Neverwinter Nights 2 review: Is this RPG worth playing in 2021 while you wait for Baldur's Gate 3?
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- Опубліковано 25 лип 2024
- Welcome to our Review video on Neverwinter Nights 2. The Neverwinter Nights 2 soundtrack is revered as one of the best soundtracks ever made. But is the quality of the gameplay in Neverwinter Nights 2 up to par with its musical counterpart? Is this D&D classic RPG on par with Baldur's Gate 2?
This is our Road to Baldur's Gate 3 series of video reviews. If you wish to check out our upcoming videos, check our introduction video for the series here: • The Road to Baldur's G...
Here are links to the rest of our videos in the series so far:
Baldur's Gate: • Baldur's Gate review: ...
Baldur's Gate, Siege of Dragonspear: • Siege of Dragonspear r...
Baldur's Gate II, Shadows of Amn: • Baldur's Gate 2 review... Disclaimer:
This is a computer RPG review, it's not meant to comment on the advanced Dungeons& Dragons ruleset or on how well the game implemented it in its mechanics. This review is for a non RPG specialized gamer who's maybe hyped about Baldur's Gate III because of the trailers and footage of BG3 he or she has seen and who has maybe played Larian Studio's Divinity Original Sin II.
There are many games you could play in preparation for Baldur's Gate III: Baldur's Gate, Baldur's Gate Siege of Dragonspear, Baldur's Gate II Shadows of Amn, Icewind Dale, Icewind Dale 2, NWN 2 Mask of the Betrayer, NWN Storm of Zehir.
Should you add Neverwinter Nights 2 to your list? Hopefully our review will help you decide. We still encourage to watch videos on Neverwinter Nights 2 gameplay.
Our reviews are based on a criteria that assigns weights to aspects of the game that are particularly important for us. It is not meant to be the ultimate truth about the game. Classic Role Playing Games is our favorite video game genre for a reason, and there are a few things I expect from them... You can check our system of categories in one of our early videos. • And this is how we rev... - Ігри
The best thing about this game wasn't the main campaign but the expansion and the community created adventure modules. It is the definite DnD video game with unlimited replay value.
Well it's not "the expansion" as there are two and the 2nd expansion is perhaps the worse D&D expansion and story made, at least the bottom three. But i will grant you that the 1st expansion was a masterpiece, i rate it as the best D&D cRPG story ever made. Too bad obsidian threw it away with the shite of their second expansion.
to bad as the tool set was harder to use we never got as many fan made modules as with the first game. i can only think of 5 worth playing.
@@megamike15 that's probably the main reason why people tend to gloss over the original NWN's problems. The toolset was the game's best feature hands-down.
That's an understatement.
Hell, I'm playing it right now. One of my all time faves.
Yes sir!
Glad that despite all the problems you had, you still liked it. It's my second favorite DND game after Baldur's Gate 2, and probably the most underrated CRPG. So hard to find a fellow fan of it.
I had a blast with it actually. But the expansion took it to the next lev... next galaxy rather.
Fellow fan, reporting for duty. You must be as excited as I am for Baldur's Gate 2: Reloaded? BG 2 is my fave game of all time as well.
@@scottrcall Never tried any of those. If I get the chance before the end of the year, I might grab an early save from my warrior (or start from scratch) and go for a Dwarven Defender. There's an idea
@@YeOldEntertainment Yeah, I need to play the expansions one day. I know that most of em are amazing!
@@da_ocsta1452 This makes me smile, thank you. And yeah, really looking forward to it!
I understand all the problems and maybe bad features highlighted in this review but god, I love this game, one of my most fond childhood memories. I still start a new playthrough every couple of years!
Khelgar as a Character DOES grow, and his Trope-like nature is the exact reason for his suffering and admonishment by his very own clan, which kicked him out.
In Act II, he reassesses his opinions on regards of what is a just reason for combat when he confronts the OC in the Temple of Tyr, which is a great moment!
Just playing this game again for like 15 times.Really underated game.Especially Mysteries of Westgate.
Gem for life
Game is SUPER underrated. The main campaign was more than competent while Mask of the Betrayer is some of the best writing and characters Obsidian has done. And that's considerable when you figure they're one of the better and more prestigious WRPG studios when it comes to storytelling.
Thanks for leaving a comment. You might want to check my video on Mask of the Betrayer
This game and it's online community, more specifically BG:TSCC, was my introduction to roleplaying. It will always have a soft spot in my heart, in spite of all the bugs and limitations.
I love how cheesy the party members are. I really like how petty they are in their bickering too. It would have been disappointing to see them all getting along and thinking alike. It makes the relationships between them more believable and relatable.
The tutorial was fun too. I love that they used it to add some small story to the game. Showing up the Mossfelds felt good. And the fact that you can choose to save them or take advantage of the chaos and get away with murdering them was cool too because either way you show them that you're better than them (in one way or another, depending on your alignment).
