Neverwinter Nights 2 (And its expansions)

[Hexum]

I've been contemplating picking up NWN2 for a while, and after having read about the new expansion, the Mask of the Betrayer, and how great of reviews its getting about the epic levels and the new challenges, it sounds awesome.

Is the game worth buying (obviously along with all the expansions)? I'm only semi-familiar with NWN games, so this would be fairly new for me. I'm a die-hard on almost every other D&D based PC game thats been out (Silver/Gold Box series, Baldures Gate, etc...) and obviously DDO... never made it over to NWN though.

Gimme some thoughts and opinions here folks.

[Twerpp]

I loved NWN/NWN2 but quit when this came out. The online play is so much better. NWN was fine for playing alone and I played NWN 2 for a while, it was pretty good. I don't think either played as good as Baldurs Gate though. I've played them all too man, I love D&D, I feel comfortable saying that this is the best pc iteration of D&D currently available. I do miss storyline choices that make some sort of difference and alignment that matters for more than choosing what gear you wear though.

[Hexum]

I loved NWN/NWN2 but quit when this came out. The online play is so much better. NWN was fine for playing alone and I played NWN 2 for a while, it was pretty good. I don't think either played as good as Baldurs Gate though. I've played them all too man, I love D&D, I feel comfortable saying that this is the best pc iteration of D&D currently available. I do miss storyline choices that make some sort of difference and alignment that matters for more than choosing what gear you wear though.

Wait... saying DDO is the best available or NWN2 is the best available?

Regardless, I wouldn't stop playing DDO by any means... just looking for another game to fill up some free time.

[maddong]

I used to be big into NWN. I made a 3.5 hak pack for it. I updated my hak pack for NWN2. The loading times were just too much for me to enjoy the game though so I quit.

[Dariuss]

NWN and NWN2 are both aweseom single player D&D games in my opinion.

Both are alot of fun.

I would put them on about the same level as the BG games, which i personally still quite enjoy (re-playing through BG2 atm hehe)

You can certainly buy a worse game I guess is what I'm saying

[Hexum]

Yeah, I've also thought about re-installing BG1 and BG2. Both were indeed excellent games.

[Osharan_Tregarth]

NWN and NWN2 are both aweseom single player D&D games in my opinion.

Both are alot of fun.

I would put them on about the same level as the BG games, which i personally still quite enjoy (re-playing through BG2 atm hehe)

You can certainly buy a worse game I guess is what I'm saying

Although the UI is a little cludgy by today's standards, I still go back through and play Planescape: Torment every so often... I think I'm about level 5 on my current replay through.

[Alavatar]

NWN2 actually came out after DDO, by the way.

NWN2 is a fun game that has a slightly different perspective on rules from DDO. It takes longer to load each area, but the graphics are better IMO. I think that NWN2 is a fantastic thing to play for a bit, but the multiplayer aspect of it is a bit shot. I recommend it as a single player game and definately worth spending the money.

But, that is just my opinion.

[KiriJolith]

NWN1/2 are both great plays. If you're a hardcore D&D fan you'll love NWN2. There are so many options on character builds to storyline it makes the game last. Also you get to play out the real rules unlike DDO. If multiplayer in NWN2 was half as good as the game I'd spend all my gaming time there.

[StanC]

Yes I would recommend NWN2. Just bought the expansion pack, havent played it much yet.
Both NWN 1 & 2 are very good games.

[Zenako]

For a single player game, while NWN was good, it never got close to the same degree of fun I had with the BG series. In the BG series you had Memorable characters that your PC would join up with. Does ANYONE not recall Minsc and Boo! There is not really a single one from NWN that sticks out like that. That being said the only game where I ever found any real difference in how it played out depending on character choices was Planescape. That was a truely innovative game play experience, and one of the few that really had replay value to explore other options.

[Alavatar]

For a single player game, while NWN was good, it never got close to the same degree of fun I had with the BG series. In the BG series you had Memorable characters that your PC would join up with. Does ANYONE not recall Minsc and Boo! There is not really a single one from NWN that sticks out like that. That being said the only game where I ever found any real difference in how it played out depending on character choices was Planescape. That was a truely innovative game play experience, and one of the few that really had replay value to explore other options.

I disagree.

NWN - Deekin

[Prinstoni]

Try Swords and Sandals 2. I just downloaded that game last week, and it is okay. You can even trial play it on a flash player. It is a turn by turn base game where you fight in an arena and can level up your character through fighting etc.

It isn't to bad to fill the time between DDO updates, but it is no way a replacement for it. It is cheap, not twitch skilled based, and very simple to install. However, it is not an MMO or multiplayer based game. It is just you versus the computer.

[Zenako]

I disagree.

NWN - Deekin

Perhaps, but I had little trouble recalling a handful of NPC names from BG. Past Minsc, there was Iomen, Jaharia and Khalid, Branwen and Viconia and more. Without prompting I could not recall any NWN names. I will admit, since BG was first, it probably made more of an indelible impression than other games after it.

[Dariuss]

Does ANYONE not recall Minsc and Boo!

Butt kicking - FOR JUSTICE!

The bigger they are, the harder i hit them!

Dooon't teach my hamster to suck eggs!

[Khyron]

I was totally disappointed in NWN2 when I found out they not only removed the level loss for death but you rez at the end of the fight?! As far as storyline it was okay but as far as being challanging it was a Fisher-Price game.

[Gratch]

I enjoyed the BG's and expansions as well as the two NWN expansions: SoU and HotU... the original NWN campaign was sort of lacking.

I grabbed NWN2 but didn't get very far into it due to crashing. Have they fixed a lot of the technical problems since release?

Mass Effect by Bioware is out tomorrow on 360 (or a week ago if you shop K-Mart)... so NWN2 will probably stay unplayed for a while.

[Alavatar]

Have they fixed a lot of the technical problems since release?

They have fixed a lot of the problems, but some still persist.

I would recommend purchasing NWN2 when you have exhausted your other RPG interests (Mass Effect, Two Worlds, DDO, Assassin's Creed, Bioshock, etc).

NWN2 was a good game, IMO, but there are many others coming out that are probably better.

[Vorn]

BG, BGII was my favorite single player game of all time. I play in a static group for NWN2. The load times are downright awful. Opening a dialog box stops everyone else from doing anything. One person going in a door to a new area drags everyone along with them. I haven't played it single player much beyond the initial scenes, so can't provide any insight into how that works.

[liamfrancais]

Does ANYONE not recall Minsc and Boo!

Yes, I do.

Oh and I received NWN2 as a gift last year and never played it eventually returned it for something else because it would not play on my system, the same one as DDO because of hardware issues.