Neverwinter Nights 2 Gold
Neverwinter Nights 2 Gold combines Neverwinter Nights 2, the sequel to one of the best-selling and genre-defining role-playing games ever, and Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer, which allows you to advance to epic levels (above 20) and choose from over 100 spells.
User Ratings and Reviews
4 Stars Amazing
Neverwinter Nights 2 and its expansion make for hours upon hours of roleplaying gold (pardon the pun). The character creation and development is amazing, the NPCs are filled with life, and there are so many different paths to take to the end. Any fan of rpgs will love this game, plain and simple
3 Stars NWN Gold
I’ve been a huge NWN fan for a long time… It’s pretty obvious the 2nd one was made by a different person. The story-line is good and I really like the way they integrated multi-party adventuring groups and the different dialogue chains so that it really FEELS more like an RPG than just a one-person game.
I was less-than-happy about the actual game-play though - too different from the original. The camera mode drives me nuts at times, and I don’t like the fact that certain classes are restricted to only a few hair colors. Sounds a little silly, but I really liked the ability to individualize characters appearance more.
Overall though, it is a good game with in-depth characters and story-line that we’ve come to expect from NWN.
5 Stars Gold Edition feels like fun to me…
After such an unsatisfying experience purchasing Bioware’s NWN shortly after its release, and then having such a great experience when some friends encouraged me to pick it back up about two years later, I intentionally waited until the 2nd expansion pack for Atari’s NWN2 was released before putting my money on the counter.
After about eight hours game play, I’ve got to say, I’m really enjoying myself. I was ultimately a fan of NWN’s game mechanics, but the original campaign didn’t do much for me from a role playing perspective. “Quests” often felt like irritating errands, I had to choose from dull and uninvolved companions… the list goes on. NWN2 corrects much, but not all, of what I had found lacking.
The back story of NWN2 is typical of the fantasy genre - you are an adopted child coming of age in a small out of the way hamlet, knowing little of your family’s past. On the eve of a harvest festival, a mysterious attack suddenly thrusts you into the center of what is so far shaping up to be a fairly epic conspiracy.
Character creation and progression is highly flexible and follows the D&D 3.5 rules; those of you who like that gaming system will be pretty pleased. Being able to choose from multiple travel companions (once you encounter enough of them) allows you to pursue a highly specialized character and yet still construct a balanced party into which you fit well.
The graphics engine is serviceable, if not stellar, and produces some fairly immersive environments. Dripping roots poke through the ceiling of dank swamp caves, the fire in your adoptive father’s cottage casts a warming glow. Combat is a flashy, fast paced affair and fun to watch.
The camera does take some adjusting to - it literally took me four hours of play before I was comfortable with it and I still haven’t entirely warmed up to the mini-map. There are three basic camera modes from what I can tell (oddly, my manual mentions four), and you’ll find yourself flipping between the three to accomplish your tasks.
I haven’t experienced any load screen freezes in the single player mode and at this point. Also, and I admit this sheepishly, I haven’t noticed any real bugs. Playing online with four friends, we have run into some freeze issues that require reboots about every couple of hours. Save often in multiplayer.
I’m giving 5 stars here - not because I think it’s all it could be, but, based on the expectations other reviewers set, I’m actually pretty happy. While not the penultimate experience, for fans of the genre, I think the Gold Edition is worth the admission price.
3 Stars Fun…If you don’t mind the company?!
I’ll make this short and sweet. This game is very enjoyable and offers alot more than the previous game. However if you are like me and prefer RPG’s that only involve your character and your’s alone then you might find yourself frustrated at times having to deal with your lemming like followers who depending on your mood, love you or hate you. Think of it as a fickle democracy closesly following and judging you.
If you can get passed this all, and do like party RPG’s then this is one for the collection. To me, it’s just another good RPG, nothing special.
2 Stars DRM ruins this game.
The game itself is fun, when you can get it to run.
There is some issue about the Digital Rights Management that messes up quite often. The game will start about 1 in ten time trying, the rest of the time it gives you an error saying the CD cannot be authenticated.
Another situation where those who have obtained a non DRM copy (illegally) are enjoying the game whenever they choose, and those of us who purchased a legal copy have problems getting the game to start at all.
Recommendation:
Look elsewhere for a game, this one is too much trouble to get it to work.
