NWN2 OC impressions

[Monocause]

There must be some fun right there, up ahead. There must be. I've paid the equivalent of 6$ for a used copy, there must be some fun.

If there isn't, I'm going to steal some

You think you *know* me?

Well don't ask where that dildo went before.

 

[yes plz]

NWN2 OC is like BGII... just with less of everything.

 

[zerotol]

BGII campaign is a whole other level then NWN2 oc...

 

[NiM82]

BGII campaign is a whole other level then NWN2 oc...

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

BGII campaign is a whole other level then NWN2 oc...

Nostalgia.

 

[Demnogonis Saastuttaja]

I tried to do a LP of it, but it's not a very lulzy game, and all the screenshots turn out stupid/ugly. The most challenge comes from probably trying to endure the stupid AI (well, you can turn party AI off but it's too bothersome to micromanage everyone in real-time especially because you can rest every 5 seconds). Even the mod doesn't seem to fix it, and some stuff (like rogues automatically disarming traps) got permanently broken after some patch. Situations like this are common, where everyone spots some skeleton and charge through traps to their death, unless you can click "stand your ground" fast enough.

Why they always close their eyes when I try to take a screenshot?

 

[Hory]

NWN2 OC is sort of the best crappy RPG.

 

[Wyrmlord]

NWN2 OC is sort of the best crappy RPG.

That's right.

That's so fucking right.

I mean, easy battles with a monotonous wave of orc clones is ridiculous, and yet, NWN2 still provides a good enough system to work with for you to have some fun with it.

It's a game that alternates between disappointing easy battles to enormous party-killers.

It's a bad game, but on a more positive note, it can be called a good game with terribly inconsistent quality.

 

[zerotol]

The problem with the OC is that the beginning is really awefull. So most people dont play on to the better parts

 

[dragonfk]

Just struggle through Act I and the games gets better after that. Though not epic-like.

 

[Panthera]

I liked building the keep.

And the trial was kinda neat.

 

[racofer]

*casts protection from elitists/fanboys*

Even NWN's OC is better than that shit.

*hides in plain sight*

 

[Deleted Member 10432]

*casts protection from elitists/fanboys*

Even NWN's OC is better than that shit.

*hides in plain sight*

I'd have to disagree, if only because Obsidian scrapped the shitty pseudo-medieval dialogue. Forsooth.

 

[Relayer71]

*casts protection from elitists/fanboys*

Even NWN's OC is better than that shit.

*hides in plain sight*

Nope, NWN 1 was shit.

NWN 2 was urine. Urine from a well hydrated person - wasn't immediately offensive but you still don't want wallow in it too long. Or something like that.

Oh hell, nothing is shittier than that fucking snoozefest of an OC in the first NWN.

I'd rather watch a full season of American Idol or endure some thing along those painful lines than play the NWN OC again.

 

[yes plz]

If nothing else, NWN2 OC had a couple of interesting companions. Their comments and banter made the otherwise boring quests (especially the main quest) somewhat entertaining.

 

[crufty]

I'd rather watch a full season of American Idol or endure some thing along those painful lines than play the NWN OC again.

ha. I had fun with it actually, only because it really did simulate what it was like to move your little figurine around in a mock dungeon. The story itself was shite. There were a few cool moments. But in general....blah.

 

[catfood]

The only good par about the NWN2 OC was the trial part....

Spoiler

...until you realize thatno matter what you do you still have to fight.

 

[Wyrmlord]

*casts protection from elitists/fanboys*

Even NWN's OC is better than that shit.

*hides in plain sight*

Eh sure, and it's not unreasonable to think so.

In NWN, you did not have to bear bad voicing and bad music (The tavern music in NWN2 is terrible).

Both the NWNs are ugly, but NWN2 zoomed down on the characters, and showed you exactly how ugly they look.

Moreover, NWN allowed you some space to move around in, a large area to explore at each chapter, and yet NWN2 really chokes you through places.

And yet, NWN2 was somewhat challenging.

So I dunno, I figure that somewhere, NWN and NWN2 can be matched with a fairly equal but different set of strengths and weaknesses, and yet, I think I enjoyed certain bits of NWN2 enough to say that NWN2 lingers between HotU quality to Infinity Engine quality.

 

[RK47]

Howabout NWN 2 vs Drakensang. I'm still mixed on which one I like more. I'm leaning more towards Drakensang maybe it's because the simple magic and melee system and smaller scale combat.

