Neverwinter Nights 2

 PC
User Score
6.7

Mixed or average reviews- based on 674 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 354 out of 674
  2. Mixed: 151 out of 674
  3. Negative: 169 out of 674
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  1. EmileZ.
    Dec 2, 2006
    4
    This game is a HUGE disappointment. There is no AI to speak of, the camera angles are a real pain in the butt and the game engine seems unfinished and powerless compared to the previous Neverwinter Nights game. The plot is weak and one-dimensional, compared to Oblivion and Gothic 3.
  2. WaltO.
    Feb 10, 2007
    4
    Really, 50% is still an "F". That said: This game fails on so many levels. -The story: trite and predictable. -Gameplay(quests): transparent. -Rules implementation: Abysmal, can't even get Attack of Opp to work correctly, eh? Not to mention Bogus feats and NO Climbing/Swimming/Flying... -Graphics: Kotor with more polygons at best, not optimised at all. -Fun factor/balance: Terrible. Really, 50% is still an "F". That said: This game fails on so many levels. -The story: trite and predictable. -Gameplay(quests): transparent. -Rules implementation: Abysmal, can't even get Attack of Opp to work correctly, eh? Not to mention Bogus feats and NO Climbing/Swimming/Flying... -Graphics: Kotor with more polygons at best, not optimised at all. -Fun factor/balance: Terrible. Even a fighter with great buffs and equipment will be taxed to understand the CR mixture thrown at him. -Cinematics: Terrible, too much, too little PC control, pulled along by the nose and horrible text choices!! You have 4 ways to say yes to a gnome bard joining your group and that is it. 'Nuff said. -Conclusion: Play Baldur's Gate TOSC or TOEE. Vastly superior games in terms of everything that counts to a true DnD fan and not an intellectually nascent Diablo-clone.… Expand
  3. MrS
    Nov 15, 2006
    4
    Must admit that I am a bit disappointed. I enjoyed BG and BG2 immensely, but the first NWN.. well.. it was boring. I'm sad to see that this one is similar to the first. The story just doesn't interest me at all and I find myself making excuses to keep playing (e.g I paid a lot of money for the game). The gameplay is somewhat awkward (camera, inventory etc.). So far the game Must admit that I am a bit disappointed. I enjoyed BG and BG2 immensely, but the first NWN.. well.. it was boring. I'm sad to see that this one is similar to the first. The story just doesn't interest me at all and I find myself making excuses to keep playing (e.g I paid a lot of money for the game). The gameplay is somewhat awkward (camera, inventory etc.). So far the game works ok on my comp so no complaints there. I can set everything to high on my 7800GTX 256mb video card. Apparently the better rig you have, the worse the game runs... strange. Another thing that really annoys me is the constant loading and small areas to explore. I mean after Oblivion and Gothic3 this game seems too restricted. The player can't walk across a swamp even if there's a clear path. You MUST stay on the road. The fighting also seems a bit silly. The participants may miss each other for almost a minute (yes I've witnessed it). Looks stupid when you fight against a giant beetle and can't land a single hit on the HUGE insect. I mean even a moron can hit a regular beetle and kill it with a stick, but D&D hero can't hit a GIANT beetle with a bloody longsword. I know this may be irrelevant to many of you, but at least I am rather annoyed by these things.… Expand
  4. ArtyN.
    Nov 12, 2006
    4
    This game is poor at best. Counterintuitive, with inexplicably high system requirements but low performance no matter what. D&D deserved a better game. Oh well, so did Neverwinter Nights,actually. The game is rated for pre-teens. I recommend to leave it to them.
  5. Alex
    Nov 13, 2006
    4
    Bug-ridden beta of a poor product. Clearly not even a release candidate that people are made to pay for.
