Saw this on the NWN2 forum, and thought it'd be fun to for a few games that features a lot of character interaction. Figured I'd start off with NWN2otB since I saw it on those forums.
So, focus on whatever characters you want (party member or no), and rate them on a scale of -10 to +10. Criticize the hell out of them for fun, or gush all over them. Do them all, or do just one. I'm bored, so I'll do all the party members. It may be pointless, but hey. Will probably be some spoilers here.
NWN2:
Khelgar (+3). Yeah, this guy is a very cliché battlecrazy dwarf, with a cliché dwarf voice to boot. But I find him to be fairly likeable, and fairly easy to bond with as a "brother in arms".
Neeshka (+2). The streetsmart Rogue girl. Has some pretty fun lines here and there. I think the voiceactor does a good job, but the direction is awful. They went with a way to squeaky and annoying voice. There are also some really annoying volume problems. Annah is still the coolest rogue girl.
Elanee (-4). This is a pretty damn boring character. I think Druids could make for pretty interesting characters, but Elanee is not. Has some extremely cheesy lines, which could be good for reading only, but does not work at all when voiced.
Qara (-2). Has some potential, but it's never explored. The whole assassination attempt plot bit is just strange, and doesn't seem to affect anything about her. In the end she's just to obviously stupid and impatient.
Grobnar (-8). Argh. OK, so this character actually has some funny lines, but someone kill the voiceactor. A good example of a voiceactor (or perhaps the direction) completely killing a character.
Casavir (-10). One of the most boring character ever. Everything about him oozes boredom. And that "heroic and honourable" voice, urk. Terrible.
Shandra Jerro (+2). A bit to much of the "stupid farm girl" thing going on here. But nice in the sense that she actually seems to care about the PC. Her head also freaks me out sometimes, her eyes are *weird*.
Bishop (-5). Another potentially interesting character ruined by the voiceacting. Seems like he has an interesting history, though it's not that fleshed out. Voiceactor sounds like the typical "Bioware thug", so overtly evil. For some reason, despite the fact that you have to take all companions with you in your roster, it's only in the case of Bishop that this *really* annoys me.
Sand (-2). A few funny lines, but extremely underdeveloped. The whole sarcastic personality can be fun, but he is so overacted. A common problem among the NWN2 companions I feel, they are just to damn *extreme*!
Zhjaavee (0). And yet another case of the voiceacting bringing a character down. I've always been a sucker for the Planar lore, so I enjoyed what she could tell me about this. But... The whole "oooh, I'm so mystical and strange" voiceacting gets tired really fast. And wereas the whole *know* business worked for Dak'kon, it simply doesn't work here due to the larger amount of voiceacting. It would've killed me to listen to Dak'kon if PS:T had the same amount of voiceacting as the companions in NWN2.
Ammon Jerro (+7). Possibly the only companion of NWN2 that I really liked. His main flaw is that he joins the party at such a late time, which makes it difficult to care for him. I liked that he was trying to save the Realms in his own rather messed up way. Has got an interesting history of binding demons, and being imprisoned in the Lower Planes etc etc. A pretty good voice, though it makes me wanna reach for that bag of throat-sweets. And I liked that you can convince him to admit his flaws at Shandras homestead, nice moment for the character.
MotB:
Safiya (+3). My least favourite of the MotB companions. Not annoying or anything, but rather flat and characterless. Explained by the plot, but not so sure it's a good decision to write a character like that into the players party. She gets a little plus for Kaji, which is a type of character I normally dislike, but who I found to be quite funny and likeable.
Gannayev (+5). Pretty interesting concept. A charismatic hagspawn Spirit Shaman. Manages to be annoying in a likeable sense, and has some great lines. Voiceactor is pretty good. Doesn't fit in as well in the party as the other characters though. His moment is in the Hag Coven, but other than that he's not particularly tied in with the plot.
