I dare say Mask of the Betrayer is a must for any gamer who's serious about his RPGs.
Enter Mask of the Betrayer (MotB), the first expansion for Neverwinter Nights 2, a release that changed the name of the game for the series. If past games were mostly linear adventures with plenty of dungeon crawling (maybe too much), this time, developer Obsidian Entertainment focused more on the quality and consistency of writing, on adding plenty of role-playing opportunities, and on polishing the game mechanics. So how did this expansion turn out? Read on!
1. D&D 3.5
MotB uses the D&D 3.5 rule-set, which means that things like character creation, leveling up and combat are quite complex. Obsidian added some new races, classes and spells but the most significant addition is the new resting system. In NWN2, resting was something you could do almost anywhere and for as many times as you liked; you would just wait for 5 seconds and your character was fully healed. In MotB we are back to the resting system of old, where you set up camp and wait for several in-game hours. And to make sure the player wouldn't abuse of this new resting system, Obsidian limited its uses by adding the Spirit Eater mechanic, but we'll talk about that later. The expansion takes place exclusively in the epic levels of D&D, which means more powerful character builds, plenty of loot, tougher enemies and larger XP rewards. The effect of all these changes is positive, the game feels more challenging and better balanced. Combat requires more effort and even exploration requires a bit of planning, so I'd say Obsidian did a much better job with balancing this time around, although there's still room for improvement.
2. The setting
And so we say goodbye to the Sword Coast, to its political intrigues and to its ancient evils that lie in wait for their grand awakening (and grand defeat at the hands of a hero). Instead we travel east, to the land of Rashemen, home of great spirits, witches, hags and the famed rashemi berserker warriors. Thay is also nearby so expect to meet the famed Red Wizards as well. The people in Rashemen are different, they have different beliefs and traditions, and their political structure is different from that of the Sword Coast. It's a lovely change of pace to be honest, nothing beats experiencing something new, something different. This is definitely one of MotB's strong points.
3. Story, writing
MotB's story picks up where NWN2 left off... well, sort of. Those who've played the original campaign know how tragic the ending was, so it's a bit of a mind-bender to start MotB in a cave in distant Rashemen. But answers will come in due time, so don't despair. The Sword of Gith has been taken from you and so has the Crystal Shard from your chest. But that's not all, you soon discover that you have a rare condition the rashemi call 'spirit-eater'. So off you go to find a cure and some answers. What you'll stumble upon is nothing short of grand. Also, I can tell you right away, don't expect to travel with your old companions, they're out (most are dead anyway), and new ones are in. The old ones were good but I like the new ones better, they're fewer in number but more unique, and they don't talk your ear off, which is nice for a change. Also, the writing in this game is top-notch. I haven't seen writing this good since Planescape: Torment, and that's very high praise indeed. Everything from dialogs to narration to item descriptions to lore is absolutely top notch.
4. Choices and consequences
Mask of the Betrayer offers so many choices along the way that you definitely need to play this game at least three times to fully explore its content. But choices without consequences equate to nothing, and MotB has consequences for many of the choices you make. The majority of dialogs put your Diplomacy, Bluff, Intimidate, Spellcraft and Lore skills to good use, as well as a few other stats. There's always more than one way to do things in this game, but the great news is that each way has its own consequences. For example, helping a pair of witches dispose of an old hag might yield different results. Do it the violent way and you score a sweet item from the witches, as well as a fat reward in experience points. Do the old hag a favor and bluff the witches into thinking that the hag has been dealt with and you score an important item that will help in a different quest. But fail your Bluff skill check on the witches and you'll get no help from them regarding one of your main quests. Some of the choices and consequences might be obvious from the get go, while others might be more subtle and take you by surprise, so keep an eye out.