  6. GradyE.
    Nov 27, 2006
    4
    There is not one thing in this game that I can say is better than the original aside from the fact that there are more prestige classes. Graphics: Fair. The graphics would be nice if the game performed on anything other than a $5000 machine (I am not kidding). Interfacce: Horrid. Everything that you could do in NWN1 by a single mouse click or two takes at least 2-5 more mouse clicks to do There is not one thing in this game that I can say is better than the original aside from the fact that there are more prestige classes. Graphics: Fair. The graphics would be nice if the game performed on anything other than a $5000 machine (I am not kidding). Interfacce: Horrid. Everything that you could do in NWN1 by a single mouse click or two takes at least 2-5 more mouse clicks to do with minimal options for hot-baring things. Party AI and Pathing: Very bad. NPCs will get stuck on a pebble if it is in their path to get to a target. Spell casters will cast an AoE spell on a single target when all other party members are around to get hit too. Gameplay: Fair. The story is very linear and exploration is not a mainstay as it was with NWN1. I can get over this b/c I really will only play the OC once or twice. However, if the world is not flexible because of an inefficient engine (which I suspect it might be) than that will limit any community expansion of the game. Completeness: Very poor. Very, very buggy from top to bottom. It is a very common occurence to have a script no fire and get "stuck" in the game because you didn't complete something that really was completed. There are also many bugs with classes, feats, and spells. I am very disappointed and my optimisim that it will get better is starting to diminish for every unanswered post in the support forum. The worst part, it ruined the first game for me too.… Expand
  7. JohnEvans
    Nov 27, 2006
    4
    Seriously this is NOT a good game. Do not be deceived by the Fanboi reviews. Check www.1up.com for an honest "professional" game review. At least gamespot gave it 6 for graphics, so kudos to them for that at least. I will try to be honest here, but where to start? Pretty much everyone knows by now that the graphics are not the best in this game, its not just on account of the obvious lag, Seriously this is NOT a good game. Do not be deceived by the Fanboi reviews. Check www.1up.com for an honest "professional" game review. At least gamespot gave it 6 for graphics, so kudos to them for that at least. I will try to be honest here, but where to start? Pretty much everyone knows by now that the graphics are not the best in this game, its not just on account of the obvious lag, poor performance and high specs needed. Graphics are about more than the nuber of Polygons, Shadows, and how many Pixel shaders you support. GRAPHICS Graphics lead to very poor "imersion". Levels are SMALL, tiny, and also animations are very very poor. Your characters will not look very cool while running fighting or doing anything. Customization of look of you char is OK, but not earth shattering. INTERFACE Interface. Very poor, I was getting RSI in the end, right clicking wait for pop-up, drag etc. Camera has numerous faults that others have noted, but I can cope with that at least, you just need to fiddle with it. MULTIPLAYER This game uses Huge walk meshes, that ALL clients MUST download before they can join your world. Upwards of 200-300MB. You will need to find a decent "Paid For" ISP so that each client can download the 100of MB. You are therefore looking at Paying for Terrabytes! of download if you want to host an online world. You have been warned. To host the game you will need to open numerous ports, and know a fair bit about firewalls (ok this does not bug me), but you will likely need XP, or more likely pay for hosting a Windows 2003 server since the server does not support Linux. If you make any small changes to game world, all users will need to re-download those Terabytes. Other online support such as chat is very poorly Supported. Also take note. Online, "If ONE person entersa shop, ALL party members will do so". If ONE person starts a conversation with NPC, the whole party HAS to. This is due to the very small levels (due to insane memory needs), and therefore system can't cope with people in different areas. Toolset is not getting much good feedback from the developer community at the moment. CAMPAIGN This is very linear and is based on very very small levels. MOst levels have very few places you can explore (if any...seriously), and doors, buildings etc are there for scenery. You must "open up" areas on your map before you can go there. Also many doors are super locked on account of the linear scripting not wanting you to go there. There are numerous game breaking bugs that if you take certain choices, will prevnt you from completing the game. Make SURE to patch patch patch before you start this game. SLOWNESS Loading screens are insane, even on the same level. If you go to the shop to buy mats for crafting...load...leave shop...load...walk 20 yard to the "Inn" where your workbench is...load...oops forgot an item...load main area....walk to yards to shop...load. I mean its realy realy bad. Make sure you have a Raptor or other fast disk. pref have 2Gb of RAM. You will also find commands lag, and its very hard to target. Obdsidian have admitted this and suggest you use "Tab" targetting as a work round. If there are 15 monsters you will need to tab though them all. AI Lots of people complain about this, I don't find it as bad as peopel say...simply because there is an option to totaly disable it. You WILL need to do this, or else NPC will do the most stupid things, pull mobs, cast bad spells on you. Also they can de-target and stand there. I micro manage all the fights and control all NPC. Pers I like this since DnD is a pary based game. But if you like to focus on the main charater you have been warned. SOUND This is OK, but be warned a lot of the old sounds have been re-used. I don't mind this so much but some people do PROS The intro scene is very nice. Also the Star Music is good. Some of the cut scenes look OK, and some of the characters are funny (if linear, you can't not have them join your party or it breaks story for example). Shadows can look nice, but this must be disabled on most system unless you want your PC to run real slow, 5fps, some people report overheat and crashed. Dont think that it wont be you...it well could be overheating is chronic in this game, though I have been mostly OK, with only a few 10 minute reboots (including long loading times etc) CONCLUSION Overall this is oviously a flawed release. Unfortnetly I don't think patching will help, since there are flaws right from the early conception of this game (walkmeshes being an example). In my oppinion there is no way that Atari Obsidian can "patch there way out" of this. Also as a bad sign, Atari have removed the development team onto another project, and now the "Live" Team are working on it. With the core developers working on something else it bodes ill, but I don't think even the developers could fix it in a meaningful amount of time. Don't expect to see any good users modules any time soon, and pretty much forget about multiplayer. I'm sorry but this is the truth. I was pretty exited about this release, but I would not say over hyped, I'm 35 and don't realy buy into the hype of games. If if the graphics were dreadful but it was good in other areas I could forgive it seriously. I've played D2, and some Stardock games with terrible graphics, but they all made up for it, sadly NWN2 fails on to broad a front. I would advise you to save you money and not buy this game, but of couse the choice is yours.… Expand
