Neverwinter Nights 2

Author: Brett Thomas
Published: 2nd January 2007

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A race by any other name...

NWN2 compares to its predecessor in character creation much like Icewind Dale compared to Baldur's Gate 2. Basically, it's the same method as the original, but with a few new additions. NWN2 has support for several races and prestige classes that the original NWN did not, which is a welcome change.

Crowning that list are the beloved 'planetouched' races, which are half human and half something otherworldly. These characters come with enhanced attributes compared to normal races, but also pay a price - they are always a full level behind their compatriates. As well as the planetouched, the game has also made the first proper use of 'subraces', which function with very minor benefits and drawbacks (usually one or two of each) compared to the standard races.

Once your race is chosen, you can move to your attributes and finally your class. NWN2 has support for a few more prestige classes (which are reached at later levels after being a basic class like rogue or cleric for a while) than the original, but not many. Most notably, the game is missing some of the most creative and powerful prestige classes, such as Arcane Trickster. This is a shame, because there's no reason the engine couldn't support it. However, odds are that Obsidian may just be waiting for its turn at the expansion pack game.

Level Up!

Speaking of levels and classes, the actual leveling and character development process is far too complex to go into here - there are full books for people who are interested in understanding the system. For the purposes of this review, we'll state that the game works off of a semi-loose interpretation of the AD&D v3.5 rules and classes. And as with most D&D titles, NWN2 puts your character development secondary to the story.

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Leveling up is slow, and each time you do feels like you truly accomplished something. The game does a good job of limiting your available XP at each stage to provide a true challenge out of battles, which is a role-player's delight (but a power-gamer's nightmare - ES4: Oblivion lovers beware!). The downside is that it does this by limiting the battles and scenarios themselves - despite the game having numerous side quests, several can be incredibly tedious without producing much more than a bit of coin and a lot of frustration.

Design of the quests themselves is another issue. "Level" design (for lack of a better word - this would actually include all locations in the game) feels out of sorts. For instance, many interiors feel far more spacious than their outside building representations. When it comes to cities themselves, everything feels largely the same size - the village of West Harbor becomes easily comparable to half of the city of Neverwinter. This spatial discrepancy leaves much of the campaign without a feeling of polish, emphasized even moreso by the fact that the first NWN did not have this weakness.

One size too small...

Along with the spatial issues, towns feel generally "unalive." This is particularly sad in comparison to the amazing job that Obsidian did with both Baldur's Gate 2 and Icewind Dale. Though the engines themselves are far out of date in comparison, their worlds felt very much alive - cities felt crowded and most doors were able to be opened by the player, even if they didn't offer much more than a residence.

Like BG2, NWN2 makes use of the world map - but even that feels less 'complete,' all the way down to how you choose your target location. A list is provided to the right of the map, but it sorts neither alphabetically nor chronologically nor geographically. To make this less useful still, the city of Neverwinter is broken down into districts, but just listed as that name - no city name is given. Thus, finding things becomes a guess as to what the game might have listed it as. This issue is further compounded by the fact that aside from the righthand list, the map is unlabeled aside from little icons.

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Not-so-chatty Cathy...

Adding to that lack of polish is the method in which the game delivers its story - dialogue takes place mostly with in-engine cutscenes, many of which have voice acting that can leave a little to be desired. In the original NWN, the story was delivered in two ways - each chapter opened and closed with a narration and well-done artwork, leaving a feeling of taking part in an epic story. Dialogue was done directly in-game, and with some pretty excellent voicework.

The new cutscene method, on the other hand, pulls you out of game for each major conversation. Since each requires scripting, it limits the amount of actual useful, plot-driving dialogue. When in that mode, it also feels like you're outside of the control of your own character - not a good feeling for a game that requires a high immersion factor. Constantly changing cameras break up the concept of how you interact with the world, leaving you feel like little more than a spectator that guides your character in between plot points than someone taking part in that world themselves.

On the plus side, the dialogue does do a great job for the plot - each conversation has a number of branches, and you'll often find yourself wishing you'd saved before a long one in order to try out different choices. Different personality styles are well represented, and it's not hard to find one to fit how you would like to play the game (including evil). Though some of the voice acting is sub-par, others are wonderfully done - when it all comes together, it actually manages to make a good experience out of the conversation in spite of the engine quirks.

He's makin' a list, and checking it twice

Dialogue is the first time I noticed one of the most quietly wonderful changes in NWN2. Alignment, which you choose at the beginning of your character creation, plays a big part in how others react and work with you. In D&D, things are split into two groups: Lawful, Neutral, Chaotic and Good, Neutral, Evil.

Each character chooses one from each of those lists, which defines its general attitude towards life. The more chaotic you are, the less respect for laws - but not necessarily a tendancy for evil. For instance, chaotic good characters will do the "right" thing by their conscience, no matter what society says. Certain classes can only advance while you remain a particular alignment, so it's possible to be just a little 'too' bad or good.

Your interaction with the world and with other characters can and will shift this alignment, and in turn that may change how other characters deal with you. A lawful person wants little to do with a chaotic rebel, even if they have the best intentions at heart. Also, an evil man is unlikely to share space willingly with a goodie-two-shoes. This interaction goes for the members in your party, as well - so don't say we didn't warn you!