5. The Spirit Meter
Obsidian have also brought something new in terms of game mechanics, a system born out of the story itself. It's called the Spirit Meter. Since you are a spirit-eater you will have to feed from time to time in order to survive. This keeps your spirit energy high. So what's stopping you from going crazy and eating every spirit you encounter? Well, eating more will increase your craving thus making your spirit energy drop faster. It's like being addicted to a drug: the more you consume, the more you crave. Of course, you can also choose to suppress your hunger, thus reducing you craving and making you energy go down slower. And if your meter is almost empty then you have no choice but to use your Satiate ability, which, at the cost of some XP, refills the energy meter and reduces your craving. As you might have guessed, both approaches have advantages and disadvantages, but be warned: traveling and resting lowers your spirit energy so it's wise to plan ahead. Now, I've heard many people complain about this little mechanic, and to be perfectly honest I don't see why. It makes you plan your steps, it stops you from abusing the resting system, and it balances the game overall. It doesn't requires you to bend your mind to understand and manage this meter, so live with it. That's the beauty of this situation, your character is cursed and you actually get to experience that for a change, the curse is not just a thing mentioned in the story. It's an active element of gameplay.
6. Things MotB didn't get right
One thing that doesn't work in this game is the camera. Obsidian switched to a two-mode control scheme but neither mode works too well. Like with NWN2's cam, it constantly needs adjustments and it 'feels' a bit clunky. Another issue is the inventory window, it's very basic and not very functional, which is weird since there are excessive amounts of loot up for grabs throughout the campaign. As it is, managing your loot is a bit of a hassle. Also, the combat can get chaotic and confusing at times, mostly because of the over-the-top spell effects. Sure, they look epic, but ultimately they're counter-productive. The combat system is decent otherwise, but there's plenty of room left for tweaking. And finally, I found the Influence system a bit too transparent. Every time an influence shift takes place, the game specifies the amount of influence points you gained/lost. Personally, I'd rather have this stuff go on in the background and not get a notice every time an influence shift takes place. This would prevent people from figuring out what NPCs like/don't like to hear, and use that to exploit the system.
7. Audio-visual presentation
The Electron Engine used by MotB is pretty good looking, although it's not top of the line tech. The thing that makes the game look more appealing is the creative use of color and sfx, as well as the inspired art direction. For example, you will travel to a shadow plane that's almost devoid of color, while other places like The Sunken City will have a particularly dreamy feel because of all the water pouring from the walls and the weird colored lights. Actually, every major area has a color theme and it makes the game feel very atmospheric. Never underestimate the power of color. Of course, sound is a very important part of the experience as well, and MotB excels in this area too. The voice acting is excellent and the music is a delight. I'd even go as far as saying that MotB has one of the best soundtracks ever created for a video game, but that's just my opinion.
8. System requirements
NWN2 was a pretty demanding game and although MotB is much better optimized, you still need a pretty good PC to run it. Don't even think about using 512MB RAM cause the loading times will kill you, not to mention the stuttering. Once you upgrade to 1GB or RAM (the more the merrier) things improve considerably. In terms of CPU and GPU the game isn't that demanding. Everything mainstream will do just fine, even certain low-end parts will do the job as long as you have a 2.4GHz CPU and a capable Shader Model 2 compliant GPU with at least 128MB of on-board memory. It's also worth noting that a more powerful CPU will benefit overall performance more than using a beefy GPU. And speaking of requirements, you NEED to have NWN2 installed in order to play this expansion, it's not a stand-alone.
9. Conclusions
As far as I'm concerned, MotB made a powerful impression on me. It's the type of experience that transcends entertainment and goes further. It has some flaws but they feel like nothing when compared to the quality of its writing and atmosphere. It's not exactly easy to pick up if you have no previous experience with the genre, but after a romp through the NWN2 official campaign (or other 3rd Edition D&D games like the first Neverwinter Nights, The Temple of Elemental Evil, or Icewind Dale 2) you should get the hang of it. And if you already have NWN2 then you owe it to yourself to buy this expansion. I dare say Mask of the Betrayer is a must for any gamer who's serious about his RPGs.