  8. GordonM.
    Nov 29, 2006
    4
    I had high hopes for this game, honestly I did. There are glimmers of where NWN2 could have done well, but sadly the vast majority of it does not live up to its predecessor. The right-click menu is unintuitive and slow, attempting to do anything while your character and/or the target is in motion is impossible. The AI is pathetic. The campaign itself is rather cliched and while some of I had high hopes for this game, honestly I did. There are glimmers of where NWN2 could have done well, but sadly the vast majority of it does not live up to its predecessor. The right-click menu is unintuitive and slow, attempting to do anything while your character and/or the target is in motion is impossible. The AI is pathetic. The campaign itself is rather cliched and while some of the characters are interesting, they are never really given a chance to shine beyond a single cutscene each that never really goes anywhere. A host of romance options were promised, yet there are only a single romance path for each gender. And the male path is completely unexpected, especially due to the personality and actions of a couple of the female characters, inclusing the romantic option herself. Alignment has no meaning and alignment shifts are seemingly randomly placed in dialogs. The toolset. Ah, the toolset... what the hell happened? NWN1's toolset was complex, but streamlined. NWN2's is... well, broken, horrific and more complex than anything I've seen before. Plus there are only the bare minimum of creatures/textures/etc to make the campaign itself functional, unlike the original game's toolset that had a considerable segment of the D&D Forgotten Realms pantheon of creatures in it. Combined with the fact that the toolset itself is incredibly unintuitive and that it is difficult or nigh impossible to do anything without fighting it and you have not only a step backwards, but a fall off a cliff backwards. I'd end with the hope that some of this might be patched or at least changed, but considering how significant the problems are and how deep it runs, many of the 'problems' are most likely design decisions rather than simple errors of judgement from Obsidian/Atari. I hope that things improve, but can't see it happening. The only reason I give it as "high" as a 4 is because there is some enjoyment to be had. Otherwise it would be a 0.… Expand
  9. JeffS.
    Oct 24, 2007
    4
    Nice looking, good voice acting, but very buggy, even with patch 1.10. They threw out the good UI of the original NWN and jammed some clunky UI in sideways. The camera angle needs constant adjustment so you can see where your character is going, and that gets in the way of the immersive experience. Still, I'd rate this game highly if it weren't for the frequent crashes and Nice looking, good voice acting, but very buggy, even with patch 1.10. They threw out the good UI of the original NWN and jammed some clunky UI in sideways. The camera angle needs constant adjustment so you can see where your character is going, and that gets in the way of the immersive experience. Still, I'd rate this game highly if it weren't for the frequent crashes and corrupt save files. It's just not worth the frustration. Save your money and replay the original NWN, or drag out that dusty old copy of Baldur's Gate. I know you've got one.… Expand
  10. KarlL.
    Nov 12, 2006
    4
    I love DD and NWN, but this version is too buggy and the graphics are not very good either. 1. Defensive casting gets deselected all the time. 2. Arcane Trickster but no sneak attacks on ranged or meele touch attacks. WTF? 3. The AI for your companions sucks.
