Neverwinter Nights 2 Mac Review

[GameBanshee News]

Inside Mac Games has reviewed the Mac version of Neverwinter Nights 2, giving it a 6/10 and citing quite a few technical issues and not being totally happy with the way the game was ported.

Seriously, do not ignore the minimum requirements of this game. In fact, if you just meet the minimum, move on to something else! There’s a lot of hate and discontent on the internet these days about a modern laptop (specifically the Macbook) not being able to play the newest games. Neverwinter Nights 2 is no exception. Do not rely on Intel integrated chipsets in the Mac Mini, some white imacs, or the Macbook to adequately play games like this! This isn’t the fault of Apple, nor the porting house. Be aware of what you buy, both in hardware, and in software!

Try as I may, I couldn’t get internet co-op to work. The camera was more insane than it normally was, and a few other issues manifested. I tried to connect at three different locations, with two different ISPs, both wired and wirelessly. The flaw isn’t the data rate or the connectivity, or even the network- the flaw seems to be how the information you get from the other player is translated on your end. These also manifested on LAN play. The problems are so bad and so persisitent I have to recommend you not consider this as a usable feature when you purchase the game.

While not quite a technical issue, the game doesn’t include the editing toolset like it does on the PC. This is a horrible omission, and for whatever the reason, we, as Macintosh users, still buy ports that omit creation kits. Sure, this doesn’t affect everyone, but it’s a problem that’s existed for years on the Macintosh side of the fence in the interest of timely porting, financials for game companies, and bug testing issues. Praise porting companies for bringing the games over, but the days of no editing toolkits should end, and end now. The custom content issue isn’t a total loss, though. Custom content developed on Windows imports fine, and barring showstopping scripting bugs that Joe Internet made in his own development process, add a great deal of playability to the game. As far as I can tell, user content that works is the best feature of having a game ported to the Macintosh two years after the game shipped on Windows.

[Tricky]

Seriously, Mac? And they're not porting to Linux? Treachery.