Just quit playing Neverwinter Nights 2 - Why didn't anyone tell me this was a crapfest

[CrownPrinceBandar]

Picked it up recently for cheap because I really liked the original. However, compared to the original, this game is feeble in comparison. The graphics are really superb, the adherence to the rules is admirable, but the AI stinks to all hell and the camera control is nonexistent.

The worst of the offences is the AI-controlled NPC's. Most irritating is that all the NPC's refuse to follow commands to stay put and will run across the entire map to fight enemies, potentially bringing several enemies upon us before we buff our characters for battle. This comes despite my tweaking the behavior settings and also downloading a third-party HAK-pack that supposedly addresses this issue. Or worse, they stay put, looking dumbly and waiting to be slaughtered. I have been unable to find a happy medium between the two.

Then there are the cameras. The camera controls are amongst the worst I've ever encountered in a game. In open areas, its not so bad. You can control your character and NPC's actions fairly well, as well as get a good idea of the terrain. However, all hell breaks loose in tight spaces, like say, the "Back Alley" section of Neverwinter. Here your camera sways and shifts around so much that either you have an uber-closeup of your main character, or only a partial scene with roofs and walls blocking much of the battlefield.

I had such high hopes for this game. I thought the original was a superb game that gave players and multiplayer DM's a cool playground to run through. Unfortunately, the sequel has some serious flaws that (even this long after the release) go unrepaired. I hope Obsidian, or whomever hold the rights to NWN will take a long look at the shortcomings of NWN2 and try again and get it right.

I love the D&D franchise and have played for over 30 years, and NWN let me have my dungeon crawls long after my old DM and playing partners have retired from the game. Thankfully there is still quite a bit of downloadable content for the original, because the sequel is just lame.

[Evoman]

1. I didn't like either of the Neverwinter NIghts games.

I don't know why, but I found them boring and lacking in depth. I loved Baldurs Gate so much, especially the second one, that I was sure I would love Neverwinter Nights. But I really didn't.

I like rolling my character. I liked being able to keep rolling until I got better stats. I spend a lot of time rolling my perfect character.

I like having a full team of six characters. The buddy system, where you could have only 1 hired NPC on your team, didn't do shit for me. I want complete control. And I hated the AI of the second Neverwinter Nights.

Also, maybe it's because I haven't played D and D in real life since second edition rules, I hate all these new rule roleplaying games. I'm one of those freaks who likes the 2nd Edition rules, like in Baldur's Gate.

The ultimate Role Playing game, and the sort of game I've wished for ever since, was Planescape: Torment, which I loved too pieces.

[CrownPrinceBandar]

4. I played Baldur's Gate and it was cool..........

but, unlike you, I never warmed up to 2nd edition rules whether it be for pen-and-paper or VG. I thought the THAC0 was just more effort than it was worth, and much preferred the d20 system when it came along. I played Icewind: Dale when it came out and it was alright. I even somewhat liked the Troika turd Temple of Elemental Evil despite it slow start and many bugs (mostly because I really liked the original module - also because it was in Greyhawk as opposed to Forgotten Realms).

But, I believe that NWN was a great game because of multiplayer. I like that the game has the flexibility that would allow you to play as a character or run a module as a DM. I also really like that it also included a game-engine toolkit so you can run your buddies through a classic module that you have adapted, or find your own ways to send a party to a horrible death.

[YOY]

6. 100% in agreement.

NWN never really did it but Planescape and BG I and II (especially II) were the bomb.

The NPCs seemed 5 times more kickass due to the banter and the thought that went into them...and that crappy idea of having only one NPC in NWN...seriously...what the fuck were they thinking?

Sadly Bioware hasn't made anything REMOTELY as cool as BGII or Planescape recently. Mass Effect and Dragon Age...sure...nice console games with 2 followers and that annoying over the shoulder (and "adjustable"...but never quite right) camera angle. But a PC game on par with previous creations???

Oh come on.

[romana]

2. I agree

I really love NWN, and still play it online with friends when I can.

NWN2 was utterly craptastic and a waste of money. The horrible camera alone made the game unplayable, not to mention the plethora of other problems.

[Orsino]

3. Huh. I liked it.

Now, the first NWN was something of a crapfest, certainly. The voice acting was iffy at best, and in the case of that lady paladin (who goes on and on about her luvvahhhhh), ludicrously bad. I hope, by the way, that you've run across the fan-created NWN1 modules by a guy named Adam; my wife considers them head-and-shoulders above anyone else's (including the shelfware game).

It sounds like you look for different things in a CRPG. I don't recall any camera troubles with NWN2--but I may just assumed that anything like that was due to my own ineptitude. I got distracted after getting my half-orc fighter/paladin up to level 5/5, and never returned to the game, but its story was pretty interesting, I thought.

[CrownPrinceBandar]

5. I liked the gameplay of the first NWN............

but I agree, the voice acting was horrible, and the story was somewhat suspect. But the gameplay far outshone the sequel. YMMV.

Like I said in OP, The customer-made content is what keeps me coming back to the original. I will look for modules by Adam as I'm always looking for a good story. Thanks.

[TroubleMan]

7. The expansion, Mask of The Betrayer, is 100 times better.

The camera issues are still there, but the story is epic and if you played through the first it ties up all the lose ends.

You can skip the first part, and play the second part and it will still make sense.