  11. AByrd
    Nov 12, 2006
    4
    Absolutely terrible. Clearly this game was released before completion. It is buggy, has terrible performance and support at Obsidion has been horrendous. Save you money to see if anyone has the balls to correct the issues. If not, it ain't worth owning.
  12. KennethC.
    Nov 13, 2006
    4
    One of the worst yet for me. Absolutely awful camera implementation.
  13. BryanC.
    Nov 13, 2006
    4
    Incredible letdown. While generally well-written, the story is ridiculously linear and it forces you to do so many things just to advance the plot. Very heavy-handed. Maybe play it when it makes it to the 20-dollar bargain bin. Such a waste. Bleh.
  14. JoeJ.
    Nov 13, 2006
    4
    Bugs, bugs, and more bugs. NWN2 seems to have it share of bugs, and then some. From problems with the ruleset, to misfiring or unfiring cutscenes, to the atrocious camera, NWN2 has a little bit of everything it shouldn't have. The new OC's story is better than the original NWN's oc, but still leaves a lot to be desired. I was greatly irritated at how many times during Bugs, bugs, and more bugs. NWN2 seems to have it share of bugs, and then some. From problems with the ruleset, to misfiring or unfiring cutscenes, to the atrocious camera, NWN2 has a little bit of everything it shouldn't have. The new OC's story is better than the original NWN's oc, but still leaves a lot to be desired. I was greatly irritated at how many times during playing through the OC that I was forced to revert to a previous save, due to bugs. The multiplayer aspect of the game is all but dead, as with the way modules are handled now has all but killed the persistent world. I'm saddened by what I can only see as the death of a franchise. Good job Obsidian! You're now 2 for 2.… Expand
  15. KirbyS.
    Nov 23, 2006
    4
    The game looks really nice and has a reasonably good storyline, but the controls/camera have killed it for me. It's almost a chore to play the game because of the crappy controls. I bought NWN2 a week ago and I've only played one session...I can't bring myself to fight with the camera again.
  16. PeterA.
    Nov 27, 2006
    4
    Currently, the game does not function fully, even with the 1.03 BETA patch that has been released. The original NWN is easier to use (GUI), has better framerates, and more variety, with the exception being character portraits. I have both on my current system (AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core Proc, Dual Nvidia SLI enabled GeForce 7800 GT, and 3Gig of 3200 DDR2 RAM), and I know which one runs Currently, the game does not function fully, even with the 1.03 BETA patch that has been released. The original NWN is easier to use (GUI), has better framerates, and more variety, with the exception being character portraits. I have both on my current system (AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core Proc, Dual Nvidia SLI enabled GeForce 7800 GT, and 3Gig of 3200 DDR2 RAM), and I know which one runs better. Sure, NWN2 has some nice graphics to look at, but you can't interact with them, you are limited to following a pre-set path like KOTOR or KOTOR2. NWN was similar, could really only go certain places, but the spaces were much larger, NWN2 feels cramped, except in city areas. Although even there it sucks that you can't go into most houses like you could in NWN. Persistent worlds would help this game, but from what I have heard, that route is SOL, because with the graphics hog this game has, and the need to download huge 100MB plus files each time a world is first visited or designer-altered, dial ups would need the patience of a saint to do it. Seems more likely they want to force feed us DDO. Hence the free trial disc which contains the entire game and seven days. Thanks WoTC. Likely the WoTC made sure that NWN2 would not be as good a multiplayer as DDO, both to prevent customer loss and competition, and to make certain that the game didn't outperform DDO. I have tried DDO, and it does run better than NWN2, but the game is very limited in level scope and character creation when last I was on, which is why I stopped playing it. The limitations and expense outweighed anything good it had. Things that should work don't, such as adding spells to an NPC wizards spellbook. Trying to add actions to the action bar for latter rounds, or just the round you are on, can be frustrating and hard on your mouse, requiring multiple clicks and pause/unpause to achieve a desired result, and that includes targeting while moving. So if you want realtime gaming, don't try this one, because in some parts, pause is the only way you can play it, that and nursemaiding the NPC AI. The skills for the most part have little gameplay effect except in a few narrowly controlled (storyline) parts. Only the necessary thief skills offer any real use. Crafting is a joke, altering magic items is easier, and cheaper. I believe it costs more to create some potions than it does to purchase them from a friendly merchant. When was the last time in NWN you set a trap and an enemy walked into it? In NWN2, monsters can see the thief even when hidden and silent, everytime, regardless of the level of the thiefs skill. So scouting is useless, the game sees