Neverwinter Nights -- This is a HUGE RPG game that will take your character from an adventuring academy to sending him/her out to save the city of Neverwinter and the region of Faerun. The city of Neverwinter has been besieged by a plague, called the "Wailing Death", and the officials of the city have acquired magical creatures that might be able to provide a cure. The plague has taken thousands of lives already, and threatens to spread throughout the Sword Coast, therefore Neverwinter has closed its gates and permitted no one to leave or enter the city. Lady Aribeth, the matriarch Queen of Neverwinter, has issued a call to all adventurers to aid her in a search for a cure and to help enforce the quarantine.
The game starts at the Academy within Neverwinter, and this is pretty much where you receive your training for whichever character class you choose during creation. So this is the Training part of the game, and causes one of my complaints, in that I feel that there should have been a more detailed Training module, preferably a whole section that could have been accessed from the main menu. After you go through your training, the Academy is attacked and the Waterdavian creatures that Lady Aribeth had collected to help create a cure for the plague have been stolen. Aribeth requests to meet you, and you set off on your adventure to try to find the missing creatures so that her mages can perform the ritual that will create a cure.
There are six basic abilities that make up your character. They are Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. The alignment of your character will also need to be set, and as the game progresses, it will change according to your actions toward the races of Neverwinter. This alignment is rooted in concepts of good and evil, law and chaos. Before you begin your adventure, you must create a character to play. This process is known as Character Creation, and if you are eager to skip this section and start playing, then there is an option to choose a premade character, which will set-up all the specifics of a character class and send you on your way to an exciting adventure. I would personally suggest that you take the time to make your own character, because this gives you a feeling that your character is unique to your own likes and dislikes, therefore being more involved with your character and the adventure he/she is embarking on.
If you decide to create your own character, then these are the things you will be deciding:
1) Gender: Of course your options are Male or Female.
2) Race: There are seven playable races, and they are Human, Dwarf, Elf, Gnome, Half-Elf, Half-Orc, and Halfling. Each race will have Special Abilities like Darkvision, or Immunity to Sleep spells. Many will also require adjustments to ability scores, some good and some not so good. The Favored Class for each race will be listed as well.
3) Portraits: The game will have several pictures for you to choose from, some better than others.
4) Class: This is a VERY important part of Character Creation. Many things within the game will be determined by what type of adventurer you are, such as attack speeds, armor class, skills, and spell resistance. You can choose from the following classes: Barbarians, Bards, Clerics, Druid, Fighter, Monk, Paladins, Rangers, Rogues, Sorcerers, and Wizards. On the right side of the screen, important info will be listed about each of these classes, such as alignment restrictions, Hit Die, Proficiencies, and Skill Points. To make each class unique and worthwhile to play, this game incorporates Special Abilities that are specific to each class. Here is an example for each class: Barbarian -- Rage, Uncanny Dodge Bard -- Bardic Knowledge, Bardic Music Cleric -- Turn Undead, Spontaneous Cast Druid -- Woodland Stride, Nature Sense Fighter -- Bonus Feats Monk -- Flurry of Blows, Evasion Paladins -- Lay on Hands, Divine Grace Ranger -- Animal Companion, Favored Enemy Rogue -- Sneak Attack, Uncanny Dodge Sorcerer -- Summon Familiar Wizard -- Summon Familiar, Bonus Feats Many times during your adventure, these abilities can turn the tide of battle, and turn what may seem like a possible defeat to a stunning victory. One of my favorites is the Lay on Hands for the Paladin, in which he/she can actually heal themselves or companions. The Favored Enemy for the Ranger is very useful as well. He or she will gain damage bonuses when fighting this particular creature. The Sneak Attack for the Rogue make this class a very deadly fighter. When they use this ability during melee attacks, it deals extra damage. In addition to these abilities, there are also skills and feats that a character can master as the game goes on. Each time your character levels up, he or she will be given points to use on skills. Some skills are available only to certain classes, While others are available to all classes. Examples of skills include Discipline and Move Silently. The feats are used to really specialize your character. One is given at the time of character creation, and after that the frequency at which you gain a feat depends on the character class, but most of the time it is within 3 or 4 levels. Examples of feats include Ambidexterity and Extra Turning. For the players who prefer to dabble in the magical arts, Neverwinter Nights offers the following schools of magic: Abjuration (used to shield the caster), Conjuration (Summoned Allies), Divination (being able to anticipate), Enchantment (gain control of creatures), Evocation (manipulate energy), Illusion (alter perception), Necromancy (create or destroy life), and Transformation (transform the recipient).
