwinter Nights 2 is one such entry which is based on the Dungeons and Dragons RPG. Its predecessor Neverwinter Nights was one such RPG which has made an everlasting impact on the minds of RPG crazy gamers. This has inspired Obsidian Entertainment to release the next part which is just another RPG with amazing sound effects, music and even pleasing graphics if played on a system equipped with all the necessary armor.

Just like normal RPG’s you begin this game by selecting a race, a class, a name, and several other details that when added up, will produce the hero that will represent you in the world. There can be a lot of time used in the character creation by choosing the best class and a suitable voice which makes use of the D&D 3.5 ruleset, thus making your character the same as you have perceived it to be. After creating a good looking fighter I started the game and was amazed to see the visuals. After having a conversation with my father I had to move around to complete a task which involved competing in the town fair. In short, the tale will take you through a very long quest rife with adventure, combat, interaction, and just plain role-playing fun. One thing which I feel every successful RPG should have is that the interaction with the characters should be very realistic. This is achieved by Neverwinter Nights 2, where there are so many conversational options (that are usually relevant to your social skills, race, alignment and other variables) to engage in with the characters that populate the world, that you’ll soon come to appreciate the fact that you can spend more time learning about your companion’s motivations and the world itself, rather than pointlessly walking from one dungeon to the next. You can lie to your companion but better take care not to make him go against you or you could end up in a battle in which you are using most of your energy to attack him. You can of course ignore a lot of the dialogues and skip right into the fight, adding to even more options for how to deal with the events the game provides for you. Moving through various dungeons and battling various enemies and bosses with the most amazing sound effects with background orchestral music is almost enough to immerse you into 50 or more hours of gameplay. The levels are small but I have experienced loading problems in that. This game takes a time to load on my PC. However, if you want to play a game which has the most amazing sound effects and gameplay then I can say that it is worth waiting for the levels to load. Another gripe is the camera angles in which you have four options to view your character. Here you have to constantly focus on your character movements by adjusting your mouse to get a perfect camera angle. Besides the main story there are side quests like saving a damsel in distress or delivering some goods which when completed will increase your experience level which in turn can give you access to buy new armor, spells and weapons. You will also be awarded with a stronghold which is your own personal castle. Acquiring this property is not a side quest but puts a lot of importance to the plot. Once obtained you can keep yourself busy with repairing its various facilities, hiring merchants to peddle wares, implementing tax rates, training troops, improving armor, strengthening the outlying area’s infrastructure, and making your home equipped with all the features that make it an important part in your quest.

In addition to the single player gameplay hours, there is an online multiplayer add-on in Neverwinter Nights 2. You can create your own room, even protect it by specifying a password so that no unwanted gamers can have access to your game and the world which you have created for your friends to immerse themselves, and even play through the single player again with friends using your created character from the single player or creating a server specific one. It’s just a matter of time until we start to see what users are able to create with this game’s tweaked toolset, which allows anyone who buys the game to create their own adventures. These can be loaded online and played through with others as well, giving Neverwinter Nights 2 a tremendous lasting value.

To conclude, anyone looking for a lengthy, complex, and engaging single player role playing experience should look no further than Neverwinter Nights 2. With the inclusion of fully controllable characters and enjoyable tactical combat this game is amazing and keeps you busy by making you run between various dungeons. To add to this, the game has an interesting storyline with hours of gameplay packaged with realistic voice dialogues, an excellent sound track (not forgetting the orchestral sounds in the background during a battle), good story and amazing characters to interact with. The ability to play through the official campaign with others online in addition to the single player campaign that can be used to create and play your own adventures gives Neverwinter Nights 2 an added value. The game is not without any faults though. Inventory management will eat up large chunks of your play experience plus the game needs a high end PC to run with the high settings on so that you get a better visual experience. You’ll also find maps which are limited in terms of their explorable area and the aspects of tactical combat are occasionally undermined by the frailty of many enemies. Thus Neverwinter Nights 2 will create an enjoyable, worthwhile and lasting experience on gamers who live solely on the RPG based genre.