Making bards at least somewhat useful and entertaining was a big win compared to Neverwinter Nights 1, which just put them in and said "What? I gave you your music person." Actually being able to do what was pretty much a battle of the bands was awesome!
The addition of things like the Neverwinter Nine (which were woefully absent in the first game) and a much more involved battle between the city guard and the criminal underworld was much more nuanced than that of the first game which put them in and just went "yeah, they exist. Now pick one!"
I wish the playable races had more of an impact though. Especially since there was more to choose from due to the addition of subraces. They impacted interactions with your party members, sure, but the player character might as well be a walking pillar of granite with a face. The first game did a better job of applying the player character's race to regular conversation.
Good video, though I'd like to add a few things. First, this game was rushed. Hard. The devs requested at least 4 months for balancing and bugfixing, but were granted just one. Additionally, the planned Neeshka and Bishop romances were dropped, with some of their files still included in the game as cut content which can be restored by mods. Shandra's entire apprenticeship and progression to party level is missing. The real reason Casavir left Neverwinter was cut for time, as were the details of Sand's backstory. One of the ambushes in the wilderness on the way to Neverwinter from West Harbor was never finished, just like another ambush in town. It would be great if I could find the old interviews where devs talk about the rush, but it the internet doesn't actually seem to remember everything.
Second, the characterization can be significantly better than first appears, but only if you bring the right characters to the right missions. Most side quests have some genuinely good party member dialogue, but you have to somehow know who'll so the talking ahead of time, or be prepared to do a lot of saving and reloading to get the most out of the writing. So for instance, there's one jaunt through some old dwarven ruins with pretty well written banter between Khelgar and Grobnar, and a little later between Neeshka and Khelgar, but you have to bring those three specifically.
Third, crafting is just bad, at least if you played the game on release. Most of the recipes are hidden, requiring an inordinate amount of experimentation or looking up recipes online. Some higher end crafting materials actually act as downgrades of the finished product, as due to a bug their small advantages take up one of the maximum of ten enchantment slots an item can receive. Warlock crafting didn't work at all at first, taking months to patch in.
Mask of the Betrayer spoilers below.
Fourth is balance. You may not notice it depending on your build, but the game massively favors anyone with any real anti-undead capabilities. Casting Undeath to Death is an I win button in many major battles.
Meanwhile the undead hordes are immune to critical hits or sneak attack damage, a problem that continues throughout Mask of the Betrayer. So classes like Rogues or Weapon Masters will spend much if not most of the game unable to use their greatest strengths. Weapons that rely on high crit multipliers and ranges rather than base damage, like Scimitars or Scythes, have little value. Taking the Keen Edge spell on a Sorcerer just wastes a spell selection, and the Power Critical and improved Critical feats are throw-aways.
The devs realized their mistake too late, and put a couple of weapons into MotB that act as work-arounds. At some point in the game you can find a rapier that lets you partially bypass sneak attack immunity, and there's side content with a falchion that ignores crit immunity, but those two are all you'll get. If you want any other weapon(s), or for that matter if you want to use their benefits in the base module, you're forced to use console commands to ascribe those powers elsewhere. There's no other in-game mechanics that address the ai's immunity spam.
I suspect NWN2's players have had much better or worse experiences over the years depending on whether they eschewed the right game mechanics and happened to guess the right parties. A shame the game released half-done, it really could have been something.
I still love the game but I do see the issue's.
I like crafting equipment in games but it's very time consuming and even if you have the power you probably don't have the components until very late game.
I like using a mod called "The Complete Craftsman's" which expands on the available enchantments and lets you break down enchanted items for components.
Than i modify the campaign to make the enemies more challenging but not too much, like 1 or 2 LVL ups and changing classes and stats like instead of facing 5 minor Warrior's I changed it to 2 stronger Warrior's, 1 Mage, 1 Cleric & an Archer.
I do like the story and most of the character's, I like a party of Sand, Elenee, Ammon, Khelgar, but it's clear they didn't have the time needed to finish it, just like Kotor 2, New Vegas where Obsidian kept getting insane deadlines.
But in the end if you don't have the time for your full vision of a game your gonna have to make cutbacks to focus on what you can get done.
Obsidian has been screwed over several times but in the end they made the same mistake too, they tried to do more than they could handle with a limit timeframe.
About the undead thing there are campaigns like that in d&d, a DM that is not ass would specify beforehand that the campaign has a huge number undead characters. Also the game is so easy, you don't need to super stress yourself on a super optimized build with super optimized gear, I could finish the game with my first playthrough with a very bad ranger build, with an armor +2 that gave like +5 on stealth or something. The bonus damage against evil enchantment is very cheap and very effective even in Mask of the betrayer is useful.
So glad to find another fan of Neverwinter Nights 2! We are hard to come by! Yeah, the game has it's flaws and it's definetly a cheese wheel at times, but I love it for all those reasons! This was my first Dungeons and Dragons experience, and I've loved it ever since!