you and starts the cutscene, even if all you wanted to do was waste them all with a few rounds of fireball before they knew what hit them. You lose all your buffs too when that happens, even the ones that should last HOURS of game time. Picking pockets can be useful, until the game tells you the mark is empty, and profitable when you lift 45000 gp worth of rings in one shot, or 25 bars of adamantine ore. Realism? Not even possible using the 3.5 edition D&D rules the game is purported to be following. Merchants run out of gold to purchase your goods, ruining your ability to make money to create some of the more expensive magical artifacts, as long as you have the recipes, which so far seem to be very repetitive in drops, and I have yet to see anything world shattering like a rod of lordly might, a rod of the python, or a staff of power(although there is one you can loot that I have found. But it's a watered down version of the 3.5 D&D version). Just standard stat adjusting fair like elven cloaks and boots, and spell-to-staff stuff like lightning or fireball. Even a Gem of Brightness (boring, I want a ring of elemental command, sword of dancing, helm of brilliance). Spells don't look as they should when casting. Ice Storm looks more like an Ice Ball, Magic Missile doesn't fire off all at once, even though there is a Missile Storm spell that does shoot multiple missiles, for some reason Magic Missile does not. Spell Buffs for AoE don't show on companions even when you know they should. Circle of Protection from alignment comes to mind. It pops on when you wonder near the center target NPC, but if you cast it on yourself, you don't see it on the NPC when they stand close. Trying to use NPC abilities like talk to animals fails except where the storyline is advanced, so unlike NWN where you could talk to just about all the animals, in NWN2, forget it. Also, the moment you try to get the NPC to do anything of importance, the game warps you to their location and you are now the one doing it. Try winning a bard contest if you aren't a bard. And the bard NPC you have in the party is of no help unless you have influence with him, so you have to get him to do his job by kissing his butt in a big way. So I leave him at the inn, he's so useful. But sometimes the game MAKES you take them, which bites. Maybe I want to be a loaner, hmmm.? You really can't ROLE PLAY the way you want to if the game makes you play a certain way. The AI is more factually referred to as FR, as in functionally retarded. NPCs charge through discovered traps to hit an enemy, cast area spells near party members indiscriminantly, don't always take the crows path to reach a target, activate personal abilities to the detriment of the group as a whole (most notable the druid shapechanger). And if you play in Hardcore D&D, the bard will stun you as well as enemies, even though his abilities might state enemies only; the firebug sorceress will kill you with fireballs and walls of fire before the enemy does; the cleric and druid only cast heal spells when commanded to, and even if you fill up the action bar on NPC's, they will delete those actions in favor of their own unless you turn them into puppets, making the game that much more work. In NWN, all I did was tell the NPC when to use melee or ranged, and how far to follow, and whether to use skills or spells. And it worked! This new way of doing things is too much, and broken. Familiars get lost when zoning, even if they aren't killed or conjured away. Game does not take into account how many doors away from monsters you might be. Some areas of the game you cannot rest in, so you have to leave and return, if it will let you. Why? If I want to risk a random monster encounter, than I should be able to. Oh wait, no random monsters, so I guess they just want to make sure you can't rest. Why are the levels limited to 20, a sequel to NWN should take into account the fact that you could hit epic levels in HoTU. Not here though, got to leave something for an expansion to trick you to buy, right? Why not keep all the original prestige classes and add the new ones as well? Oh yeah, wrote a new game, not upgraded the old one. Upgrading is hard work, half-a$$ing a new one is easy. In essence, it seems they attempted to re-invent the wheel, and doing that ruined the flavor of the game. As it plays out, it's no sequel, it's a stand alone like ToEE. The name was used to make bucks, pure and simple. It gets a 4 because you can play it if you have patience and a robust system like I do, but nothing more because the game is not a sequel, it's factually a step back from the original, a really big Man on the Moon step back. This is not a sequel, sequels are usually at LEAST as good as the original, and for the most part BETTER.… Expand
  17. ErikT.
    Nov 27, 2006
    4
    Shouldn't have been released at this stage. Serious, serious flaws hampers gameplay so much it's very difficult to become immersed in what could have been a great sequel to one of the most loved RPGs in PC history.
  18. mikey42782
    Jan 2, 2011
    4
    I am an avid fan of the Neverwinter Nights game. I thought the first one was awesome, engrossing, and addictive. The second one? I am truly mixed on this, and dissapointed.