In Neverwinter Nights, your NPC's or companions are referred to as "Henchmen". There will be six available for your use, and they can be found at a local tavern. I have always enjoyed the concept of NPC's as I think it can really help you in combat, since most of the time games can be extremely tough if you try to play them solo. The only problem I had with this game rule concerning "Henchmen", was that you were only allowed one at a time. But I was overjoyed to find out later in one of the expansion games that they expanded that number. It will be possible at times to also have a third ally. This will happen if you or one of your "Henchmen" have the ability to summon creatures or have the animal companion skill. Unfortunately you cannot control your "Henchman" inventory. This means that the weapons and armor that the "Henchmen" start the game with, will be the equipment that they must use throughout the entire game. But I will give you something to look forward too, and tell you that this changes when you play the expansion games. There is also another VERY unique feature to this game. At some point in the game, you will be given a recall stone, and this stone acts as a teleportation device that will automatically transport you to the temple within Neverwinter. Once there, you will have the chance to heal, and for a certain amount of gold, you can transport back to where you last used the stone. This can come in real handy during a difficult battle, and if you die during battle, the stone will transport you to the temple as well. If it was death that brought you to the temple, than you can resurrect (respawn) yourself, but this will cost you experience points and a fair amount of gold. There are tons of things to see and do in this game. Most of your experience points will be earned by completing quests and killing monsters. There are your main quests that drive the story, which is a VERY interesting one, and then there are plenty of side quests as well to keep you busy. The "Henchmen" have their own stories as well, so it would be wise to take the time to get to know them. They will have their own quest for you to help them with, and you might even receive some powerful objects in return for helping them out. As you mighht imagine, this fine game is not lacking in combat, and there are plenty of challenging monsters to fight. You can expect to encounter the following foes while traveling in Neverwinter: goblins, skeletons, zombies, vampires, trolls, rakshasas, golems, balors, and dragons. One very convenient feature that this game offers, is called the Quickbar. There will be 12 slots at the bottom of the gaming screen, and they represent the 12 function keys on your keyboard. This feature lets you drag any item from your inventory page, and place that item on any of the 12 slots located on the Quickbar. Anytime during gameplay you can use these items quickly by just pressing the corresponding function key on your keyboard. This makes for an excellent way of quickly using items, such as potions, magic rods, and magical harps.
The graphics are superb in this game. The cities and environments are extremely detailed, and you are pulled into a world that is vivid with colors and textures.
The sound is great, with plenty of ambient sounds, and a background music score that drives your party of adventurers toward their goal. There is also a wide variety of voices for your companions and many other NPC's you will meet in Neverwinter. During character creation, you will be given the chance to choose a voice track that will be used for your character.
The interface for this game is excellent, with everything being a mouse click away, and as I have already mentioned in other reviews, that is just how I like my RPG's. You will have access to many tools that will help you along your journey. There is a map that can be brought up at any time, and you can even keep it up during gameplay, and that was a very nice option. It pops up in the upper lefthand side of the screen and will stay there as long as you like. Your character portrait will be shown in the upper right hand corner of the screen, with options such as Journal, Quest Log, and Character Stats available right under it. Below that will be a smaller portrait of your "Henchman" and any summoned or familiar characters. Clicking on your character's portrait will bring up the inventory page. Neverwinter Nights offers an amazing amount of equipment that can be purchased from merchants or found during your adventures. When you bring up the inventory screen, you will be able to equip the following: helmet (protects the head), armor (covers torso and legs), cloak (can provide additional protection), belts (can enhance Strength and other attributes), boots (protects feet and can enhance speed), weapons (melee and ranged), shield (from bucklers to tower shields), rings, and amulets. There are also slots available for ranged weapon ammo, such as bolts, arrows, and bullets for slings.
The replay value is great because this is such a large game that there is no telling how many new areas or new objects can be found when you play it again.
There is a multiplayer option to this game, so that is another way that you could experience it all over again.
The gameplay is superb, with so many quests and monsters to battle in this game, you will be entertained for hours, and probably lose some sleep over it.....LOL
The learning curve is not that bad for this game, mainly because most everything you need is VERY easy to find, and can be found by clicking the icons on the gaming screen. What I have read in other reviews is that some people believe that the D&D rules and so forth could have been explained better, but most of that IS explained thoroughly in the manual, and all of those numbers and calculations are done automatically by the computer, so I do not see that this as an issue for this game.
Finally, there is one other VERY unique feature to this game that nust be mentioned in any review of it. I have not used this feature very often myself, but it is still a great addition to the game, and most gamers will say that this is what makes Neverwinter Nights stand out from all of the other RPG's. Included with Neverwinter Nights is a toolset that will actually let you build your own adventures. It uses the same tools and programs that the game designers used to make the single player campaign, and they offer it to you as well. You can create an entire world with it, and even be the Dungeon Master!!!!!!!! At the back of the manual, there is a section that tells you how to use this toolset, and then you will be on your way to creating adventures.
This is the biggest review I have ever written, so that should tell you how much there is too this game. I would HIGHLY recommend this game, and be prepared to spend hours, days, and maybe even months playing it. You might even forget going to work, or taking a bath. LOL
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