NWN2 Professional Reviews Thread

[Meshugger]

The 1up.com review has been pulled and will not be published in january. Link.

[mkreku]

I like that. It's a very difficult decision to do that once an article has been published. I'm surprised and impressed that they had the guts to admit that one of their editors might have been ill-suited for the task at hand and that they're going to have to redo the review.

 

My respect for 1Up (which has always been very low, and still is) went up a notch.

[Cyric]

I was curious about the -- in the wake of newer, better alternatives -- line. What new and better alternatives? He can't mean Oblivion or Gothic 3 since he's complaining about the actual roleplaying (and neither of those have too much of that). So exactly what alternatives is he talking about?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

I'll ask you one question. Have u played Gothic 3? Or are you merely going by the clueless online magazine reviews / misinformed general consensus on these forums, by ppl content to criticize said game without bothering to see what it

[Volourn]

Perhaps no one wants to try G3 because of how buggy is? Why give a game a chance when it likely won';t work?

 

At least NWN2 is stable enough out of the box for MOST people to play it.

 

G3 had it's 'gone gold' status revoked. LOL

 

That should make every potential customer nervous.

[Cyric]

Perhaps no one wants to try G3 because of how buggy is? Why give a game a chance when it likely won';t work?

 

At least NWN2 is stable enough out of the box for MOST people to play it.

 

G3 had it's 'gone gold' status revoked. LOL

 

That should make every potential customer nervous.

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Mmm highly subjective then. I mean I have played it for some time now and TBH I'm yet to find a single game breaking bugg in the game. This game is easily one of the best crpgs of 2006. Oblivion with all its posturing and hype can't stand to it.

 

Instead of joining the band wagon because its easier to do so, ppl should pick up the game and play it, make an informed descision for themselves.

 

Or not.

 

Thing is even with all the nay sayers, ppl who are gonna buy this game will buy it regardless.

[Volourn]

http://www.gamerankings.com/itemrankings/l...reviewid=739906

 

 

As for buying it, why would someone waste money on agame that obvious has problems?

 

That said, I'm stupiod enough to so and have alreayd put down $10 for it.

 

Your opinion aside, G3 is no doubt a very buggy release. I mean, the 'gold copy' got sent back. L0L

 

 

Saying a game seems to be buggy accoridng to LOTS of people is NOT attacking a game's other possible qualities.

Edited November 4, 2006 by Volourn

[kumquatq3]

I did IGN's first.

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THo I deleted my post, I don't see your IGN post

[Volourn]

The one just before yours (well.. mine now). And, now above yours again. LOL

Edited November 4, 2006 by Volourn

[kumquatq3]

oooooooooo, it said gamerankings in the link, not ign, so I didn't catch it

[Volourn]

Yeah. It's because I go to gamernakings to check for new reviews. Much quicker than randomly trolling various gaming sites.

 

But, their links are dumb. Don't worry, Mkreku made the same mistake earlier. I blame Gamerankings; not you or me. LOL :D

[funcroc]

Yeah. It's because I go to gamernakings to check for new reviews. Much quicker than randomly trolling various gaming sites.

 

But, their links are dumb. Don't worry, Mkreku made the same mistake earlier. I blame Gamerankings; not you or me. LOL :D

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Before you link the gameranking reviews, you had better click the "Remove Bar" button.

[Deraldin]

Seems that Gamespy has updated their article again:

 

Update: 11/03/06

 

Earlier today, Obsidian provided us with a workaround to the "black screen" bug that we've been encountering during our playtest of Neverwinter Nights 2. If you've experienced the issue described in yesterday's update, you can avoid it by making sure that you have your main character selected when the cutscene is set to trigger. Obsidian reps told us today that a hotfix is in the works, and that they're aiming to give the community access to it at some point this weekend.

[funcroc]

Eurogamer review (written by Kieron Gillen) - 8/10

[Spider]

I'll ask you one question. Have u played Gothic 3? Or are you merely going by the clueless online magazine reviews / misinformed general consensus on these forums, by ppl content to criticize said game without bothering to see what it

[Darque]

The 1up.com review has been pulled and will not be published in january. Link.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Whoa.

[Jorian Drake]

The 1up.com review has been pulled and will not be published in january. Link.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Whoa.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

The 1UP Network review of Neverwinter Nights 2, authored by Matt Peckham, has been officially retracted from 1UP.com and will not appear in the January issue of Games For Windows: The Official Magazine.

 

Upon further review of the author's text, listening to the feedback from our community and others, and after internal discussion between the 1UP and GFW editors, we have determined that the text of the review did not live up to our editorial standards. We respect the opinions of Mr. Peckham and all of our writers, but we felt that this particular review of Neverwinter Nights 2 did a disservice to fans of the RPG genre.

 

Wow, censoring a review?

Now I am really interested what the original review included!

[Tel Aviv]

Did anyone read the original 1UP review, whats the deal? Was it negative?

[Jorian Drake]

Did anyone read the original 1UP review, whats the deal? Was it negative?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I guess yes, or no censoreship would have been needed.

[Darque]

I read it.

 

From what I read, it sounded like he didn't like NWN2 just because it wasn't like Oblivion.

 

That's my take on what I read anyway.

[Volourn]

No. It had nothing to do with oblivion. He didn't like it because it was D&D.

