I had originally bought this game as a chance to play an online rpg that moved and progressed more quickly than the mmorgs that are currently flooding the market. The first time through you will find yourself playing the original 40 hour + single player campaign, which on a basic level includes some underdeveloped AI for companion and enemy players. For gamers new to the D&D style RPGs, the companions can be life savers while you learn the controls since fighter classes can choose from a variety of spell casters to aid them, and a few tanks to keep monsters off of you if you chose the mage or archer approach. For experienced D&D players, the difficulty setting can be raised to include rules for damaging fellow party members and non aggresive NPCs. After playing through the first time, NWN has 2 expansion packs that bing in several prestige classes that should be very familliar to 3rd addition gamers. These classes allow you to take full advantage of the 3 classes one character can level at any given time. Arcane Archers (Shadows of the Undrentide) allow characters to deal fireball arrows for massive area damage, and arrows that never miss for the frustrating concealed monsters. Red Dragon Disciples (Hordes of the Underdark) give sorcerers and bards natural strength, defense, and eventually dragon breath and wings. Finally, after playing through 3 campaigns and somewhere around 80 - 100 hours of gaming, you should have 2 or 3 very powerful characters to take into the online version of the game. NWN includes an extensive dungeon master kit allowing players to create their own levels, items, and npcs allowing for endless campaigns to bring your character to epic status. After playing online a few times you will find the main function of this game is the multiplayer aspect leaving the single player campaigns for character building. Overall, the game uses a basic set of graphic tile sets and somewhat predictable music scores. There is a high replay factor as you try to build the perfect character for your style of playing. Have fun and hopefully this helps out.
The first time I heard (or more accurately, read) about Neverwinter Nights was when I was playing Baldur's Gate II and a loading screen told me I would be able to import my Baldur's Gate character on Neverwinter Nights. ... Read Full Review
It only takes a glimpse at the manual to realize that Neverwinter Nights is a massive game. Over 200 pages of detailed information will give you a clear idea of what you're getting into. In fact, unless you're a hardcore... Read Full Review
