Neverwinter Nights Review

Article Index

Eschalon: Book II

Publisher:Atari
Developer:BioWare Corp.
Release Date:2002-06-18
Genre:
  • Role-Playing
Platforms: Theme: Perspective:
  • Isometric
Buy this Game: Amazon ebay
The online play is definitely where Neverwinter Nights shines, and where it puts many similar titles to shame. The interactive Dungeon Master ability allows for players to enjoy a vast assortment of fan-created adventures online with ease. Each online character is unique in its own way - from feats and skills to stats and appearance. While the multiplayer aspect of NWN is not persistent like MMORPGs (EverQuest, Dark Age of Camelot, etc.) are, it is still capable of sixty-four simultaneous players and of tracking the progression of everyone's character.

Even though Neverwinter Nights boasts many strong qualities, the original release did have its issues. At the time of release, many people who originally purchased this game were plagued with glitches - some serious, others minor. Bugs like these are what turned some people off from the game initially (myself included). Luckily, however, BioWare has done an outstanding job at releasing many patches since the game's release that have cleared up a vast majority of the bugs.

Neverwinter Nights is a game of epic proportions, but one that fails to draw me into the single-player story. Although the graphics are fully 3D and produce some spectacular special effects, they do not compare to those of recent CRPGs like Morrowind. However, it does have compelling online components, which allow for virtually unlimited replayability, and the dynamics of the game are well thought out and implemented. Although it may not appeal to all gamers, I would definitely recommend Neverwinter Nights to CRPG and Dungeons & Dragons fans.