It has its ups and downs but it was a pleasant experience overall.
OK, now that we got that out of the way, lets move on to the review. NWN2 is the sequel to the critically acclaimed RPG Neverwinter Nights, developed by Bioware (sadly, a company we should call EA Edmonton from now on) and for the most part it improves on many of NWN's flaws, particularly in terms of single player. NWN2 offers a more engaging story, better characters and better writing when compared to the first game. For the most part it plays like NWN1, having the same Real-Time with Pause system, but with the added feature of being able to fully control party members, which adds a whole new level of tactics to combat and customization. It also has a few interesting ideas along the way (a trial, a war of bards, a keep to manage) that certainly raise the quality of the campaign by a lot. The story isn't too original, it's pretty much the type of thing you'd expect from a high fantasy game. But you know what they say: it's the small things that make a difference. And NWN2 has some interesting details, like references to old 'friends' from past D&D games (if you've played Planescape: Torment you'll be familiar with two factions that make an appearance), or interesting dialog lines that either contain a hint of wisdom, or just some funny punch-lines that will have you laughing out loud. It's these small things that stick with you after you've finished the game, it's certainly more than the sum of it's parts.
Also, you'll not be journeying alone: a large number of NPCs will join you. Considering how many and how different they are it's going to be hard not to like at least one or two of them. Too bad the game doesn't give you a choice when it comes to taking them along or not, because while I found a few NPCs to be great, some were annoying and it would have been great if the game allowed you to drop them off... or not take them with you in the first place. Actually, the game has a lot of moments when it forces you to do things in a certain way, it's just how the campaign was thought out. NWN2 is a linear game, no point in denying this. Also, some parts of the campaign feel totally unnecessary. Obsidian could have stripped this down to a 25-30 hour campaign easily, that way it would have been more focused. Most of this filler content is crammed into Act I, so the game has kind of a slow start. Though once you hit Act II things improve significantly. From that point on it was a nice journey with some nice highlights along the way.
NWN2 plays pretty well too, although it's a bit easy (in this case, mods can save the day). At its core, NWN2 uses the same Real-Time with Pause play system that we've seen in Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale, and Planescape: Torment, and the fact that you actually get direct control over party members kind of sets it apart from its predecessor, NWN1. The game has a few AI problems though, but I always play with the AI turned off and I pause frequently to issue orders to the party members. It got particularly fun towards the end when the game throws at you a few tough fights that require careful tactics. But that's just me. If you like it the other way and play on "auto-pilot" (as in with the AI turned on and without taking control of other NPCs to issues commands... or simply put, NWN1 style) you might be disappointed. Also, this is a pretty complex game (D&D 3.5... ) and you have to take it slow to enjoy it's nuances. You have a ton of classes, skills, feats and spells to choose from, so there are many possible character builds. They don't play totally different but it's certainly not the same thing if you play as a fighter or as a warlock for example. If you ask me, part of the fun of this game is taking it slow and experimenting with different builds.
As with the previous NWN, the game also has an online mode, a dungeon master client and a toolset. I must confess I haven't tried the first two, but I the toolset is quite a step up from the old one, allowing you to do more complex and good looking stuff. Of course, its learning curve is higher, but with a little effort you can make some impressive stuff. I have noticed that the online community is blossoming lately. There are a lot of custom campaign and mods and some of these projects are really adventurous and interesting (like Rogue Dao's Planescape: Purgatorio, or Mysteries of Westgate, to name a few). User created content certainly adds a lot to NWN2's value.
In terms of graphics and sound things are pretty good. NWN2 looks great if you have a good PC, but the problem is that it's pretty demanding in terms of hardware. Thankfully it has been getting better and better with every patch. Sounds and music are a mix of old and new, if you've played NWN1 then you'll recognize many of them. It's not a game that sounds particularly good but it's certainly above average.
So what more is there to say? If you're into D&D then this is a must have. The campaign might not be too convincing in the early stages, but it's good, in a familiar kind of way, and the two expansions that have been released since then are excellent. Plus, the amount of user-created content is just staggering. NWN2 is long distance runner and there's plenty of it to explore.