Got this game for the Online Persistant Worlds, while there isn't many of them, what's there is pretty great. Sigil City of Door, Baldur's Gate, Haven as well
Love your vids as I’m an old schooler this is flat out nice 👍🏾 and you’ve just earned a new sub bro ✌🏾
What can I say. Old schoolers are cooler! Thanks for the sub, bro.
One of the few games of this era I never got to play. Your analysis of it was incredibly enlightening.
Looking forward to a review of Neverwinter Nights 1.
I have a huge soft spot for the second NWN2 expansion, Storm of Zehir. Part of is due to improved mechanics: because you roll the whole party ala Icewind Dale every party member can use their class, social and diplomatic skills in dialogue. As a result they start forming their rudimentary personalities, something no other game I can think of has done. Resting actually takes the 8 hours or so it does in the tabletop, and characters actually die rather than simply being knocked out so combat feels threatening. Exploration is rewarded, both with treasure and bragging rights thanks to a certain famous NPC you travel with.
The other half of why I like it so much is purely personal: thanks to a certain selection of mods, it was the first time I was able to a particular party of characters. These characters had lived in my head for a long time and I'd played individuals in other games at other times, but this was the first time I was able to play all six together.
Which mods do you use? I just use Kaedrins PrC Pack.
I could be biased, but NVN2 for me is still amazing even today. The story I mean... the graphics are bit on the rough side. But again, story ? voice acting, music ? just amazing. Even spells and the look at times look quite decent, but... mostly dated. Would LOVE a remaster. But the choices possible during the play ? for the time this game came out ? Come on... I am still amazed, modern games still cant get this many choices this right.
It is a good game especially with the Kaedrin expansion pack. It greatly expands upon feats, classes, races, etc.
I dont remember a lot of the issues from when I played this game as a kid and what I remember the most is the fun combat encounters, companions I fell in love with, and fun quests. Maybe if I go back to it some of those issues will pop up because I'm used to modern games but I still have a lot of good memories.
Hey, great review! This title is the first RPG I've ever played and i feel pretty nostalgic about it :D I also loved the map editory used to create my own adventure wirh only the most epic of loot!
Yup that was the grand daddy of Solasta Campaign editor. Have you checked that one out yet BTW? it's truly awesome.
"Stay a while and listen" is that a Diablo reference? Xd
Dammit! I knew I had to look for Deckard Cain's audio to leave no doubts about it. XD
Recently played it with all expansions, couldnt force myself for years and glad I finally did. What a gem..
Especially Mask of the Betrayer! Did you like Mysteries of Westgate? I haven't tried that one yet.
@@YeOldEntertainment I remember playing mysteries of westgate like 5+ years ago; the atmosphere of the game was awesome, choices you made had an impact and while the main idea of the story certainly had very good potential, the execution just felt quite a bit short compare to MOTB. Played the game while I was on the MOTB high thou so at the time, anything that had to do with NWN2 would have been an automatic 8+/10 at least, still if I had to rank the NWN and its 3 expansions I would have it 1) MOTB 2) OC 3) Westgate 4) Zehir
@@ronb7189 Well. I'm still in debt with Mysteries of Westgate.
This is the most complete RPG i played in my life, without falling asleep, alot of kudos reviewing this gem❤️
Thanks man! Mask of the betrayer is also on its way!
Origins was way better to me.. this was ok.
"You have heart" is probably the best way to describe this shambles of glory. There's so much in NW2 that is outright bad but there's also so much that's great. And even when it's amateurish the devs still clearly put love into it at every stage.
I have to admit I actually really like NW2, yes the camera is a mess and there’s still bugs, but I have a lot of fun playing it. Make sure to download texture mods and other tweaks from the neverwinter vault which make it look better and play a bit better.
My first RPG, loved it as a kid and love the music even if a lot comes from NWN 1
100% still playing it since it's release and there's very few RPGs that can hold an audience that long. If you find this video and you're looking for a sever to play Realms of Trinity is hands down the best one going and the most developed server in terms of custom content.
"Doesn't exactly excel in the writing department" This game has some of the best writing in a video game ever! Also, it's genuinely hilarious!
Love your vids man... pls try Gothic 1,2,3 :)
Thanks! As for Gothic... that combat...
I remember being quite surprised by good final fight, it was good introduction to the expansion Mask of the Betrayer
c'mon the final fight was exhausting. MotB it's a magnificent story but it has gameplay mechanics that detract from the taste for experience
The more you rid the screen of all but the characters & environment the more you are GETTING the game/puzzle that was made for you. ⚜️
Subbed becauze this is my gem
Probably worth making a review about NWN 1 since it's a bid different. Focus of nwn was more the MP and toolkit part, so the main campaign is weak, but the two addon make up for it. And it has the best community content in terms of rpgs
I've been binge watching your content. You should have 200k plus people subscribed. Figure out your tagging and reminding people to like and subscribe because the content itself is 10/10 stuff if you're a gamer like myself.