[LadyCrimson]

The review was posted as one of the comments if you want to read it.

[Sargallath Abraxium]

...the dwarf hit it on the head; buddy trashed NWN2 cuz it was D&D, an e'en threw in few barbs at D&D in general...the question be, then, why let this arseclown review a D&D game if'n he be anti-D&D??... <_<

 

 

...WHO LUVS YA, BABY!!...

[Tel Aviv]

Did anyone read the original 1UP review, whats the deal? Was it negative?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I guess yes, or no censoreship would have been needed.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Good point. Unless it was... insulting positive? Which it wasn't.

[blue]

He didn't like it because it was D&D.

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To be fair, the 1up critique is a little more complex than that. Apparently, the reviewer disliked NWN2's application of DnD rules, and he takes issue with the evolution of CRPGs and games that rely on increasingly complex DnD rules systems. He specifically praises CRPG titles (inc PST) that showcased the possibilities of CRPG growth, suggesting that games such as NWN2 sacrifice story and character for statistics and feats.

 

It's a legitimate debate in the wrong forum. Sawyer's right. The 1up author should have reviewed NWN2. Instead, he gave us a mushy diatribe on lost possibility, tacking on arbitrary numerical rankings that bear no discernable relationship to the game's goals.

 

It's also a horribly written piece. It's awkward, unprofessional and unconvincing. For that alone it shouldn't have made it to press.

 

Here's the original review:

 

As everything-the-original-did -- and more -- follow-ups go, Neverwinter Nights 2 deserves a banner&something like "mission accomplished." Think the sequel to Jurassic Park, where Spielberg's all "You want more dinosaurs? I'll show you more dinosaurs..." As a contemporary CRPG, on the other hand, NWN2 leaves a lot to be desired, and that's too bad, because these are the guys who brought us Planescape: Torment and Icewind Dale 2...and therefore they are the guys I'm least inclined to take issue with.

 

But issues exist, and defining them is really no more complex than saying, "Hello D&D superchrome, buh-bye storytelling and character development (you know, those things you're supposed to "immerse" yourself in)." The idea seems to be that we're meant to rah-rah about a superabundance of feats, spells, races, prestige (advanced) classes, and math-equation tickers full of the usual "I attack you with a +4 sword of --" booooooring. Fine, sure, dandy...but when is a "role" not a "role"? Simple: when it's a rule to a fault.

 

Ever loyal bites

I'm cruising for a bruising (don't I know it), but NWN2 is a splash of cold water to the face: A revelatory, polarizing experience that -- in the wake of newer, better alternatives -- makes you question the very notion of "RPG by numbers." It foists Wizards of the Coast's latest v3.5 D&D system (a molehill that's become a mountain at this point) onto your hard drive with stunning fidelity, then tacks on dozens of artificial-looking areas vaguely linked by forget-table plot points you check off like grocery to-do's.

 

Sure, the interface is sleeker with context-sensitive menus and a smart little bar that lets you more intuitively toggle modes like "power attack" and "stealth," but with all the added rule-shuffling, NWN2 seems like it's working twice as hard to accomplish half as much. Worse -- and blame this on games like Oblivion -- NWN2's levels feel pint-sized: Peewee zones inhabited by pull-string NPCs with no existence to speak of beyond their little playpens. Wander and you'll wonder why the forests, towns, and dungeons are like movie lots with lay-about monsters waiting patiently for you to trip their arbitrary triggers. As if the pencil and paper "module" approach were a virtue that computers -- by now demonstrably capable of simulating entire worlds with considerably more depth -- should emulate. It's like we're supposed to park half our brain in feature mania and the rest in nostalgic slush, and somehow call bingo.

 

The dungeons feel especially stale, so linear and inorganic they might as well be graph-paper lifts filled with room after room of pop-up bogeymen (Doom put them in closets; NWN2 just makes the closets bigger). Maybe you'd rather chat with the dumb NPCs that speak and sound like extras in a bad Saturday morning cartoon? Oh, boy -- there's the portrait "plus" sign! Time to shuffle another party member (improved to four simultaneous) through the level-up grinder, which you can click "recommend" to zip past...but then, what's the point?

 

Rule-playing game

In all fairness, it's not entirely developer Obsidian's fault. D&D certainly puts the "rule" in role-playing, and a madcap base of D&D aficionados is no doubt ready to string me up for suggesting that faithful is here tantamount to folly (to these people, I say: "Go for it, NWN2's all you've ever wanted and more"). Call me crazy -- I guess I'm just finally weary of being led around on a pencil-and-paper leash and batting numbers around a glorified three-dimensional spreadsheet in a computer translation that should have synthesized, not forklifted.

 

That five-of-10 is actually a hedge, by the way. For D&D fans who want to play an amazingly thorough PC translation of the system they're carting around in book form, it's proba-bly closer an eight or nine. But if, like me, you want less "rules for rule's sake" and more depth and beauty to your simulated game worlds, you can certainly find more exciting prospects. Part of the reason we call them "the good old days" and think fondly of games past is that it's always easier to love what we don't have to play anymore.

[Spider]

Regardless of the opinion presented in that review, it deserves to have been pulled on the writing alone. It's such a bloody hack job that it's almost insulting to read it.