    Where to start? Well, if i don't truly have a high end computer, but it still runs it, albeit the choppy frame rate. I had to tweak down almost everything on my system settings just to get it to run not as choppy.    I am an avid fan of the Neverwinter Nights game. I thought the first one was awesome, engrossing, and addictive. The second one? I am truly mixed on this, and dissapointed.
    Where to start? Well, if i don't truly have a high end computer, but it still runs it, albeit the choppy frame rate. I had to tweak down almost everything on my system settings just to get it to run not as choppy. And to be completely honest, it got to the point that i just stopped playing the game because the graphics just didn't look all that well. i am sure if you have a high end baby, that thing would look stunning but not so much on mine.
    The A.I as previously stated, does have flaws in it, ie; getting stuck on objects, not following combat parameters, and the like. The key reason i stopped playing it, was because of the camera angles. Going into a dungeon, i found it hard to keep track of my party and where they were, and on more then several occasions, i had to switch the view around for almost a minute just to see the loot on the floor that i could pick up. One of my friends, a diehard NWN fan, insisted they were coming out with a patch to fix all the camera foul ups, but i when i installed the game for a second time, i did not see any patch and the camera angles were still terrible.
    Sound gets a bit tedious, because if you have played the first one, its the same sounds. You figured after x amount of years since the game has been out they could have updated. The soundtrack i liked :) but then again i like weird tunes. CONCLUSION: If you have a high end pc, and its in the bargain bin? Give it a shot. Maybe a better pc would resolve some of the camera issues. But i would still say wait until this baby has some patches which fix the camera    … Expand
  19. buzkashi
    Mar 28, 2011
    4
    This game has some good features but gets a low score because it is full of game breaking bugs. The pros: It looks ok, even given its age, and you have a very deep combat and character development system that gives you lots of variety in the kind of character you can be. The cons: Where to start? The clunky control system; three camera modes, none of which work properly; lacklustreThis game has some good features but gets a low score because it is full of game breaking bugs. The pros: It looks ok, even given its age, and you have a very deep combat and character development system that gives you lots of variety in the kind of character you can be. The cons: Where to start? The clunky control system; three camera modes, none of which work properly; lacklustre campaign; really ugly faces for your character; UI is just a total mess, popups all over the place; and it's very possible to ruin your character build from the beginning because you chose the wrong abilities......
    But even after all that I would have forgiven it, were it not for the fact that it is just a broken game. It's full of bugs even with all the latest patches, and I mean game ruining bugs like campaign events not triggering. It's totally unreasonable for Bioware to still be selling a game for a not insignificant price (I paid £15 for the platinum edition) which just falls over at random. And then there are the crashes... So really, there are other RPGs out there, and if you want a game that you will actually be able to play then buy something else. But if you are a gambler by nature, then why not try this game. You *might* have fun. But then again you might lose your money and have nothing to show for it.    … Expand
  20. grok70
    Sep 18, 2011
    4
    Well there went 20 dollars. The game is alright. The story is dull, but I"m only 6 hours in. I"m so bored with listening to my compatriots **** at each other...Probably should have been evil and just told them to shut the hell up more often. Anyways. The missions keep bugging. What was a mediocre game with dull combat and a cliche story now feels like a beta from the 90's. I completed theWell there went 20 dollars. The game is alright. The story is dull, but I"m only 6 hours in. I"m so bored with listening to my compatriots **** at each other...Probably should have been evil and just told them to shut the hell up more often. Anyways. The missions keep bugging. What was a mediocre game with dull combat and a cliche story now feels like a beta from the 90's. I completed the quests but it glitched out and doesn't know it. It doesn't keep more than one auto-save and leaving and coming back doesn't fix it, so I just have to start back from the last time I saved. But the combat is so easy you never die, so why save every 10 minutes? It's BS. Camera is crap. The sounds are dull. In the the previous iteration when you paried your swords would match and send off a spark. Fighting was faster paced and the pop up directional tool tip menu was awesome> I had a lot of fun disarming, knocking down, then triple jump kicking poeple as a monk. Somehow this game ended up a lot worse in terms of interface and playability. That's where all the points go. No point having all that content if I can't even play it.… Expand
  21. Wargizmo
    Jun 25, 2013
    4
    Even after 5+ years since its release this game still has so many bugs and glitches it takes away from the overall experience. In my first playthrough I encountered 2 game breaking bugs (one where I had to load from an old save to progress, another where I had to use the console to spawn a particular npc); as well as dozens of small glitches, AI glitches, graphical glitches, questEven after 5+ years since its release this game still has so many bugs and glitches it takes away from the overall experience. In my first playthrough I encountered 2 game breaking bugs (one where I had to load from an old save to progress, another where I had to use the console to spawn a particular npc); as well as dozens of small glitches, AI glitches, graphical glitches, quest glitches. The story and characters are decent enough but this game was clearly not put through enough QA and is essentially a beta build.

