PimpOil's Full Review: Neverwinter Nights (PC) for Windows
Here is my reveiw of the final release. Once again, Epinions doesn't have a section for it, so I put it here.
GAMEPLAY:
Neverwinter Nights (from here on described as NWN) is the next chapter, or rather "incarnation" or the long running series of PC versions based on the Forgotten Realms universe using Dungeon's and Dragons rules. In this case, we are up to the still mysterious 3rd Edition rules.
NWN plays more like Diablo II, in that it seems more action oriented than the previous games. NWN still has all the complexities of the prior games, like Baldur's Gate.
This time you control ONE character, which is kinda better since you are forced to "role play" one character, as D&D always intended. You can get one hireling for single play, who is always a level below you and can be given orders but not controlled directly. Some characters you create can also summon familiars, such as bats, giant "Beastmaster" cats, and other cool creatures.
Leveling up is more friendly than the Baldur's Gate games. You gain your first few levels rather fast and then settle into the old familiar style of struggling for that one extra level. Thankfully, all the "dice rolling" has been removed in NWN when you create a character. All characters begin with a base of 8 points and have 30 to spend, with higher stat values costing extra points to attain.
GRAPHICS: The graphics are outstanding. Everything is in 3D, unlike Baldur's Gate or Icewind Dale. Unfortunately, the "shiny water" effect is only available for those who have the best of the best graphics cards, such as a GeForce4 Ti4600. Graphics get a 4/5 only because they really improve the experience more than the graphics of Baldur's Gate games did.
SOUND: The sound is good but not overly exciting. There is a nice orchestral soundtrack and much more voice variations for characters. I'd give sound a 3.5/5 overall.
MULTIPLAYER: Multiplayer is pretty good but can not be fully described since not many people have the game and so far Gamespy Arcade is the only real way to find games to play in.
PROBLEMS:
The game really needs a good video card to run well. The mimimum requirements state you need at least a 16MB vid card. I'd say you need at LEAST a 64MB to have the game look nice.
You need well over a Pentium III or equivelent to not stutter through the game. There have been TWO seperate minimum requirements listed by Bioware for this game. One stated at least a 300MHz or better CPU and one stated at least a 400MHz CPU. Which one is the real requirement? It must be 400MHz because my 333MHz CPU WILL NOT RUN THE GAME AT ALL! I can't even get past the intro menu and can not see any intro movies whatsoever.
RAM stats that you need at least 128MB if I remember correctly. So anyone with a decent PC has at least 128 anyway.
There are, unfortunately, literally thousands of people posting on the message boards at Bioware stating problems upon problems. The game apparently did not benefit much from the infamous beta test. A lot of Radeon users claim the game locks up every time. My brother has a Radeon 7000 and he can play for around 19-20 minutes before the inevitable lockup. Voodoo users are screwed because the game apparently does not support Voodoo cards. Bioware never stated this fact. I only saw one mention of it buried deep in a post on the Bioware site forums. The game also had a patch released within only a day of release, so that in itself is bad news. Other than myself, there are hundreds of users experiencing the failure of the game to load. Bioware, of course, does not know the reason for this. They claim to be working on it but I won't hold my breath.
FINAL THOUGHT:
I really do like this game. Unfortunately, Bioware's ineptness degrades the experience. I know I'd like this game 1000x better if I had $3000 to spend on Bioware's "ideal computer to play this game on." If you haven't upgraded your PC in almost 5 years or more, do not buy this game yet. Wait until you get a new PC or Bioware pulls off the impossible and puts out a miracle patch.
This really is a good game. Too bad Bioware is a mediocre developer. It all boils down to poor development ruining a potential classic game.
Neverwinter Nights 2: Gold is a bundle of NWN2, NWN2: Mask of the Betrayer, and the first adventure pack - Mysteries of Westgate. Neverwinter Nights 2...More at Meijer
platform:windows 98/me/xp/vistapublisher:sold-out softwarepackaging:dvd style boxrating:teenin order to save the inhabitants of the town of neverwinte...More at UnbeatableSale, Inc.
Platform: WINDOWS 98/ME/XP/VISTA Publisher: SOLD-OUT SOFTWARE Packaging: DVD STYLE BOX Rating: TEEN In order to save the inhabitants of the town of Ne...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.