Neverwinter Nights 2

[Shadowstrider]

As I pulled up to the convention center, it was impossible to miss the enormous Neverwinter Nights 2 billboard elevated higher than the other notable signs hung on the West hall's entrance. I immediately thought "Wow, they must have an huge marketing budget for Neverwinter Nights 2." Then, when I walked inside, there were several smaller posters. I wanted to run over to a map and locate the Atari booth... but I had several things to do, so I went to my booth instead.

 

When I finished up, I went to a map and located the Atari booth and began wander at a brisk pace. Despite the distractions (booth babes, bright lights, God of War 2, etc...), and the fact that the Atari booth had no noticeable placard of sign and the incredibly poor placement of the Atari booth (Atari was basically tucked away in an over-sized broom closet), I managed to find the booth and the Neverwinter Nights 2 kiosks.

 

There were a pair of folk in Obsidian shirts, an attractive young lady and a man known only as "Scott," the mysterious bearded man who would give me a demo of the toolset... okay he wasn't bery mysterious, but he was bearded and a programmer.

 

The toolset seemed very user-friendly. Cluttered at times, with "Scott" constantly dragging boxes in order for him to make room. He even apologized and stated "I'm used to having two monitors." At first this bothered me, but over time it became less of an issue. The toolset was fairly straightforward, drop, turn, scale, it seemed to work just like the original's, but with an added layer of ability. The particle effect editor did not live up to the "hype" in my eyes, but then again, maybe I didn't see everything in my demo. One thing which I wish I had take a look at is the conversation editor and script editor, and how the two worked with each other, but I did not have enough time to indulge myself.

 

The game itself seemed unfinished, which shouldn't be a surprise since the game isn't finished. I noticed they were having a similar issue with tree shadows popping in and out as that found in Oblivion before release. I noticed the eyes seemed rather vacant and ugly, and the facial textures were too strong, the lines too clean and straight. The faces seemed to have very little curve, but rather very sharp features, something which did distract me a bit. I also have to say I was disappointed with the 3d portraits and UI in general. It seemed too stylized for my tastes, I preferred the more generic feel of the original.

 

Overall, I'd have to say I liked Neverwinter Nights 2, and could tell iit will be a great title for the OC and the toolset, alike. If you hadn't noticed, I am mostly pointing out negatives on the graphics side; thats because in the (very short) window I had to mess around with the game, those were my biggest complaints. The game played fine, and there was very little writing to judge, so I can only really complain about the overall look of the game. The exteriors and interiors look great, and the combat seemed pretty easy to control.

 

Based on my 20-30 minute demo, I'd have to say I'm excited for Neverwinter Nights 2, and believe the guys at Obsidian have definitely done a good job, but still have quite a lot of work ahead of them.

 

P.S. invite to launch prty plz.

[Llyranor]

Yeah, I went to E3 too.

 

Jerk.

[Shadowstrider]

Yeah, I went to E3 too.

 

Jerk.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Plz remove Frag dolls from sig.

 

kthxbye.

[Llyranor]

The Frag Dolls will DEMOLISH your face.