Thanks man. Really appreciate it. I'd like to have more subs, yes, but I'm very happy with the conversations that are taking place with those who do comment to the channel to spend half an hour or two every now and then. I've been watching some other people's communities... and I think this one is awesome in comparison. Hopefully you'll continue to like the vids!
@@YeOldEntertainment I have no doubt I will. I also have a feeling you're either Spanish or from Latin America. So it's interesting for me to see people with similar upbringing playing the same games if that makes sense.
I'm glad you have the game a fair review its one of my favourite rpgs and if not for it in ever would have played other end rpgs
Thanks mate, I try.
Great review! How about a review of the first Neverwinter Nights or the Dragon Age Series?
Thanks mate! I think I'm going to pass on the original Neverwinter Nights (I haven't played it, I don't own it and there's a lot of mixed reviews out there). I might do the first Dragon Age as it is one of my favorite games of all time.
Absolutely yes. Playing it for my first time
The main game is just okay to me; I usually lose interest around Old Owl Well. Absolutely LOVE Mask of the Betrayer, Mysteries of Westgate, and Storm of Zehir, though.
The cozyest tutorial in a game
Hi, great video.
At the end you say that if one wanted to pick up a couple of games while waiting for BG3 this would not be one you would recommend.
What would be the two on your top list?
Just to figure out which two of your videos I will watch next :)
Thanks. Well if I had to choose three I'd say Baldur's Gate 2, Icewind dale 2 and Mask of the Betrayer (that's why at the end of this video I say "maybe the expansion will change things" or something like that).
Wow I've been quoted ! That's awesome !
And although I love this game so much (and I agree it is quite underrated), I do agree with your review. Your critique is very grounded in the problems the game have. It is far from perfect, but beautiful in it's own way. And I do agree with you: NWN2 was the start of those 3D cRPGs. There wasn't a defined formula yet, like IWD or Planescape.
My only "disagreement" (not really) is about the Character Creation and Progression: NWN2 is the closest you can get to the 3.5 PnP system.
3.5 really was a very crowded edition, with a great number of prestige classes, skills and feats. It can be overwhelming for someone unexperienced with DnD 3.5 (so I agree with what you said), but it's the original system's fault, not NWN2's.
It just implemented the mess that 3.5 was. They even improved the system, like with Bard's songs. It was even better than the original rules.
For those experienced in 3.5, it was very smooth to operate, because It was really faithful to the original experience. Also, planning and creating the build was half the fun and there were sites to do it too ! Part of the experience I guess.
Nonetheless, great and honest review. The game perfectly balances a D&D experience, not being too serious on itself. There are some amazing lines ! I mean... 16:30 !
I'm glad you liked it. Thanks to you for following the channel!
Temple of Elemental Evil is probably the best implementation of 3.5. And the start of 3D cRPGs was NWN, NWN2 was really only a bit of a graphical update.
@@forgalzz7 I agree! pity it was a hotmess of bugs and glitches!
@@YeOldEntertainment Yes, it was. Luckily CO8 has modded it into a quite enjoyable experience.
@@forgalzz7 I had a ton of issues even with that mod pack... but I eventually sorted it out.
105+ hours is more like it, but I'm usually slower than a lot of other people.
Otherwise I have to agree with most of your thoughts. It's often cheesy, but also often manages to be charming and it's consistent enough in tone that I ended up mostly liking it. It's also the only RPG I have played (and I'm including Pillars 1 here) that actually felt fairly similar to the experience I had with Baldur's Gate 2. It's an epic adventure with lots of character choices, many locations and story situations, side quests and fun combat encounters and it doesn't take itself too seriously. People often say that Mask of the Betrayer is better, but Mask is something very different in my opinion. It doesn't provide this kind of fun sprawling experience.
Now, quite clearly when comparing NWN2 with BG2 the newer game cannot compete in a number of ways. I'd say that the pacing is much better in BG2. It is less linear and feels more like an open world with meaningful choices and the quests that exist therein are of varying sizes, some of them being worthwhile adventures on their own. Both games suffer from combat bloat somewhat, but I'd say that BG2 is better in providing variety and breaking up long combat slogs. In addition at least personally I prefer party characters that interact both with each other and with my character instead of having long conversations character by character and only seeing them interact in the party camp (or tavern, castle etc.), where it is forced on the players, negating group building decisions. I find the first approach to be more dynamic and less player-focused.
Music is a subjective topic, but out of the games you mentioned I tend to place Icewind Dale at the top, wheras I thought that Icewind Dale 2 had only few memorable tracks (mostly menu music and Targos) and a few that were simply too short to have much of an impact. I prefer the music of NWN2 over IwD2, but it's still more of a mixed bag than for instance BG2 or IwD. Quite a few mediocre tracks as far as I remember.
