Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir (pc: 2008): Reviews

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Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir


8.5

based on 15 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 19 votes
Read user comments
Rate this game

GAMES:

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Official Website

Travel the Sword Coast and Samarach using the open-ended exploration of the new Overland Map. Use skills like Spot and Survival while on the Overland Map to avoid ambushes and even find hidden locales and lost artifacts. Create your own full party of adventurers. Devastate your foes with a squad of fireball-flinging Sorcerers, form a solid wall of steel with a party of Fighters, or strike the perfect balance in your party by spreading out the classes you choose for your characters. Improved party gameplay including streamlined party conversations, a new Teamwork Benefit System, and powerful party feats. The world's economy reacts to your adventures and choices. And, through trading and quests, you can expand your merchant company into a massive trading empire. [Atari]

PUBLISHER:	Atari
DEVELOPER:	Obsidian
GENRE(S):	Role-Playing Game
PLAYERS:	4
ESRB RATING:	T (Teen)
RELEASE DATE:	November 18, 2008

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

1UP

Storm of Zehir may have a lackluster story, and that's OK, because it doesn't need one. It gives you the means -- the freedom -- to make your own story. And isn't that why we like RPGs in the first place?

IGN

With its emphasis on party, this feels like an homage to the old school D&D games of the past.

IGN AU

The real story of Storm of Zehir is the tall tales you’ll be telling in the tavern afterwards.

GameZone

This is a game that harkens back to the good old days of adventure D&D video-gaming, where the adventure is strong, but strategic playing is stronger.

G4 TV

If you're a fan of Neverwinter Nights 2 then this is a no-brainer purchase. The over land map section of the game is hardly revolutionary but does add a much more open feeling to the game - and finding random magic weapons and toys hiding in the trees on the way to town is always a nice bonus.

Games Master UK

A bit rough around the edges but it adds a ton of content. [Feb 2009, p.87]

Game Informer

I can't stress enough that this expansion is for hardcore Dungeons & Dragons nerds. Go into it knowing what it is, though, and this will deliver the kind of no-frills classical Western fantasy RPG experience that made series like Might & magic and Wizardry great. [Jan 2009, p.78]

Jolt Online Gaming UK

What Storm of Zehir does best is in bringing a little bit of Forgotten Realms to life without going too over the top on the story.

PC Gamer UK

It's not a bad idea, but it's hardly high strategy, and definitely not high adventure. [Feb 2009, p.72]

LEVEL (Czech Republic)

New add-on to Neverwinter franchise brings challenge even to vets of this series. Nonlinear style means all pros and cons you can expect: open world to explore on one hand on the other are the shallow interaction between party members. [Issue#173]

PC PowerPlay

Despite its less than stellar story and struggling engine, Storm of Zehir is still an easy recommendation for the right RPG gamer. In many ways it is a more strategic game than the previous titles, just as Icewind Dale was to Baldur's Gate. [February 2009, p.57]

Pelit (Finland)

Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir tries to hark back to the good old days of 80’s computer rpgs, but falls short in every aspect. The lack of story makes everything feel bland and the free-roaming world map is filled with annoying amounts of random encounters. [Jan 2009]

Absolute Games

According to Obsidian, Storm of Zehir is their way to show us what else can be squeezed from Electron Toolset. Well, as a technical demo this expansion is very impressive. As a game – not so much.

GameSpot

Storm of Zehir tries to be the square peg in Neverwinter Nights 2's round hole, with predictably lackluster results.

GameSpy

Those who have always looked at the Neverwinter Nights series as a glorious toy they can tear apart and reconstruct into their own D&D fantasies are going to be very happy with what comes in this installment. If you've come to uncover the mystery of the "Storm of Zehir," you might want to stay indoors until the shower passes.

The average user rating for this game is 8.5 (out of 10) based on 19 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Jerry H. gave it a9:
Its an overall good game. A lot of things could be fined tuned though such as the new Overhead map and the trading gets boring since there's hardly any variety and reminds me a lot of building your castle in NWN2 which was also a little boring. Most towns only have 3 buildings that you can go in and you cannot even explore the town you just go right in from entering the town, which makes it seem like you playing with about 10 people instead of a large world. Voice acting is awful but the soundtrack is actually really good and I often turned off my music to listen to it. All in all its worth $20 and it should hold you off for awhile, or entirely with modding, until Dragon Age: Origins is released.

John M gave it a10:
Killer new party system - making classes/ races much more useful - RPGs should be about player created story not linear canned story experiences. Praise their efforts to push NWN in this bold new direction.

