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Great concept poorly executed

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 7 / 11
Date: March 27, 2004
Author: Amazon User

When this game works, it works well. However, I never got through the first campaign due to game breaking bugs. These were persistant bugs that appeared on 4 different systems, all of which were more than well equipped to handle this game hardware wise, and all of which have had no issues playing other equally demanding titles. This game is hands down the most bug-ridden piece of software I have ever owned in my 20+ years as a consumer of video games. It was buggy on release, and subsequent patching has introduced more bugs (while making some fixes).

The bottom line is this: No game, period, that has been on the market for this long should be as riddled with bugs as this one is. I would be ashamed to have been involved in a project like this.

As for the publisher, Atari has a big nostalgia factor as a company (for those of us old enough), but they have really shamed themselves as a producer of this game due to two factors. First, they introduced a copy protection scheme to the disk (securom, I think) that has caused game breaking issues for many users (a simple google search or a visit to Bioware's forums will bear this out). Secondly, their support is the worst I have ever experienced.

I was given the same basic troubleshooting steps (all of which I had tried before even contacting them) by a half dozen different techs who got rid of me after their steps didn't work. These were the very basic things that even an idiot should know to try. Whenever I initiated another support contact (after being ditched by the previous tech), the process repeated itself. It was as if they don't read their own case notes. Truly the poorest support in the business and quite shameful.

Buy this game if you like D&D, but don't expect to play it for long. After so many bugs and issues, you will tire quickly.

It Will not work on AGP Cards

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 4 / 50
Date: January 04, 2004
Author: Amazon User

the VisiontTek Xtasy 9800 PRO 256 MB DDR AGP will not work for it.

Blaaah

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 0 / 6
Date: March 29, 2006
Author: Amazon User

It's not the follow-on to BG2 that I expected. I had high expectations for a game from bioware and I was truly disappointed. Having just one character under full control, and a second barely under control, isn't as much fun.

Overwhelming

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 15 / 25
Date: January 13, 2004
Author: Amazon User

All right, I've tried to get into this one about as much as a fan of the Forgotten Realms can, but, I just don't like it. Here's why: the game is overwhelmingly cluttered with... stuff! Normally, I'd never knock that in such a title. Morrowind, Warcraft, and some other older turned based titles had as much, if not more "stuff" to contend with while playing. Yet, Neverwinter lacks something in its delivery. There were too many times where I got disoriented by some column or building crossing between my character and my eyes that resulted in some minor attack catching me entirely off guard. The ability to modify/personalize your character and his equipment is too limited. Interactions between you and NPCs are frequently tedious and unrewarding. And for those who claim that the expansion packs or tool sets make-up for these frustrations; please note that I didn't give the game 1-star. Oh yeah, the music wasn't that bad either.

What is this?

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 6 / 19
Date: April 22, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I recently bought NWN Gold because I had heard so much good about. People I know who had been in love with Diablo 2/Warcraft/Starcraft quit it to play this. After a little over 12 hours of gameplay, I've concluded that this game overall, sucks.

Why?

A couple of major issues. First off, it's run online by gamespy network. Talk about a poor setup. The friends list takes 15+ minutes to actual find anyone on there that's online, and the overall feel is just...sloppy.

Finally (yes only two flaws managed to make me hate this game) is the gameplay. Everyone seems to love BioWare, but this game honestly isn't much different from their other games. Their D&D 3 edition rules setup isn't that bad, but after playing KotoR and Baldur's Gate, etc. it felt like BioWare just changed a couple of textures and spell names, and then packaged it with a new game name. The real problem I found was how slow this was. The biggest advantage this game was "supposed" to have was being above and beyond the hacknslash. Hah, pure deception. It just runs like a much much slower Diablo 2, and does all the attacking automatically. Not to mention how sluggish the characters move.

The graphics are great however, and the music is top knotch.

The problem is, alot of reviews are trying to make this game sound like something it is not. It is hacknslash, except it does all the hacking and slashing at a snails pace.

Commendable effort, but it amounted to nothing to this gamer.

Fans of BGII may be dissapointed.

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 1 / 5
Date: March 28, 2006
Author: Amazon User

As a huge fan of Baldur's Gate II, I was expecting a lot more from this game. The party system is not at all like BGII. There are no romances or banter to be found, unless you engage in the online play. That, in and of itself, was the most dissapointing aspect of this game. The rest of the game was ok. The graphics are pretty nice, a little cumbersome at times. The plot is fairly interesting, perhaps a bit too easy for some. The game also offers a starting level to help train the new player on the various controls and console. Overall though, it just got really boring without the ingame banter/romances/mods that BGII had.

Too Linear, Too Slow, Not Immersive

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 21 / 38
Date: December 19, 2003
Author: Amazon User

The game is well-done, and the ability for anyone to set up a game server for online play, with custom content, is what really makes this game interesting. The single-player game, however, has some qualities that didn't appeal to me:

(a) The game is pretty linear. At certain points, you will find that you have a single line of advancement open to you. This happened to me at the end of Chapter One, for example, where I was having a hard time defeating a key enemy, but literally had nothing else I could do other than keep trying until I succeeded. I much prefer the free-form type of gaming (such as you would get from Morrowind), where you can wander off and level up once more before retackling a hard opponent.