For further RPGs beyond the road to BG3 and BG3 itself: Perhaps you are interested in trying out some of the few "The Dark Eye"-cRPGs that exist. I mean in case you haven't yet tried them. I'm mostly thinking of the two "Drakensangs" and the two "Blackguards". The latter two are SRPGs though, not so much fully fledged games like Baldur's Gate. The Drakensangs are much closer to the traditional adventure story as provided by BG and IwD as well as NWN.
In any case, thanks for the review and hopefully BG3 will be fun for you :-)
This is def a game I wish would get the remake/remaster treatment.
(Spoilers ahead) the first time I played nwn2 I was up all night trying to defeat the king of shadows. I got him down to his final form but no matter how hard I tried I could not defeat him unless I moved the difficulty down to easy. I was paladin and my companions were all unconscious. I did beat him on easy but iv been meaning to go back and do it all again. Loved Khelgar and that little gnome guy lol. Recently I installed Baldurs Gate Reloaded and it’s pretty neat. Love pillars of eternity, Icewind dale, Baldurs gate, nwn, dragon age origins.
also, the dungeon maker feature (maybe that was nwn1?) was otherworldly good.
It was this one. That was (unintentionally, really) outside the scope of the review, but I should probably devote some time to making a small video about it.
I really liked the court room scene. I would think adventures would end up in court a lot more in DnD games due to the shenanigans they get into.
Does it have a similar charm to kotor or jade empire?
My favorite D&D games on a row
- Baldur's Gate 2
- Icewind Dale
- Pillars if eternity
I think where NWN2 excelled was its adaptability in function and storytelling. The environments, visuals, and character mechanics are all the most wide of variety in this series. It's definitely janky, but they tried a LOT of different ideas, and some of them at least really worked. I would say it's an RPG with more ambition, though less cohesion, than most. That's not unlike one of Obsidian's most famous and well received titles, Fallout New Vegas.
Does anyone here know how to play this multi-player without a LAN (hard wire)? My daughter and I want to fire it up and co op together but it isn't setting up easy.
I don't know if as of this day the Neverwinter Nights 2 servers are still up in Bioware. Maybe this will be of use --> www.reddit.com/r/neverwinternights/comments/8rmzdg/can_i_still_play_online_in_neverwinter_nights_2/
I love NWN2. I play it a lot still in 2022 and they have persistent worlds!
Came back to watch this video again. And damn, Ye Old Entertainment, you scrutinized the ever loving shit out of this game! I can’t even.😂
If you didn’t say you liked the game, I almost certainly would’ve believed you hated it. I love the Original Campaign and Mask of The Betrayer. And Storm Of Zehir is a nice side piece to the experience as a whole. Over the years, I always seem to come back and play the game over and over again.
I personally loved the voice acting, and story. While cheesy at times, I found incredibly charming and fun. Characters like Elanee, Khelgar and Neeshka where my introduction to fantasy RPG’s.
Even though you and I have differing opinions on the voice acting and story I still appreciate your want to talk about this game. :)
Just for fun, I’ll put my own rating here for the game:
NWN2 Original Campaign: 9/10
MotB: 10/10
Storm of Zehir: 7/10
Mysteries of Westgate: 6.5/10
Hi. Nice review but I noticed the backround music was too loud. I couldnt focus on what you were saying. Do you plan to do any mod reviews? Since most of these old games are much better with mods?
Thanks for leaving a comment. Are you using speakers perhaps? I'm trying to figure out why some people seem to have issues and others don't.
Im curious, what game is shown 5:03 ?
Tower of Time
Every inch of my being wants to say that I hate this game... but I just can't. Even tho this game can be goddamn terrible at times there is still something that makes it worthwhile. Character creation is super complex and unforgiving. If you your character ends up with the wrong stats and traits the game is literally unplayable on harder difficulities even as a gaming veteran. Newer patches replaced spellcasting chants with new ones that were not as great as the original ones. Camera control and party control have the weirdest settings of all times. But even despite those flaws there is still a lot of good things about the game. One thing in particular that made it super interesting was the Evil route. Bishop is the greatest companion in this game and being buddies with him and being morally gray/evil was a lot of fun.
I liked NWN 2 because it didnt suck as badly as NWN 1. But the 3d gameplay meant you were constantly swinging the camera around to see things, and the story was meh, the voice acting was erratic (especially the ending narration) and combat always felt clunky to me.
But they did have proper 3rd edition rules and the ability to make your characters the way you wanted. I especially liked the Cleric Domains.
Back in the day i wore that game out
I'll be interested to hear if playing the expansion is worth it when you haven't played the original. Never played NWN1 or 2, but based on your review it doesn't seem worth sinking the time into.
That would be a bit spoilery of my next video... If you can wait until next Sunday... you'll have your unequivocal answer there. :D (Thanks for leaving a comment ).
