Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir

1. Orctownorc

   Nov 12, 2012

   10

   Storm of Zehir is a great game that suffers from a sub-par engine and mediocre presentation. It simply looks inferior to other games. But thisStorm of Zehir is a great game that suffers from a sub-par engine and mediocre presentation. It simply looks inferior to other games. But this appearance is deceptive. Other than weak graphics and a clumsy engine this game gets much right. The idea behind the world map is spot-on and points other developers to a mechanism for meaningful world exploration that other games would really benefit from. This game offers RPG fans the chance to build their own party. Nothing else out there offers this level of depth of character development. For the world map mechanisms and the party building mechanisms alone it deserves 10/10.… Expand

   • 2 of 5 users found this helpful
2. NotkerBiloba

   Feb 3, 2019

   10

   This game ticks all the boxes for PnP-style fantasy without the preset characters. While I do love a story involving NPCs with richThis game ticks all the boxes for PnP-style fantasy without the preset characters. While I do love a story involving NPCs with rich backgrounds, a la Dragon Age 2, sometimes you just want to toy around with different party configurations and try out the various settings, dialogs, random encounters, etc. I come back to this one time after time.… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
4. JohnM

   Dec 11, 2008

   10

   Killer new party system - making classes/ races much more useful - RPGs should be about player created story not linear canned story Killer new party system - making classes/ races much more useful - RPGs should be about player created story not linear canned story experiences. Praise their efforts to push NWN in this bold new direction.… Expand

   • 1 of 1 users found this helpful
5. Bantis

   Dec 8, 2008

   8

   I think this game's total should be at least 80 but then on the other hand I think I understand why it's not. This was a real I think this game's total should be at least 80 but then on the other hand I think I understand why it's not. This was a real departure from what has been offered compared to relatively recent computer D&D games. I think this even includes the much praised BG2 even though it was released years ago. SoZ offers some real freedom in so far as exploration is concerned and as such it makes great strides in using skills that have, for the most part, been ignored in these games such as survival and spot. These skills are pretty much required for use on the new overland map. So I think because of this freedom and new direction the usual deep and satisfying heavy story driven experience that these games are known for is very much missing to make way for this new level of freedom. Because of this I think it only natural, to a certain degree, that the fans and community of this series will be somewhat split with this new direction. There is a story here but it is weak at best. The crux of the game really is the exploration. I think Obsidian really went balls out and this one to take such a departure to a tried and true formula. I think there are valid points on each side of the whether it is successful or not debate. I know that at different points in the game my own take on the debate switched back and forth. On the whole though I liked the game and know I will replay it again. With these points and going back to the first paragraph where I said I think I understand the scores this game is receiving, I think reviewers were a bit a surprised with what they got probably assuming it would be another rich, story based experience. I think some of them just didn… Expand

   • 1 of 1 users found this helpful
6. FomarT.

   Dec 10, 2008

   8

   I think this game's total should be at least 80 but then on the other hand I think I understand why it's not. This was a real I think this game's total should be at least 80 but then on the other hand I think I understand why it's not. This was a real departure from what has been offered compared to relatively recent computer D&D games. I think this even includes the much praised BG2 even though it was released years ago. SoZ offers some real freedom in so far as exploration is concerned and as such it makes great strides in using skills that have, for the most part, been ignored in these games such as survival and spot. These skills are pretty much required for use on the new overland map. So I think because of this freedom and new direction the usual deep and satisfying heavy story driven experience that these games are known for is very much missing to make way for this new level of freedom. Because of this I think it only natural, to a certain degree, that the fans and community of this series will be somewhat split with this new direction. There is a story here but it is weak at best. The crux of the game really is the exploration. I think Obsidian really went balls out and this one to take such a departure to a tried and true formula. I think there are valid points on each side of the whether it is successful or not debate. I know that at different points in the game my own take on the debate switched back and forth. On the whole though I liked the game and know I will replay it again. With these points and going back to the first paragraph where I said I think I understand the scores this game is receiving, I think reviewers were a bit a surprised with what they got probably assuming it would be another rich, story based experience. I think some of them just didn… Expand

   • 1 of 1 users found this helpful
7. Wargizmo

   Jun 30, 2013

   7

   This game is what NWN2 should have been. Gone are the game breaking bugs, the ridiculously complicated crafting system, the horriblyThis game is what NWN2 should have been. Gone are the game breaking bugs, the ridiculously complicated crafting system, the horribly imbalanced melee weapons, the dozens of companions you have to micromanage. Basically they've either streamlined or taken out almost everything that made the game tedious or unfun.
   
   You now create your party at the start of the game, and those are your guys for the rest of the game, you tailor them to play however you want. You can pick up cohorts but they're not essential to the plot and they don't level up unless they're in the party, so you no longer have 12 guys you have to micromanage every time you get a new level. The combat system is much better, entering an area you're usually attacked right away so you have to actually make strategic decisions about what spells to cast in the short time you have before the enemy is on you. It's no longer a question of just buff yourself up for 5 minutes and then run around with your +8 sword chopping everything to pieces, you know what enemies you're facing and it's up to you to work out the best strategy to beat them.
   
   The overland map system is really fun, and actually makes all those rogue skills, which were virtually useuless in the main campaign, have a use now.
   
   Having said that, it's not all great. The plot is pretty non existent (although for me, 99% of video game plots are a total bore so I wasn't so bothered by that, better to have a token minimal plot that a massive but horrible one). There's also a very clear best way to build your party, and if you don't have prior knowledge of the overland map system you'll almost certainly find yourself re-rolling after the first couple of hours if you happened to build your party wrong.
   
   That said, if you take a half an hour to read up on the overland map system and maybe a party creation guide before jumping in, you'll almost certainly be able to make the party you want and have a whale of a time.
   
   One thing I really liked about this is the new dialogue system; all four of your guys now participate in the chat, and different dialogue options are available to different types of characters. Your wise character can interject with nuggets of wisdom, your charismatic characters can flirt with the NPCs or flatter them, your evil characters can throw around insults. This all helps you build up the rich personalities of the party you created and you genuinely become attached to your guys in a way the annoying companions in the original campaign couldn't have hoped to achieve. They're YOUR guys that YOU made and their personality is a combination of all their skills, stats, race and alignment.… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
8. J.S.

   Jan 13, 2010

   2

   Really, really bad compared to the other expansion. While the concept could be interesting for some multiplayer projects, the single player Really, really bad compared to the other expansion. While the concept could be interesting for some multiplayer projects, the single player campaign does suck. Many cities to visit, too bad they all have the same tavern, party customization, with no actual interaction between party members except occasional extra options during conversation that sounded much like "Let me remember you that I am a druid. Yep. A druid.". Towns are much like small squares with some merchants advertising their product, but don't worry. You can't actually buy anything from most of them. Did I mention that you can explore a lot of small and interesting places around the map? Sometimes they are even big enough to contain more than one room. But while getting there you can enjoy the various random encounters and enjoy the continue area changes this will force. However, at least you have a boring short imitation of a plot to enjoy when you're done exploring the sometimes bugged cities.… Expand

   • 0 of 1 users found this helpful

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