

Neverwinter Nights (Windows)

100 point score based on reviews from various critics.
5 point score based on user ratings.
Written by  :  Emmanuel Henne (26)
Written on  :  Jan 04, 2004
Platform  :  Windows
Rating  :  4 Stars4 Stars4 Stars4 Stars4 Stars

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Excellent computer RPG

The Good

The story, the new rules (3rd Edition), the depth of character development, the graphics and artwork, the gameplay.

The Bad

Only one henchman instead of a party, sometimes the graphics look rather blocky,the dialogues and the GUI were better in previous titles.

The Bottom Line

When I first played Neverwinter Nights, I had a feeling like I was returning to a place I left long time ago. Actually, back in the 80s, I was addicted to "Pools of Radiance" (TSR/SSI), the game made me spent hours, weeks and months in front of the computer. 3 hours into NWN I knew this was going to be more addictive for me than "Baldurs Gate" or "Icewind Dale", and 10 hours later, I was proven right. The new, more detailed skill/feats system is sometimes as motivating as the one found in "Diablo 2", and it lets You customize Your main character in a lot of ways within the boundaries of the class/race. The combat looks great, better than ever before, the weapons are fantastic (double bladed sword a la Darth Maul anyone ?), and the talents show in combat (multiple hits, hitting specific parts like arms/legs etc). The gameplay is really at the same time classic and innovative, the story is deep and the characters as cliched and typical as You might exspect from an epic fantasy game. The graphics are well done, not as good as Dungeon Siege, far behind Morrowind, but You will apperciate the little details and the general look after a while, because the lighting/shadowing system is truly atmospheric. The dialogue/interface system is the only point where I would say that is average at best. In previous Bioware games, this part was good enough, but here, the system looks a bit halfbaked because for example there are two windows where You can follow the dialogue (main event window/dialogue window), which is not necessary. Also, the windows such as automap, inventory etc *look* like they can be moved around (windows style), but they are fixed in place and can only be resized. Speaking fo dialogue...this part could have been better, in fact in NWN I found myself clicking away the dialogues as fast as possible, because it just feels a bit clumsy to have to read through them. This was easier and more pleasing to the eye in BG, IWD... But these are just minor problems, the improvements are too good in comparison, and I want to recommend this game to any serious roleplaying gamer.