Yes. You literally only can find one character that is linked to main campaign (Ammon Jerro). That's all. And he's NPC this time for brief part of MotB
@@YeOldEntertainment haha I guess it would! Looking forward to it
The thing to keep in mind with NWN 1 and 2 was the game(s) was envisioned as a vehicle for players to create their own content. This is why as he mentions in this review video, environments can look barren and unlived in. Both games, especially the base games suffer from this. And both games have relatively generic base game plots, though I consider NWN2 plot far superior to NWN1 base game plot, and they got a lot more out of that engine. But pushing that engine to the limits did introduce some buggyness as he mentioned in the video. Though if you really want to see this game engine pushed in an interesting way, Witcher 1 did that, it doesn't even look like the same game engine. Though NWN2 and Witcher heavily modified it, not sure it can be called the same engine. In fact, NWN2 called it a different name. Anyways, as I said, the game had to be easy enough to create content for that most determined fans could create their own content.
If you are a hardcore D&D ruleset person, and have the time and money, it may be worth a shot to check these games out. Just keep in mind the NWN 1 vanilla base game is very standard. The game was intended for users to create their own content, so they didn't invest too much into the vanilla writing and plot.
Can't wait for Mask of the Betrayer review.
Thanks! aaaaand sorry but you will have to wait a little bit longer. There will very much be a review for Mask of the Betrayer, but things got heated at work so I couldn't have it ready for today... any time soon though!
5:03 What is that game?
I was hoping this would entice me to play this again, I have not played the expansions, and would like to get a feel for leveling my character, before I start Mask of the Betrayer, maybe I'll try the other expansion and Import one of those characters.
Any plans to cover NWN 1? I recently replayed both the OC and SOI, they are not great, may be a bit worse in some ways, but the Henchmen are far less annoying and the game mostly lets me go MacGuffin to MacGuffin, with little interruption, and it is more open to let me go where I want, so I don't feel like I am following a book. I started Hordes of the Underdark, for the first time, with my SOI character. So far it feels harder, more traps and puzzles, but a big dungeon crawl. I am exploring a large dungeon looking for my NWN OC companions to recruit and trying to find a mage that created it. It is more open, not a lot of side quests, but plenty to find so far. It's a lot different than the other games, but I am not sure if it is good yet. It might be better if I can find someone that knows what a trap is, my mage does not. It'd be great to see your thoughts on it all though.
5:03 is tower of time. And the Mask of the Betrayer is expansion is a MUST one of the best D&D games ever made from the story perspective if not best. It's massive step up from the core game.
Any chance of a modern re release? Or is it like icewind Dale 2?
There have been many editions but as I understand it they are all pretty much the same. There's a complete edition out there that includes all expansions. You can get it on GOG.
@@YeOldEntertainment k thanks and love the crpg videos great channel
@@MikeSmith-hh3mw Thanks mate! There will be more to come!
Did you already do a video on the first one?
Nope. But it seems like some people are interested so when the series is done, that might be one of the ones to tackle.
@@YeOldEntertainment curious as to why it’s not included?
@@Mrkyleuvkewl I don't have it and I have not played it either. It would've made the series difficult to put together. (and for some reason, I wasn't as curious about playing it as some of the other titles I hadn't played).
I never had any issues with the UI, well it was a bit awkward when I played it again 10 years later.
Great review. Can someone tell me the name of the game @5:03 please
Thanks man! And that game is tower of time.
Please, which game is it at 5:03?
Tower of Time
@@YeOldEntertainment thank you. Iv'e played any noteworthy crpg there is, several times. Was wierd to see a ui I don't recognize. Because of you I'm going to give it a chance, even though it is not a crpg
have you set your audio speed to 1.25? You sound a little sped up and artificial at a few points
I fkg live the story in this game, maybe is just me, but i replay this game many times ant to me is the equivalent to D&D to Kotor, i know isn't a popular opinion, but i love this story, also it was the game who made me be in love with warlock class.
Gameplay wise the game is clunky, no doubt about that.
Also, aurora was really great, the ost is also great.
NWN2 makes a lot more sense and the mechanics are much easier if you've played NWN1. I love these games and I have to say; I didn't have many of the issues you touch upon here. It wasn't perfect by any means but it was definitely fun, over and over again. The best upgrade from the original NWN was moving from the 3rd Edition D&D rules to 3.5 which really made character creation better. Planning ahead for epic level multi-classing is one of the best parts of the game, IMO. I also really enjoyed the expansions, especially Mask of the Betrayer. I must admit though, this game, like BG2, was way better in multiplayer than single player. Having everyone control their own characters made a world of difference. The multiplayer mode broke hard after the third party engine that was needed went away. I have also had tons of fun pulling a mid to high level character that I previously created out of the vault and crushing the game from the beginning with them!
so why no video on the first NWN?
I didn't have the game, hadn't played it before and since it's a 70+ hour game, I would've had to play it entirely from scratch for the review and that would've delayed the "Road to BG3" series quite significantly.
Shame about the controls, particularly the camera, but other than that it's pretty great!
what is the game at 5:00?
