Llyranor

It's MCA, what can I say? Erm, the writing, if I could compare it to previous titles, is pretty much KOTOR2 compared to KOTOR1, but based of course in the FR. It's been all-around entertaining, with some pretty funny bits. It's what I expect from BIS/Obs - writing with personality. I'd rate it above what Bioware has done so far; I find them mostly solid, but sometimes a bit bland (I found BG2 to have solid writing, but a tad too standard most of the time). Of course, that's my own bias, and opinions may differ. It's no PST, but there hasn't been much story exposition so far, nor any Dak'kon/Morte-esque characters met yet. The first real party member so far is more a simple type, who loves , and that makes him a-okay in my book. Like I said before, I found his backstory pretty enjoyable. But he's not a serious character.

I've played a bit more, and just finished up the first (common Forgotten Realms establishment where adventurers may come to rest for the night) and met up with the first real party member. Entertaining character, whose backstory is actually pretty interesting, despite its apparent simplicity. I like. I'm quite fond of the game so far. It does have some vibes of BG1/2. 1) The visual atmosphere is very nice. The lighting really adds different moods to the exterior areas. As for interiors, the placeables are really beyond what NWN1 was capable. They actually do remind me a bit of BG1/2's interiors, but in 3D. Especially the (common Forgotten Realms establishment where adventurers may come to rest for the night) rooms compared to BG's. 2) Full party control is awesome. Granted, the combat so far has been pretty simple so far, but it's been made more enjoyable thanks to full control. It's very reminiscent of the IE games. You can't select multiple chars at once and order moves (which you don't need, since party members will follow the leader outside of combat even with AI off) or attacks as far as I've seen so far, though. ++ kudos. I'm actually enjoying the low-level spells. It's nice to see daze or grease effects popup as a small icon next to the enemies who are affected. The quickcast menu is AWESOME. Thanks JE! 3) I'm getting used to the free camera control (IE-style). Very nice now. You move the camera independently of the characters. I use W and S to tilt it up and down, and A and D to rotate it around, and the mouse borders to move it. Mousewheel to zoom. It's very nice in terms of playing around and setting proper camera angles to get good views of the battles (or just stick it high up and see everything) or to look at the scenery. Being able to view the environments in full 3D *is* quite appreciated, and the detailed look gives it many advantages that the IE games had over NWN1. 3) World map = It definitely feels like BG1 so far, though - of course - I've only gotten to a few areas so far. But, it's presented in the same flow, where you have to go through them in geographical order. I can't say much about the nonlinear exploration feel yet, but I've just arrived at a spot where I can choose two areas to go to, both of which make story sense. It's definitely appreciated. Also, being able to pause during cutscenes = :cool: Of course, as I've already said, the main theme music is hauntingly beautiful. As for cons: 1) Performance is good enough (at min settings), but not silky-smooth. At higher settings, it's a resource hog for my system. 2) As I said before, graphics aren't technically 'best graphics ever', but A] I don't actually care and B] min settings That being said, when you compare graphics vs performance, it should probably run better. Or I just need to upgrade anyway. 3) Otherwise, I can't really complain about anything. Like I said, voice-acting is at least competent, though that could be a con for some. I'm not far enough into the story to have unfolded mindblowing storytelling yet, but it's compelling so far and would have kept me playing if I didn't need to go. And with that, I'm leaving town until the end of the weekend, so no more impressions from me. With that said, NWN2 gets my

Given the number of NWN2 threads going on here, I figure we should have a single thread where players can post their impressions. Let's keep this thread focused solely on that. As for marking spoilers, use tags. [spoiler ]insert spoiler[/spoiler ], but without the spaces. Newer impressions below. I posted this earlier about the tutorial. It took me about 1h30 to finish. Granted, it's way way shorter than that, but I spent a lot of time just exploring the scenery. The new heightmaps make the exteriors really nice, and the way the placeables are used made the only interior I've seen so far seem unique. Technically-speaking, it's not best graphics ever material - and it doesn't matter anyway since I'm running it on uber-minimum settings. From a modder's perspective, though, looking at all of this is a great learning experience. I wouldn't be surprised if I spend a lot more time on the OC than the average player, given how much time I'm going to waste analyzing the environments. Gameplay-wise, there isn't much to see in the tutorial. You're basically learning the ropes of how the game works. NWN1 players won't have much of a learning curve to go over. I quite like the new interface, though. The free camera option is quite nice, and lets you move the camera freely, like in the old IE games. I've found myself gravitating back to the old topdown view, though. You can set the AI of your party members off, which was the first thing I did. Otherwise, you can set various AI options for them. Also, when you hold-right-click and make the context-sensitive menu pop up (akin to Fallout), you can choose orders for your party members (I don't remember them correctly since I didn't use it, but I think there were things like 'heal me' or 'attack my target' or whatever). In terms of story, well, essentially, it's some festival, and you're out to win in various activities. The writing is quite entertaining so far. Not mindblowing or anything, nor is it supposed to be, given the setting. This is already more than I can say from many other games, simply from the tutorial. Some of the NPCs are quite nice - particularly the dude. Talking a bit to your party members and learning a bit about them was a nice touch, in terms of getting to know your 'childhood friends'. It's a nice way to set the background, before the real adventure begins. Of course, it IS a tutorial, and I'm judging it as such. I particularly like how choosing my background It's a little touch, yet a very nice one. Having these little changes catering to your unique choices during character creation = rewarding. The voiceacting is at least competent, though some could probably find it annoying or whatnot. I've found it from 'good enough' to 'fits character well'. The music is, of course, phenomenal. But I already knew this from the preorder toolset. Numerical ratings are irrelevant, but I'm hooked. The only reason I've already got it is http://www.direct2drive.com