    As to gameplay, there are some fundamental flaws with the D&D engine that take away from the fun, for example the massive length of time it takes to buff your characters and the needlessly complex character statistics and crafting system. Yes, the game can be really fun but you have to really work for it. For every awesome battle or story arc there is just as much time spent micromanaging inventory and sitting there waiting for buffs to cast.

    As far as plot goes, some of the characters and store were really well done, but the writing is VERY inconsistent and more than one occasion some of the characters said something that literally made me cringe. At one point a character makes a fart joke and then EXPLAINS the fart joke (apparently the devs thought it was too subtle) and then is lauded by two of the other characters for her wit; also while we're on the subject of writing, can with stop using the phrase "could care less", it's supposed to be "couldn't care less", this was used at least 3 times in the campaign.

    There is the core of a great game here somewhere, and if you have the patience and don't mind using the console occasionally then it's worth putting some time into, but there are MUCH better games you should look at first. If you haven't played the first NWN or Dragonage then you're better off checking those games out first.    … Expand
  22. Wulfburk
    Mar 11, 2012
    4
    Graphics are good, but animations completely sucks, the story is a little interesting, but the game is full of bugs, the worst control system ever, worst camera modes ever, and really killed the NeverWinter Nights franchise, the first one was so epic and awesome, specially multiplayer, now this one is completely disappointing.
  23. Terrastro
    Feb 16, 2020
    4
    1. Stupid, childish, boring, predictable and linear as a blackboard plot, in some moments causing an acute negative. Mediocre dialogs with pseudo non-linearity that will not affect anything globally.

    2. With a technically good engine, the developers managed to use it so crookedly and mediocre that there was nowhere else to go. Absolutely empty and poorly detailed locations, there is    1. Stupid, childish, boring, predictable and linear as a blackboard plot, in some moments causing an acute negative. Mediocre dialogs with pseudo non-linearity that will not affect anything globally.

    2. With a technically good engine, the developers managed to use it so crookedly and mediocre that there was nowhere else to go. Absolutely empty and poorly detailed locations, there is almost no interactivity with the environment, and what is available mainly happens according to the plot. Disgusting animations, miserable cutscenes and ridiculous staging in these cutscenes. What else to talk about, even if they could not come up with their own musical accompaniment, they simply took and copied the existing one from the first part.

    3. The combat role-system is made very clumsy and ridiculous, look at these wretched attempts and picking after what was in the first part is simply impossible. It is unclear why they introduced alchemy, which the vast majority of players simply do not use because of its uselessness. Boring and unclear why the introduced micromanagement of the castle, which after a while begins to annoy more and more.

    To summarize: In the second part I was prompted to play NWN1, after passing this masterpiece I decided to go through the second part (although I knew that it was worse in the whole of the first part) and regretted it very much. I look at the ratings of the press and just can’t believe in their objectivity, how could you put more than 6 points to this mediocre craft !! ??    … Expand
  24. Holo_0f_Yoitsu
    Sep 2, 2022
    4
    I've tried and failed to play the whole game through three times and I end up bored out of my mind every time. It's just so dull. The AI is trash too, it's poorly optimised and the story sends me to sleep. The only positive is the character creation
  25. AlainL.
    Nov 20, 2006
    3
    Really disappointing. Too much bugs and problems. NVW1 was one of my favorite game, but NVW2 is a BIG let down for me. I have a really high-end computer and everything is working fine even at 1900X1200. The problem is the game itself. Awfully counter-intuitive user interface, party AI is incredibly lame, the camera is a joke... I just put the game on the shelve and will wait and see if Really disappointing. Too much bugs and problems. NVW1 was one of my favorite game, but NVW2 is a BIG let down for me. I have a really high-end computer and everything is working fine even at 1900X1200. The problem is the game itself. Awfully counter-intuitive user interface, party AI is incredibly lame, the camera is a joke... I just put the game on the shelve and will wait and see if patches will make it playable. But I really feel like I've simply lost 50$... Save yourself 50$, don't buy this game, and wait to see if the developpers will be able to fix that awful mess beofre spending money on it.… Expand
  26. MarkD.
    Dec 2, 2006
    3
    This game is a huge disapointment, the first thing you notice is the woeful graphics, even with a high end system it chugs along creating a disjointed feel. The charater choice system is really crap the faces/hair and races look awful. I'm giving the story line a bit more time and this appears to be the obly saving grace. My advice is don't buy this game if you liked NWN1.