The first Pillars of Eternity.
Do you have a review for Neverwinter Nights 1?
Nope. I skipped that one because I didn't have it and it would've taken too long to play it and its expansions in time for the series.
@@YeOldEntertainment fair enough, I counted 7 expansion packs. And that's before considering user generated content.
Really enjoyed the series by the way. I think you're right waiting to play BG3 at release, I've been playing the early access and while it's impressive, it's not a smooth and seemless experience at the moment that I would recommend.
Something I found that you might be interested in while looking at NWN user content. Was the NWN2 Baldurs gate remake mod called Baldur's gate reloaded. And apparently those modders have been working 7 years to bring BG2 into the NWN2 engine as well, that is supposed to be coming out this year.
@@GusManOh6 The mod sounds super awesome. As for playing games in early access.. One personal policy of mine is that I never play games on early access.
Not for single player. Multiplayer though... you will need a workaround since it was a gamespy game... but yes. The Neverwinter Nights series(1 and 2) allowed for people to make custom modules. You'll find that most of the people who play NWN2 never even played the single player campaign.
Did I miss your Neverwinter Nights 1 review somehow? Has it been released already?
Nope. I didn't plan for a Neverwinter Nights 1 review. I have not played the game and unfortunately I don't have it either. I also didn't think I could manage to play NWN1 and its expansions before this year and make a review. But if people are up for it, maybe I'll do it once this series is over.
@@YeOldEntertainment I used to play NWN 1 for years... the base game was also nice, but the icing on the cake were the MODs and some MOD servers, where you could literally play the game almost like an MMORPG. Those were some amazing times.
@@YeOldEntertainment To be honest the main campaign in NW1 is pretty dull, I enjoyed the two expansions much more with Hordes of the Underdark taking the prize for best NW1 content imho. The fan-made module Aielund Saga is really good also. The new enhanced edition goes on sale frequently and has Steam workshop support.
"and your dungeon crawl actually slows down to a crawl"
This game is wierd. Yes, I wouldn't say it has the best story or gameplay, but I replay it literally every year, and I'm never bored. Yes, you said it - it has heart. And soul too)) It's clunky, but you get used to it fast. Graphics are old(animations are ancient too), but aged very well imo, for some reason it's tough to look at Dragon Age now, or Oblivion... but NWN2 is totally fine (it also looks way better than pathfinders lol, again - imo). I just hope BG3 will be a success and someone will make a good NWN3.
still enjoy this game with mods :)
I have played the first one about a month or two ago and I quite liked it. I just like how much content there is for it, both official and community made. The main campaign is kinda boring though and overstays it's welcome. It's mainly played because of the extra content, which is a lot and better than the actual campaign. I think the first game is more popular than this one though because it's still officially supported even now.
Of course it is worth playing.
Incredible game, only rivaled by the first NWN with Hordes of the Underdark. There has not been a decent isometric d&d game after this, and later RPGs always had some flaws (Dragon Age: nice combat system, bleak story, dull world/lore; Pillars of Eternity: bad story and characters, also power play at its purest). Also, this was the last time we had a editor available which was user friendly (cause modding like in Skyrim is not for everyone) even if the editor of the first NWN was really easier and faster to use. Whoever has the rights should really use this to make a new campaign and release it
Best mod or settings for fixing the awful camera controls anyone..
NW2 is the Red Arrow, Arsenal, Speedy, Roy Harper of DnD universe.
I miss my sacred fist monk!!!!
:D Just a matter of rolling it again.
yes
Have tried NWN2 three times but dropped it after 1-3 hours of gameplay. The graphics and controls looks so outdated to me. Back in the days I beat NWN1 and its expansions but just can't play NWN2 today.
Well, it's got one of the best, if not the best expansion there's ever been for an RPG. (Mask of the Betrayer) but gameplay wise it's still a game of its time.
Honestly yeah NWN2 is the Hawkeye of DND. Inoffensive but not outright bad, has it's moments. You don't miss much not playing it but you will want to play it again after a while if you played it before. It'S real heart is the first expansion.
Absolutely agree with this. I won´t add too much in order not to spoil the next review... but Neverwinter Nights 2 is sort of the price you have to pay (learning curve-wise so to speak) to get into Mask of the Betrayer... and that makes it well worth the price of the admission.
@@YeOldEntertainment ohhhh yeah. MotB can be brutal. Especially in an evil playthrough
MotB is such a good game. Sad it gets overshadowed by the core game's short comings. People always fawn over the BGs, PST, etc (with good reason)... but never seem to mention MotB. It's a damn shame. It might be my favorite Obsidian endeavor, all in all. Even tho I love Kotor2, FNV, and the pillars games... MotB is such a memorable story. It was PSTs spiritual successor before TToN. MotB is why I keep NWN2 installed at all times.
as a kid, i thought this was the best game ever with all of the areas, and epic scenes, and cool graphics. however, i have not been able to play this game pretty much ever since, as most of its mechanics did not hold the test of time, almost as a clumsy mess of mechanics lumped together. and i cant handle the camera anymore. i have wanted to replay it, but i just cant bring myself to it.
