1. Gorath99

   9

   NWN2 is to Baldur's Gate what NWN1 is to Icewind Dale. That is to say, where NWN1/ID focus primarily on combat, NWN2/BG give equal time to roleplaying.
   In NWN1 there really was only one substantial roleplaying quest (the trial in chapter 3), companions had no personality ("please help me find some item, and I'll give you a bonus", repeat...), quests didn't go beyond "fetch X" and "kill Y", and the world just didn't feel like a place were people actually lived.
   In contract, in NWN2 NPCs once again have memorable personalities, quests are diverse, the world is atmospheric, you get to invest in it by building up a base of operations, etc.
   I do have to say that I played this game when most bugs had been patched, and by then its only major weakness was that it required a very heavy pc while not looking particularly great.
   Now, 5 years later, I still consider NWN2 to be one of the better RPGs ever made. It's right up there with games like BG, KotOR, and Morrowind. (And the first expansion, Mask of the Betrayer comes close to Planescape: Torment.) Heartily recommended!… Expand

   • Helpful? 4 of 4 users said Yes.
2. KaiEkkrin

   8

   Classic Forgotten Realms adventure. In fact it's positively cliche, but don't let that put you off: this is one excellently realised linear D&D romp, with extremely entertaining NPCs (NWN2 doesn't take itself too seriously). The single "romance" plot (I won't spoil it) is just the ticket if you're fed up with BG2's melodrama. It's too easy (there's only one properly tricky encounter, the optional dragon battle), but I had ages of fun with this. Why so many detractors?… Expand

   • Helpful? 2 of 2 users said Yes.
3. BobD

   7

   To begin with I love crpg's. Baldurs Gate, BG2, Fallout 1+2, PS:T, M&M series, Arcanum, even the Diablo series with mods. The problem with crpgs today is the most important part, the story, is the part that gets the least attention. Big shiny graphics, "life-like" AI, giant worlds; all secondary elements in an RPG to the story. RPG: Role Playing Game, if the role your playing is a courier you have a tedious game. If the role your playing involves exploring many simple areas populated with simple enemies, you have a tedious game. Act 1 of the NWN2 OC was genuinely painful for me; excruiatingly boring "find orc leader, fight through peon guards and kill him" type quests, set in "plod forward through the sea of boring underlings to reach the boss" style dungeons. Act 2 improves somewhat; the keep is genuinely interesting but doesn't feel like a fully implemented feature. If you could merely join your men on special missions, patrol the roads, guard the farms, some way of making the keep feel "real" rather than just an object you throw money at it would be vastly more entertaining. I haven't even finished the game so can't speak for Act3 and am not sure I ever will. I am patched to 1.12 and bugs still exist with alarming frequency in the game, many show stoppers such as, corrupt save games, crash to desktops and missing party memmbers. The AI is literally garbage; your companions will randomly stop obeying commands, attack each other for no apparent reason, cast aoe's when companions are in the area of effect, etc. The real reason I bought NWN1+2 is the Toolset and the modules resulting from the toolset. The quality of the modules is in direct correlation with the quality of the Toolset; the mods I've played have been vastly superior to the OC; VASTLY SUPERIOR! Almost surreally, my toolset will not work and surfing the forums many users, especially vista 64x are experiencing this with the latest patch. I'm sure it will be fixed, but it certaintly is a WTF moment when you pay for something and integral parts do not work at all. The reason NWN2 gets a 7 is the promise of true greatness hiding deep within the engine; the graphics will be tolerable/good for many, many years. I just hope all the bugs will be ironed out before the modding community gives up on the game. Rating the OC by itself I'd give a 2.5/3, rating the "polish" of the game I'd give a .5, the plethora of bugs present after more than 1 year is unacceptable, especially one preventing the toolset from running at all.… Expand

   • Helpful? 2 of 2 users said Yes.
4. buzkashi

   4

   This game has some good features but gets a low score because it is full of game breaking bugs. The pros: It looks ok, even given its age, and you have a very deep combat and character development system that gives you lots of variety in the kind of character you can be. The cons: Where to start? The clunky control system; three camera modes, none of which work properly; lacklustre campaign; really ugly faces for your character; UI is just a total mess, popups all over the place; and it's very possible to ruin your character build from the beginning because you chose the wrong abilities......
   But even after all that I would have forgiven it, were it not for the fact that it is just a broken game. It's full of bugs even with all the latest patches, and I mean game ruining bugs like campaign events not triggering. It's totally unreasonable for Bioware to still be selling a game for a not insignificant price (I paid £15 for the platinum edition) which just falls over at random. And then there are the crashes... So really, there are other RPGs out there, and if you want a game that you will actually be able to play then buy something else. But if you are a gambler by nature, then why not try this game. You *might* have fun. But then again you might lose your money and have nothing to show for it.… Expand

   • Helpful? 6 of 8 users said Yes.

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