Generally I try to avoid buying PC games when they first come out. For one thing, I rarely have a computer that will run the newest games. Also, PC game prices tend to fall a lot more than console games. I can wait a year to buy the newest PS2 game, and it might have gone from $60 down to $40. Or I can wait six months to buy the newest PC game, and it will have gone from $50 to $15.
But I'll make an exception for the NeverWinter Nights series. As a player, I was curious, but I wasn't in a hurry. But as a builder, I simply couldn't wait to see what I was going to be up against this time. I missed out the first time around; I didn't get Itropa up and running until NWN had been out for well over a year. This time I wanted to get in on the ground floor, and hopefully grab a larger player base.
Well, it ain't gonna happen.
The game is beautiful, much prettier than the original NWN. But on my computer, it runs like a molasses-covered slug dragging a cart full of anvils uphill. Which is to say, slow. Now, my computer's no powerhouse, but it more than matches NWN2's minimum specs. I hate it when companies list such bare-bones system specs. Believe me, it might run, sure, but nobody's going to want to play it like this.
The crazy part is that it runs slower than Oblivion. Oblivion, the most graphically-praised piece of eye candy to pop out of hypeville this year. Okay, I can't play either game without turning off nearly everything. But at least with all the candy turned off, Oblivion actually runs at a decent speed. It looks like a PS1 game, but it's playable. But playing NWN2 on my computer feels like I'm playing online, on the laggiest server ever.
The funny part is that the toolset actually works pretty well. I had a lot of fun making the hills go up and down using the new terrain engine. No more aztec-esque tiered hills; now we have actual slopes! And there's so many options. Five minutes in the toolset and I counted dozens of features I'd always wished for when using NWN1's toolset. But it's also a very intimidating program, with lots and lots of windows. Finally I feel justified for splurging on a widescreen monitor.
As for the game itself - I can't comment on that just yet. From the little bit I've been able to stand, it plays like the first one. It's point-and-click turn-based battle; you either like it or you don't. The interface is a bit more streamlined than NWN1's, but it takes getting used to. Most of the time it seems simpler, but occasionally I've had to look all over the place to perform certain actions.
As good as the game is (or seems to be), I still have a few minor gripes.
When it comes to D&D/NWN players, there's two extremes - roleplayers and powergamers. Roleplayers ignore the original campaign and go straight online, because the world just seems empty when it's just you and the computer. They always stay in character, because they play just for the chance to live another life for a while. Powergamers, on the other hand, enjoy getting stuff. Experience points, gold, items; it's all about the rewards. They want to make the richest, most powerful character as quickly as possible, so they can enjoy blasting their way through crowds of enemies.
Like most people, I'm a little bit of both. In my case, sometimes I'm only in the mood to kill things, and other times I'm only in the mood to play pretend with people. Unfortunatly, NWN2 disappointed me as both a powergamer and a roleplayer. Before you read the following, keep in mind that I've not had a chance to play much yet, so I might be missing some options.
Powergamers - No epic levels yet. I'm sure they'll include them in an expansion pack, along with a new campaign that requires high-level characters. They probably felt there just wasn't any need for epic levels yet. But even so, why not include them for the modders who want to build more epic worlds? It feels like they left it out specifically so that we'd have a reason to buy the next expansion. Over on GameFAQs.com, there's a FAQ listing all the feats that can be given to a character using a certain cheat. I notice that list includes epic feats. So it seems they have been programmed, just locked out.
Call me a munchkin if you want, but when I'm in a hack-n-slash mood, life begins at 20. With all the new feats and classes, sometimes there just isn't enough room in a 20-level career to build the exact character you want. For instance, I'd love to build the ultimate two-weapon swordsman. Let's see... I'd make him a Fighter/Duelist/Weapon Master... In addition to the feats required for the two Prestige classes (WM alone takes several), I'd also like Weapon Finesse, Two-Weapon Fighting, Improved Two-Weapon Fighting, Greater Two Weapon Fighting, Two Weapon Defense, Greater Two Weapon Defense, Greater Weapon Focus, Superior Weapon Focus, Weapon Specialization, Greater Weapon Specialization, Improved Parry (assuming Parry isn't worthless this time around), Power Attack, Cleave, Great Cleave, Improved Critical, Power Critical, possibly Exotic weapons depending on my weapon(s) of choice...
Actually, this would be hard to do even with 40 levels. But on NWN1, sometimes I enjoy playing with leveler mods, to see what sort of high-level monstrocities I can make. One of my favorites is the dual-kukri-weilding Weapon Master. With a pair of keen kukris, she crits on nearly every other hit. And she's hitting so many times per round, there's at least two crits per round. Once she gets the Devastating Critical feat, most battles don't take long.
Oh well, if all I cared about was high levels, I'd play Everquest. I actually have more gripes about the Roleplay side at the moment. I love the new character creation system - you have a lot more options when it comes to designing your character's face. But there's fewer hair color options than before. I have a thing for redheads, and there just isn't a good shade of red in there. It's a little thing, but I really get into my characters, and I like for them to look just right.
I also don't like that when you remove all your armor/clothing, you're still wearing a full medieval outfit. Again, not a big gripe, I just prefer a naked character look naked (well, in their underwear, anyway). You could be wearing some sort of Barbarian clothing - the kind of caveman bikini you'd see in a Conan movie - then you take it off, and underneath it you're wearing an outfit with full length leggings and sleeves. The developers probably figured that the only people who'd want to see skin are the ones using the game for cybersex. Well, they're wrong; I come across innocent roleplay uses all the time. When you RP enough, all kinds of situations happen sooner or later. But as I said, that's a minor gripe - I can always find an outfit that looks like underwear, and put it on the quickslot.
This time around, the developers hyped up the game's branching storyline, the importance of your alignment and the alignments of your companions, and how your choices affect the game's story. In other words, it's like the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic games. While it was cool playing through the KotORs twice, once for light side and once for dark, I don't feel the same about the NWN series. With NWN, once you play through the original campaign, you go and download another module to play through. So I really don't need multiple endings. Give me one really well-written ending instead. Besides, the KotORs needed replay value, since they didn't have any content beyond the main story. The NWN games offer unlimited worlds, so I'd rather they have put that energy into other parts of the game.
Besides, who's the target audience? The powergamers don't care about the plot, and the role-players are going to skip the original campaign and go straight for the online servers. Keep in mind, however, this is coming from someone who never even finished any of the campaigns that came with NWN1 or its expansions. So your mileage may vary.
A couple of more gripes about the interface - I really miss being able to right-click things and getting lots of options. It was fast and intuitive. Also, I don't care for the new inventory system. I miss NWN1's dynamic icons. NWN2's icons look so generic.
I know that overall, my first impression seems kind of negative. But really, I like the game. Once I get a computer that will run it, I'm sure I'll play the hell out of it. But do I really want to buy a whole computer for one game? Well, I've done it before, and I might do it again. But it's going to be a while. Until then, its going to gather dust on my shelf, next to its arch-enemy, Oblivion.