5:00 What game is this?
That's Pillars of Eternity
@@YeOldEntertainment Cheers
there's still online servers that are active.
where is neverwinrter nights 3 anywhere 😢
IMHO this game was never ever a patch on the previous game.
NWN 2 needs remastering
I restarted this game 3 times with different characters and I lost interest each time before I finished. But I finished the first Neverwinter Nights though. Loved Aribeth. Why is the original NWN not on this list? There's an enhanced version by the same people who did BG2 EE.
@@andrewvincent7299 I never got to play MOTB because I never finished the original campaign. Maybe I should just play MOTB from scratch since everybody says MOTB's campaign is way better.
Probably closest looking game to Dragon Age Origins, so really wanted you to compare it to DAO (my favourite game)
Thank you for leaving a comment. Well, I don't know if I'm going to compare DAO to NWN2, but I'm hoping to make a video on DAO at some point because it's one of my favorite games of all time (second favorite from the 2000's actually. Check that video out if you've the time! :D). Maybe I'll do that in Q1 this year.
@@YeOldEntertainment cheers, I’ve been looking for a game that is on par with DAO for a while, never winter nights felt too old and baldurs Gate just didn’t enjoy after 30 hours or so
NW Nights 2 looked really similar to DAO and I was wondering whether it was in your opinion similar
Well, many of the things that are great about DAO can be traced back to NWN2 and if you are playing the complete version of NWN, DO play Mask of the Betrayer when you're done with the core game. While the core game may not be outstanding, Mask of the Betrayer is probably the best expansion ever. And by "expansion" consider that this is what we used to call an expansion back in the day... a full 30 hour + game that tells an incredible story and has an epic finally. It has a bit of annoying mechanic with the spirit eater but it can be circumvented. MOTB is surely going to scratch your DAO if you haven't played it. As for other games in the same ballpark... you can also try Greedfall (2019). great story, great characters even if the gameplay is a little repetitive and the enemy variety lacking.
@@YeOldEntertainment I’ve got the enhanced edition of NwN on console, to be honest I didn’t make it out the first area, just felt it was too dated, I probably would have kept at it, if it was a party based game
I like this game, but every time I pick it up and remember that I can't romance Neeshka I can feel my desire to play this game dwindle :c
I agree, we were robbed of additional romance options. There are mods for that y’know. :)
Long answer: watch the video
Short one: mask of the betrayer
People tend to be more critical of NWN2 than of its predecessor. Let's face it, NWN2 is vastly superior from a gameplay vantage point, finally allowing full customization of party members and a respectable 4-man party as opposed to the dreary 2-man party from the lion's share of NWN1 (I mean, it took BioWare what, three whole official NWN campaigns to actually do something right?). What I think kept NWN2 from receiving heaps of praise like the Baldur's Gate series did was that it was released far too early and undercooked; yet another glaring example of a game's publisher interfering with the developers' good work. As such, a number of plot elements were left unfinished and cut (ex. more than one romance option) and the game was tragically riddled with bugs upon release. Thankfully, patches and community fixes rescued it from having a reputation as disastrous as Gothic 3 (NWN2 wasn't released THAT undercooked), so it could've ended up worse, but this rushed release has held the game back from greatness IMHO.
Nonetheless, in hindsight we can appreciate that NWN crawled, so that NWN2 could walk, so that Dragon Age Origins could run.
Wait, we're waiting for Baldurs Gate Original Sin?
I thought we were all just gonna play Planescape Torment again. That's what I'm doing.
The 3.5 and Pathfinder systems work great for a PC game, and could be done even today due to how crunchy they are, but Neverwinter Nights 2 main campaign is a snorefest even if I try too damn hard to like it. However, its expansion is 10/10 RPG material.
Yeah. Mask of the Betrayer is probably the best expansion ever and one of my favorite D&D games.
"The romance is terrible"
Me, an aromantic: I see this as an absolute win!
Haha, well, win it is then. I think there could've also been no romance at all. Which I think would've worked best here.
About the romances being the weakest in any game. Its the truth! But to be honest, I dont think I have ever seen a genuinely good romance in a western RPG. So its not like it had far to fall. Come to think of it, the only good and believable romance that I ever saw in an RPG was between Squal and Riona in Final Fantasy 8. And that romance prety much worked because the player dont get any choices in the game. You will have set characters that will play according to a fixed plot and all characters will be in what ever cutsceen they are needed in. Thus romace happened slowly and organically over the course of the game. In fact, you dont get a choice in the mater!
By contrast, in western RPGs companions are modular and optional. They only take up side content in the story and they are always written so that you can miss 100% of what they do/say and still not miss anything in the games story. This means that the romance also always happens in a vacuum separate from every other character and everything else in the game.