Difficulty:

Hard

Time Spent:

100 or More Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Best in series"

When I watched the opening sequence of HotD, I wasn't impressed. "Okay," I thought, "another power-crazed Dark Lord (or Lady in this case) with horrible lines to boot. Couldn't they have come up with something more original?" So great was my disappointment that I stopped playing and didn't return to the game for a long time. When I did, however, I was rewarded. I quickly discovered that there was a lot more to the story than I had thought, and about halfway through the game I realized that there was more than I could have hoped. Hordes of the Underdark features the greatest variety of locations and enemies of all three Neverwinter Nights games, as well as the greatest emphasis on roleplaying, since your actions will determine a great deal of the plot development. Because you begin at a high level (15 or higher if you import your character from the previous two games as I did), and because there are many powerful magical items in the game, you can become mighty indeed; however, the many battles in the game will test your power to its limits. You'll have to do a lot of thinking to win those; brute force will rarely suffice. The bottom line is, whether you are looking for an engrossing storyline, intellectual challenge or a lot of fighting, you most certainly won't be disappointed.