  27. NicholasG.
    Feb 7, 2007
    3
    Quite a disappointing game really. I'm a fan of NWN series (and especially KoTOR series). I don't like the graphics, the storyline is kinda childish, and the action is unnatural (let alone some bugs in quests)... Well, it's unplayable in my opinion. No Bioware, no NWN!
  28. AndrewB.
    Nov 19, 2006
    3
    What's changed in NWN2? Graphics, 3.5 D&D rules, and uh, graphics. What amounts to mediocre animation and visuals somehow managed to make this game harder on your computer than TES 4: Oblivion (as some have noted in this thread). And the conversion to 3.5 rules has served to provide an excuse for not including epic levels, which I'm sure will be in one of many expansion packs. I What's changed in NWN2? Graphics, 3.5 D&D rules, and uh, graphics. What amounts to mediocre animation and visuals somehow managed to make this game harder on your computer than TES 4: Oblivion (as some have noted in this thread). And the conversion to 3.5 rules has served to provide an excuse for not including epic levels, which I'm sure will be in one of many expansion packs. I could almost buy that 3.5 epic is too complicated and would have taken a lot of effort, if there was any apparent effort put forth in the rest of the game. Certainly not the plot. A predictable, formulaic story full of two-dimensional D&D stereotypes and villains that are incredibly evil because...um...they're just evil, okay? NWN2 makes a Disney animated VHS-only sequel look original. Nearly all the NPCs are disgustingly cliche (the ale-guzzling dwarf fighter who's narrow-minded and likes to punch people, for example). Your character is from a farm community and, of course, you never knew your parents. The dialogue options, on one hand, don't give you any flexibility in the story, and on the other hand, are incredibly obvious about their alignment: "It was my duty to Neverwinter," or "I just didn't want anyone to get hurt," or "I don't care as long as I get paid for this," or the classic "I think I'll kill you because I'm evil for no reason!" New developments are practically handed to you, and there's no point in the story where you're not sure what you're supposed to do.… Expand
  29. KR
    Feb 22, 2007
    3
    Forget the critics. Unless high resolution "dungeon dressing" is important to you, this game has nothing to offer that 20 or even 40 other games didn't do better. The plot is linear, the terrain (that you can actually go to) is flat, the camera views are difficult to handle, and practically all the fighting can be left on automatic. (Just attack with a fighter, and let the AI handle Forget the critics. Unless high resolution "dungeon dressing" is important to you, this game has nothing to offer that 20 or even 40 other games didn't do better. The plot is linear, the terrain (that you can actually go to) is flat, the camera views are difficult to handle, and practically all the fighting can be left on automatic. (Just attack with a fighter, and let the AI handle spells.) Don't worry about interacting with your environment -- just press "w" and you'll be shown all the things you can interact with. I can't remember one genuine moment of fun or amusement in several hours of play.… Expand
  30. BillW.
    Apr 20, 2007
    3
    Perfect example of a game shipped before being completed. 6 months after release & it's still not done. Maybe Obsidian will fix enough to make it porperly playable by the time they ship the expansion this fall.
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Awards & Rankings

26
#26 Best PC Game of 2006
6
#6 Most Discussed PC Game of 2006
7
#7 Most Shared PC Game of 2006

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
82

Generally favorable reviews - based on 46 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 38 out of 46
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 46
  3. Negative: 0 out of 46
  1. Quandary
    80
    So it isn't perfect, particularly not for players who prefer using the mouse, but Neverwinter Nights 2 is nevertheless a hugely enjoyable trip.
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  2. Game Chronicles
    89
    Rich narrative, engaging gameplay, and total attention to role-playing detail.
    Read full review
  3. Digital Entertainment News
    83
    Neverwinter Nights 2 is a strong single-player adventure thoroughly enjoyable in and of itself. That it will serve as a platform for endless mod gaming only makes it that mich more appealing.
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