Absolutely intriguing
It's a bit late for a review considering the game came out 6 years ago, but I just had to write one. Neverwinter Nights is a game with an extremely involving storyline so if you're not into reading conversations between characters don't read further! The first time I started this game I was honestly bored with the gameplay and felt that the graphics sucked. That's because I hadn't even begun the first quest yet. When I eventually got into the storyline, I found that it was simply out of this world.
Before you begin, you are required to create a character or choose an existing one. The character creation is based along the lines of choosing his/her race (human, elf, druid etc) and the character class (sorcerer, fighter etc). As you gain experience in the game, you will have the option of upgrading your character skills and their class level. The ability to build a character across different classes allowed greater flexibility in developing a character that you would be happy with. Because there are only 20 levels for upgrading a characters class, these would have to be spread out among the different classes you have. For instance, you could start with a fighter and then branch off into a sorcerer (like what I did). My final character was a level 12 fighter and a level 8 sorcerer.
The background music, sounds and cut-scenes added to the feeling of actually being in the game. I don't think it could have been done better than that! The graphics were not so grand but I didn't notice it that much because the quests were so intriguing. Besides the main quest, there were optional side quests that had some promising rewards. There were also optional henchmen (or henchwoman) that you could hire. They came in handy during fights and picking locks but sometimes got stuck in corners so you had to go all the way back to them to make them follow you again. That was the only drawback of the game to me. Besides the henchman, you also could summon a familiar.
I will have to admit that I did follow a walkthrough during some stages of chapter 3. All in all, this is a terrific game that is really worth every penny. It's not too difficult to learn. I'd say about 45 minutes max will get you familiar with the setup and keys. It ran without any glitches on my PC, with onboard graphics!