Preface

          Ah you RPG purists had better look out, there is finally a computer role playing game that rivals the pen and paper experience.  Flippant commentaries aside, Neverwinter Nights is a solid CRPG that deeply resembles third edition D&D in mechanics and role playing.

Diversity

          The charm of Neverwinter Nights is ultimately the diversity of modules that can be loaded into the game.  Bioware did a good job of presenting a toolset to create modules but the user community went one step further:  they have used it.  There are over a thousand modules available for the game.  Some modules are good, many are average and more than a few are bad.  The scope of some modules is perhaps an hour or two of play through a short plot, others might take a very long time to finish.

          The modules available reflect the gaming community and the diversity therein.  More importantly it makes Neverwinter Nights a CRPG that can be replayed any number of times.  Bioware has also done a solid job of releasing internally created modules for public use.

Mechanics

          Neverwinter Nights uses a slight variant of the D&D Third Edition rules, but most of the changes are minor.  Only the classes in the player’s handbook are represented, which feels limiting, but with multi-classing virtually any sort of character type is achievable.

          The interface for playing is very different than the Bioware Infinity engine.  There are a number of programmable quick slots that are presented as buttons and hotkeys to access.  This is very nice in multiplayer mode where pausing is not an option, but also during the course of play since you do not need to dive into the menus to perform an action such as casting spells, sneaking, picking locks, etc.

          To select actions or get information the interface is designed in a radial format.  Clicking on an object will bring up a circle of icons representing what can be done to it, such as looking at the description of an NPC.  The selection is layered, so after clicking on magic there is a submenu for class being cast from, then level, then spell.

          From a game play perspective there are some good additions to Neverwinter Nights that play better than the pen and paper version of D&D.  The first is loosing familiars is not such a painful process as they are treated like summoned creatures.  Along with this is that you can change your familiar every level you gain in the class that garners that feat.  So if you wanted the pixie for its rogue skills rather than the badger for its fighting skills that is no problem.  Lastly is the sorcerer is much more playable, as spells can be changed every level (it is still a better multiplayer/multi-classed option than a solo one as a wizard has a better diversity of spells).

          The feats available in Neverwinter Nights are disappointing.  There should have been more as it seems like there is sameness to feats selected for characters.  Since prestige classes are not available, it would have been nice to feature some feats that better encouraged multi-classing (such as being able to lower arcane spell failure while wearing armor, for example).  It might have been interesting to have additional feats available to characters based on their culture and race as well.

          Death is less of an issue, as characters do get automatically resurrected, but they do pay a price in gold and experience points.  This is okay, from a CRPG perspective it almost needs to be a part of the game.

          One thing lacking in the core mechanics of Neverwinter Nights is the absence of prestige classes.  It might have been an interesting choice to have a select number of prestige classes available to players based on their primary class.  It would give an additional layer to the solo campaign or multiplayer gaming.

          From a game play aspect an item that is lacking is secret doors, there is no functionality for that within the game.  This is a big step backward from the old Bioware games.

Solo Campaigning

          Unlike the other recent D&D CRPG’s of late, Neverwinter Nights is not a party based game.   This may not be to everyone’s taste, but once you get used to this dynamic it becomes comfortable.  Your PC may have a follower and perhaps a familiar or animal companion if their class offers that feat.  For most of the game your followers may be hired at will, since sometimes it is good to have Linu the Cleric but other times it might be better to have Dalen the barbarian.  Each follower has optional subplots to go through, which adds a nice depth to your interactions with them.

          When solo campaigning character design is very critical and can become tricky.  There are many reasons to multi-class to a rogue, since they get plenty of skill points and generally 2-3 levels is all you need to tackle most traps and locks, the backstabbing is a very good thing also.  Even with a follower the game tends to encourage well rounded characters rather than specialists.  The multiplayer game corrects this by having multiple PC’s, so a party that had a fighter, cleric, rogue and wizard would be more self-sufficient and allow great specialization.

          The plot of the single player campaign is solid and provides a variety of things to do.  Mostly it is oriented towards going off a fighting an assortment of bad guys, getting an item or information and reporting back.  But there are also some pleasant surprises involved in quests, such as acting as a defense counselor/investigator in a criminal trial.  There are some very predictable elements in the plot, but it is also very challenging and enjoyable none the less. 

With the integration of D&D3e rules into the game, there are a number of ways a character will be able to interact.  They might be able to persuade an NPC to give a better reward, offer more information, or might have a limited number of things that they can respond with in a conversation.  This is mostly an extension of what Bioware did with their previous game engine.

Group Campaigns

          The multiplayer features for Neverwinter Nights are an equal component to the game and not a slightly buggy and ineffective option as presented in Bioware’s other games.  From the perspective of the program, a single player game is just a local multiplayer game with one player.   Thus all modules can be played with one or more players.

          Multiplayer games run well over the internet and do not suffer lag as other games (such as Dungeon Siege) do.    There is an option for a dungeon master to run a game, but most modules are scripted well enough that those duties can be handled by the hosting computer.

          Character models have a number of options for how they look (thin, fat, dark, light, blonde, redhead, etc).  There are  gestures that can be selected and there is also internal chatting in the game is also an option.  Neither works very smoothly as typing and selecting options off the menus are slower than spoken language.  The best solution is to conference call via the internet or telephone.  The text in the game can get lost in the shuffle.  While players are not likely at the same place it physically it allows them to convey themselves as if it were a traditional D&D game.  Some examples of this might be: “Hey I am going to scout the ruins off to the north,” “Five goblins are coming!,” or “Don’t go near that chest its trapp….ow.”  

          Neverwinter Nights represents the best CRPG to date for real role playing and interaction that is not in the massive multiplayer genre.  As well with the diversity of modules available a group of Neverwinter Nights players can explore worlds that are only limited by the number of modules they wish to play.

Technical

          Neverwinter Nights is a lush game.  The graphics are well represented and detailed.  The only knock is some of the equipment could have been better drawn, especially the helms which look oversized and odd (even circlets are presented as helms which is even more odd looking).  The character models are well done and can be tweaked to match virtually and PC description.  The environmental graphics are well done, but there is a lack of diversity in the environmental options that lead to a noticeable sameness of graphics regardless of who is writing a module.

          From a system requirements perspective, Neverwinter Nights is flexible enough to handle a great range of systems.  Although to enjoy the graphics features a higher end system is in order.

          There are some stability problems in Neverwinter Nights, but nothing that is a significant detriment.  Particularly in multi-player games it seems to crash at least once in a 2-4 hour session.  So long as games and characters are saved it is not a big deal.  Also the quick save can become corrupted, which means that a save game to bookmark periodically is nice.  Also in the third party modules, sometimes the designer might have some quirks in their design that can have unexpected results.  This is more a reflection on the third party than the game itself.

          To counter act stability issues,  Neverwinter Nights has a good updating technology.  Updates are frequent (about every 7-10 days) and are done via one or two clicks after starting the program.  Having broadband the size and frequency of the updates is not much of an issue, but for anyone with a dial-up this might not be as convenient.

Synopsis

Neverwinter Nights represents a CRPG that is a peer to the pen and paper version of third edition D&D.  It features virtually every basic mechanic, feel and character option found in the three core rulebooks.  It does lack a diversity of feats and has no prestige classes, which would have been very good options to include.  This game represents a real role playing experience within the context of a CRPG, which also has an analog in pen and paper gaming (D&D3e rules in the Forgotten Realms setting).