Played a bit more, finished the first big battle in chapter 1. ROFL @ (mild very early game spoilers) If they were poking fun at Bioware and BG2, GG Obsidian, GG.

So evil I'm playing the game.

Well, it took me about 1h30 to finish. Granted, it's way way shorter than that, but I spent a lot of time just exploring the scenery. The new heightmaps make the exteriors really nice, and the way the placeables are used made the only interior I've seen so far seem unique. Technically-speaking, it's not best graphics ever material - and it doesn't matter anyway since I'm running it on uber-minimum settings. From a modder's perspective, though, looking at all of this is a great learning experience. I wouldn't be surprised if I spend a lot more time on the OC than the average player, given how much time I'm going to waste analyzing the environments. Gameplay-wise, there isn't much to see in the tutorial. You're basically learning the ropes of how the game works. NWN1 players won't have much of a learning curve to go over. I quite like the new interface, though. The free camera option is quite nice, and lets you move the camera freely, like in the old IE games. I've found myself gravitating back to the old topdown view, though. You can set the AI of your party members off, which was the first thing I did. Otherwise, you can set various AI options for them. Also, when you hold-right-click and make the context-sensitive menu pop up (akin to Fallout), you can choose orders for your party members (I don't remember them correctly since I didn't use it, but I think there were things like 'heal me' or 'attack my target' or whatever). In terms of story, well, essentially, it's some festival, and you're out to win in various activities. The writing is quite entertaining so far. Not mindblowing or anything, nor is it supposed to be, given the setting. This is already more than I can say from many other games, simply from the tutorial. Some of the NPCs are quite nice - particularly the wizard dude. Talking a bit to your party members and learning a bit about them was a nice touch, in terms of getting to know your 'childhood friends'. It's a nice way to set the background, before the real adventure begins. Of course, it IS a tutorial, and I'm judging it as such. I particularly like how choosing my background (mage's apprentice) put me in the shoes of the wizard dude's apprentice. It's a little touch, yet a very nice one. Having these little changes catering to your unique choices during character creation = rewarding. The voiceacting is at least competent, though some could probably find it annoying or whatnot. I've found it from 'good enough' to 'fits character well'. The music is, of course, phenomenal. But I already knew this from the preorder toolset. Numerical ratings are irrelevant. The only reason I've already got it is http://www.direct2drive.com

Just finished the tutorial. I'm hooked.

I just spent 30 min in character creation making my bard. Less than 2-3 min was spent on designing the look. Boohoo. The music is haunting.

You're just bitter because you want to be Bethesda CEO.

Wait, didn't Gamespot say DM was one of the best games at E3? And now combat is unsatisfying? Okay....

Heads-up, Digital Distribution fans. NWN2 will be available on Direct2Drive, and is available for preload now. North America only. As a sidenote, I've just noticed Space Rangers 2 is 20$ there. Hmmm.

The question is why you saw a psychiatrist in the first place.

PC games for the rest of the year will be NWN2 and Armed Assault. Oh, and whatever Close Combat remake comes out. I'm getting two copies of Children of Mana for coop goodness, and Castlevania Portrait of Ruin. I just ordered Dragon Quest: Rocket Slime and Trauma Center. Kirby Squeak Squad, Yoshi Island DS and Magical Starsign are maybes. Wallet

YOU're being rediculous, pixies.

Feargus said that Obs were pondering porting NWN2 (the OC, at least) to consoles at some point.

'on good authority' Hahahahahaha.

While we're waiting for the game to come out, get a bit of reading done. Oh boy oh joy. http://www.nwn2wiki.org/Manual

Have you tried Galactic Civilizations II? It's been getting rave reviews. There's also a demo out.

I just don't want the AI to override my orders when I switch characters. That was kinda annoying in KOTOR1/2.

Ignore that, it's BS. All you need is a card that supports Pixel Shaders 2.0.

Excellent.

The assassination scene and the battle of the Gardens

I'm wondering why they aren't updating CC5. Was that a bad game? If they actually have the nerve to implement coop, I'm punching jerkbrain in the face and making him buy it. Too bad it's highly unlikely. Still, persistent online campaign, hehehehehehehehehehehe.

Some of you should be Close Combat fans. Matrix Games - a publisher of wargames - now seems to have the license to publish games in the series, and plans to revise CC2/3/4. http://www.gamespot.com/news/6160284.html?...pc&subj=6160284 Having never really played the games in-depth (yet I loved the demo for CC1 back in the day), this is pretty tempting.