Fomar T. gave it an8:
I think this game's total should be at least 80 but then on the other hand I think I understand why it's not. This was a real departure from what has been offered compared to relatively recent computer D&D games. I think this even includes the much praised BG2 even though it was released years ago. SoZ offers some real freedom in so far as exploration is concerned and as such it makes great strides in using skills that have, for the most part, been ignored in these games such as survival and spot. These skills are pretty much required for use on the new overland map. So I think because of this freedom and new direction the usual deep and satisfying heavy story driven experience that these games are known for is very much missing to make way for this new level of freedom. Because of this I think it only natural, to a certain degree, that the fans and community of this series will be somewhat split with this new direction. There is a story here but it is weak at best. The crux of the game really is the exploration. I think Obsidian really went balls out and this one to take such a departure to a tried and true formula. I think there are valid points on each side of the whether it is successful or not debate. I know that at different points in the game my own take on the debate switched back and forth. On the whole though I liked the game and know I will replay it again. With these points and going back to the first paragraph where I said I think I understand the scores this game is receiving, I think reviewers were a bit a surprised with what they got probably assuming it would be another rich, story based experience. I think some of them just didn’t know what to make of the game. I still think that is the case. Also it is worth nothing that even if you love the game it is, in my opinion, hard to give the game higher than and 80+ score because the game does have some surprising bugs. Nothing near making it unplayable (not even close) but some of the quest and system bugs leave you scratching your head as to how they could be missed in Q&A. I say though if you are a D&D fan, especially if you are a PnP player, this title is worth picking up. Just go into it knowing you are in for a different type of computer D&D experience. It is freedom driven rather than story driven. Also I want to add that if (and I hope that there is) a third expansion, if it combines this freedom along side a story like the first expansion, Mask of the Betrayer, it may just make for the strongest computer D&D experience of all time. I mean that in a way that the experience would be BY FAR the strongest. Come on Atari give Obsidian one more go.

James gave it a6:
I don't know why the user rating is so high. This add-on is mediocre at best. The overland map and, in particular, the effort to make greater use of characters' skills are welcome additions, but the execution is poor. There are no lengthy dungeons to speak of, just a series of one- or two-room locations with little individuality or creativity. The same goes for the cities, most of which are nothing more than a series of identical taverns and temples. I'd like to see some of the elements of this project applied to a more substantial NWN 2 expansion or mod, but Zehir is unfortunately all concept and very little execution.

Bantis gave it an8:
I think this game's total should be at least 80 but then on the other hand I think I understand why it's not. This was a real departure from what has been offered compared to relatively recent computer D&D games. I think this even includes the much praised BG2 even though it was released years ago. SoZ offers some real freedom in so far as exploration is concerned and as such it makes great strides in using skills that have, for the most part, been ignored in these games such as survival and spot. These skills are pretty much required for use on the new overland map. So I think because of this freedom and new direction the usual deep and satisfying heavy story driven experience that these games are known for is very much missing to make way for this new level of freedom. Because of this I think it only natural, to a certain degree, that the fans and community of this series will be somewhat split with this new direction. There is a story here but it is weak at best. The crux of the game really is the exploration. I think Obsidian really went balls out and this one to take such a departure to a tried and true formula. I think there are valid points on each side of the whether it is successful or not debate. I know that at different points in the game my own take on the debate switched back and forth. On the whole though I liked the game and know I will replay it again. With these points and going back to the first paragraph where I said I think I understand the scores this game is receiving, I think reviewers were a bit a surprised with what they got probably assuming it would be another rich, story based experience. I think some of them just didn’t know what to make of the game. I still think that is the case. Also it is worth nothing that even if you love the game it is, in my opinion, hard to give the game higher than and 80+ score because the game does have some surprising bugs. Nothing near making it unplayable (not even close) but some of the quest and system bugs leave you scratching your head as to how they could be missed in Q&A. I say though if you are a D&D fan, especially if you are a PnP player, this title is worth picking up. Just go into it knowing you are in for a different type of computer D&D experience. It is freedom driven rather than story driven. Also I want to add that if (and I hope that there is) a third expansion, if it combines this freedom along side a story like the first expansion, Mask of the Betrayer, it may just make for the strongest computer D&D experience of all time. I mean in that in a way that the experience would be BY FAR the strongest. Come on Atari give Obsidian one more go.

Dave gave it a9:
I really think the Gamespot reviewer missed the boat on this one. The game is by no means perfect... it is, for one, very buggy, just like NWN2 was. But these are not the reasons for the Gamespot reviewer's score; he harped on things like bad voice acting. Really? Bad voice acting is that much of a detriment to the game? Aside from the fact that I thought the voice acting was actually quite good (and I am normally a harsh critic of stilted, pseudo-medieval, 'Verily, thou art a buxom wench!' voice acting), does that really justify such a poor score? The game is great for old school RPG players. They have ported almost all the DnD 3.5 classes and Prestige Classes, and they have succeeded in making almost all the skills valuable. This game has captivated me for some time now. If you have a good system and you don't mind dealing with some bugs, you will have a great time.

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