 

[Monocause]

Well, what do you know, I've changed my mind. NWN2 actually IS fun as long as you accept it for what it is. I realised it was actually my fault that I haven't enjoyed the game:

1. Having played through The Witcher recently I guess I got spoiled. While the combat and character development in TW is certainly nothing worth mentioning, the story and the setting kept me glued to the computer. Switching to NWN - style blandness apparently hurt me in the beginning. Some time have passed and suddenly I stopped caring about story that much and had fun with combat, loot and chardev. I also stopped caring about the graphics and the voices. TW got both realistic, while NWN2 is, well, high fantasy. It took me some time to adapt from a "I'll fucking kill you" TW thug to a "You're in trouble!" NWN2 thug.

2. Something was definitely done with the camera. While it's still nothing stellar, after installing SoZ it definitely got better. The party AI also got better, though I still turn off spell-casting completely so that the druid bitch won't hurt half of my party with that call lightning. Also (after installing MoTB or SoZ, I'm not sure) a party select key appeared which alleviated most of the management problems for me.

3. I created a boring character earlier. While a warlock/warrior would certainly be fun to play in the PnP version it wasn't in NWN2. Now I've got a wizard/eldritch knight, and development is much more interesting.

4. NWN2 is much better than NWN. Story's better, no more of that "go to E,W,S,N from the chapter's hub and collect four important artifacts" and other crap which NWN got it's infamy for. I'm also pleasantly surprised that the game has some decent peaceful resolution options, though the skill checks could be more brutally enforced - I mean, I failed BOTH diplomacy and bluff checks in the lizardmen caves and still I could persuade them to cease fighting through mundane dialogue (though IIRC, if you fail a skill check in the first lizardmen cave near West Harbor, you get to fight no matter what you say).
The combat is much more strategic and sometimes it's challenging. I started MoTB for a moment to get a taste of the story, entered the Veil Theater and got my ass handed to me by the pair of wizards (Safiya killing my main chara with meteor storm didn't help).

The game's decent, even the OC. Nothing spectacular, I'd say it's the FO3 of DnD RPGs - as long as you concentrate on the things the game does well and stop comparing, you'll enjoy it. I think I'll write a review of the OC when I'm done with it.

Ad1. Installing SoZ got the OC to do some really funny things. For example, Daeghun after saying "So many years ago, today" does a strange theatrical pose, and when saying "my foster child is dressed" he's thrown off the game world for a while. These are bugs but they increased my overall enjoyment of the dialogue immensely ;> Hope the latest patch didn't fix this.

 

[Wyrmlord]

I'd say it's the FO3 of DnD RPGs

With the difference that NWN2 is known to kill parties while dying in Fallout 3 is virtually unheard of, even from people less inclined towards difficulty in games.

Come on, NWN2 was made by people who still actually believed that a game is about challenge. It was made by people who still believed in having a RPG that was about statistical choices.

Yeah, it's a twitchy pausable real time game, but there are still other DnD games which are arguably less challenging than NWN2.

 

[Monocause]

I'd say it's the FO3 of DnD RPGs

With the difference that NWN2 is known to kill parties while dying in Fallout 3 is virtually unheard of, even from people less inclined towards difficulty in games.

Come on, NWN2 was made by people who still actually believed that a game is about challenge. It was made by people who still believed in having a RPG that was about statistical choices.

Yeah, it's a twitchy pausable real time game, but there are still other DnD games which are arguably less challenging than NWN2.

You need to put things in proper context ;> I wrote:

I'd say it's the FO3 of DnD RPGs - as long as you concentrate on the things the game does well and stop comparing, you'll enjoy it.

I wholeheartedly agree that NWN2 is much more challenging

 

[Satori (original)]

Aye it can be a fun game but you have to make the entertainment yourself; I had a great time with my CE sorceror who would be charming one minute then burn your skin off simply because he thought it was funny.

 

[Shannow]

Monocause, sure it was "Call lightning" that damaged your party? Because

All enemies within the area of effect take 1d6 points of electrical damage per caster level, to a maximum of 10d6.

it only hits enemies...

Both the NWNs are ugly, but NWN2 zoomed down on the characters, and showed you exactly how ugly they look.

I disagree. It was the first game of its type that pulled off 3d without looking butt-ugly compared to earlier 2d games. It looked well enough zoomed out. The problem were the dialogue-zoom-ins. I also encourage you to re-install NWN1 and then compare the games again.

 

[Black]

The problem with the OC is that the beginning is really awefull. So most people dont play on to the better parts

Sounds like BG II.
But after you get out of the dungeon you may think that there is some role-playing to be had, instead of combat combat combat.
Well, guess what...