(b) I found the game to be tedious at times. Part of this was the UI, which is actually "ok" or even "pretty good." But there are still minor annoyances, like having to buy one healing potion at a time when you really want to get, say, 10. Also, the need to click on "End Dialog" after every conversation is a pain.

But the D&D rules are the main source of tedium. As a spell-caster, you have to "memorize" spells in order to cast them. This means that even though you know a spell, you can't cast it unless it's memorized. So you constantly find yourself needing to rearrange your memorized spells for a specific situation, rest, cast the spells, rearrange the spells back to "normal combat" configuration, rest again, then proceed. This would be less painful if there was a way to save spell configurations and swap them out as a group, rather than having to swap out spells one at a time. But a much better approach is the "if you know the spell and you have the mana you can cast it" approach that most other RPGs use.

This is one reason why I wish Bioware would create a non-D&D game. The D&D rules are just too rooted in the paper-and-dice world, and simply don't support a free-flowing, fast-paced game.

(c) The camera controls can be annoying. I constantly find myself having to twist the camera around so I can pick up something, open a chest or door, or try to talk to someone. Too often I wind up clicking on a hireling, summoned creature, or my familiar. Playing with the camera keeps me from playing with the game, and adds to the feeling that the pace of the game is slow and tedious. Really, why should it take 15 seconds to pick up some treasure that's on the floor?

It's a Niche Game, Not Everyone Will Enjoy It Like I Did

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 17 / 22
Date: December 15, 2003
Author: Amazon User

If I could think of a way to best describe Neverwinter Nights, it would be Diablo meets Baldur's Gate. The game is made by the same people that designed Baldur's Gate but it's more of a mainstream "hack and slash" adventure than an epic RPG. Don't get me wrong, the in-game story is great but it just doesn't feel like a classic RPG. One reason for this might be because of the easy Aurora Toolset. If you've ever messed around with PC gaming toolsets, this one will probably be the easiest custom content editor you'll ever see in a game. It was designed that way so that D&D fans everywhere could quickly create their own adventures. (The game even allows you to act as a Dungeon Master.) Unfortunately, the official adventure included with Neverwinter Nights also uses the same toolset that was designed for "Joe Schmoe" and something probably gets lost in the process because each map is designed by a toolset that allows you to simply click and drag houses and farms to build your own D&D adventure. Frankly, most maps just feel the same. Keep in mind too that while it's very easy to place items and creatures with the toolset, you'll need a basic knowledge of programming to script actions in your module. Luckily, NWN Gold is included with the expansion Shadows of Undrentide which adds more custom content to the toolset and another official and lengthy campaign. Make sure you check the official Bioware website so that you can download one of the many custom adventures designed by gamers. There is also a fairly large online community and many gamers have set up their own servers that are up and running 24/7 for online D&D fun. I had a good time with Neverwinter Nights, but not everyone may find the game as enjoyable, especially if they don't like online play or the easy-to-use toolset.

Typical RPG problems, disappointing toolset.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 6 / 14
Date: January 13, 2005
Author: Amazon User

While the game itself is fairly entertaining, it still has those typical design flaws programmers just can't seem to see. Inspite of being told to stay put, characters with you magicly show up next to you as you pass through some doorways, often right into a scene best handled alone. More often, very imaginative strategies will gather fewer experience than rushing blindly into battle. "Scripted events" (where your character is magicly thrown into a new situation or plot line which he or she has the power to control, but can not) can make thinking gamers feel cheated.
The much hyped toolset is a disaster for imaginative Dungeon Masters as the vast majority of "monsters" are of the humanoid type. If as game creator, you don't mind using the same basic type of creaures over and over, the toolset will work for you. Anyone very creative however, will see that most of those fantastic creations from the Monster Manuals can not be included in their game. Professional graphic artists may (in a conciderable amount of time) be able to create unique creatures. Anyone else however, is out of luck. Even if one would be satisfied using the provided monsters, they will be bombarded with the program language "scripting" needed to make events happen within their world. NWN with the expansion contained here had the potential to be great, but falls victim to typical computer RPG problems and unproductive tools for one's own imagination.

Gets a little tedious - not for children

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 2 / 6
Date: July 19, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Never have I played such a visually stunning and impressively massive game. It is just enormous. There are so many places to go and people to talk to it's incredible. That said this game lacked a little something. As much as it was fun to complete quests and roam the picturesque landscape it really got repetitive after a while. All the characters stood pretty stationary and in some areas the quest line could be very easily broken if you weren't careful. The beasts weren't very challenging to fight either. Often all it took to kill a beast is a couple of swipes with your blade; this even includes many of the greater beasts. This game is more about storey line than anything and the themes start to recur after a while. The characters lack voice - while people do greet you with an auditory comment that is all they ever say. It is up to you to engage them and click through the mass of topics they have to talk about and memorize what they have to say.

I also wouldn't suggest allowing children to play this game as it has many adult themes. For example: Slaves - which you can free or engage in buying / selling. Stripper clubs - where you can talk with the actively dancing girls. Homosexuals - which will require you to strip your clothing in order to advance a level. Gangs - most which will request you to eliminate other gangs. Theft - which you will get away with as long as your stealthy or strong enough.

In all this is an impressive game simply because of sheer size and beauty. Otherwise it is lacking depth.

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