Kaelyn (+9). A very good character. A pretty interesting backstory, and extremely likeable if you share her views on things. Loyal to her cause, and will diss you if you don't agree with her. Extraordinary voiceacting. A "goody-goody" character that I actually really like. Sees things in black and white (there's even an ingame conversation about that). She is delicious to trick and betray if you're playing evil. Really liked Kaelyn.
Okku (+6). A Rainbow Bear. The gruff and honorable character. Didn't like him all that much at first, but warmed up to his character as the game went on. Kicked butt (to much butt in fact) in battles. Liked his voiceacting.
One-of-Many (+7). OK, so there's not much character development going on here. But this thing is deliciously evil. Thousands of evil souls inhabiting the dead husk of Okku. This thing is just a lovely sidekick for any crazed evil character. Very good for the "bwahahah" factor. I don't normally enjoy characters like this, but something about One-of-Many made me giggle. I also found his voice(s) to be quite creepy (reminscant of good ole Darth Nihilus).
Phew.
So, focus on whatever characters you want (party member or no), and rate them on a scale of -10 to +10. Criticize the hell out of them for fun, or gush all over them. Do them all, or do just one. I'm bored, so I'll do all the party members. It may be pointless, but hey. Will probably be some spoilers here.
NWN2:
Khelgar (+3). Yeah, this guy is a very cliché battlecrazy dwarf, with a cliché dwarf voice to boot. But I find him to be fairly likeable, and fairly easy to bond with as a "brother in arms".
Neeshka (+2). The streetsmart Rogue girl. Has some pretty fun lines here and there. I think the voiceactor does a good job, but the direction is awful. They went with a way to squeaky and annoying voice. There are also some really annoying volume problems. Annah is still the coolest rogue girl.
Elanee (-4). This is a pretty damn boring character. I think Druids could make for pretty interesting characters, but Elanee is not. Has some extremely cheesy lines, which could be good for reading only, but does not work at all when voiced.
Qara (-2). Has some potential, but it's never explored. The whole assassination attempt plot bit is just strange, and doesn't seem to affect anything about her. In the end she's just to obviously stupid and impatient.
Grobnar (-8). Argh. OK, so this character actually has some funny lines, but someone kill the voiceactor. A good example of a voiceactor (or perhaps the direction) completely killing a character.
Casavir (-10). One of the most boring character ever. Everything about him oozes boredom. And that "heroic and honourable" voice, urk. Terrible.
Shandra Jerro (+2). A bit to much of the "stupid farm girl" thing going on here. But nice in the sense that she actually seems to care about the PC. Her head also freaks me out sometimes, her eyes are *weird*.
Bishop (-5). Another potentially interesting character ruined by the voiceacting. Seems like he has an interesting history, though it's not that fleshed out. Voiceactor sounds like the typical "Bioware thug", so overtly evil. For some reason, despite the fact that you have to take all companions with you in your roster, it's only in the case of Bishop that this *really* annoys me.
Sand (-2). A few funny lines, but extremely underdeveloped. The whole sarcastic personality can be fun, but he is so overacted. A common problem among the NWN2 companions I feel, they are just to damn *extreme*!
Zhjaavee (0). And yet another case of the voiceacting bringing a character down. I've always been a sucker for the Planar lore, so I enjoyed what she could tell me about this. But... The whole "oooh, I'm so mystical and strange" voiceacting gets tired really fast. And wereas the whole *know* business worked for Dak'kon, it simply doesn't work here due to the larger amount of voiceacting. It would've killed me to listen to Dak'kon if PS:T had the same amount of voiceacting as the companions in NWN2.
Ammon Jerro (+7). Possibly the only companion of NWN2 that I really liked. His main flaw is that he joins the party at such a late time, which makes it difficult to care for him. I liked that he was trying to save the Realms in his own rather messed up way. Has got an interesting history of binding demons, and being imprisoned in the Lower Planes etc etc. A pretty good voice, though it makes me wanna reach for that bag of throat-sweets. And I liked that you can convince him to admit his flaws at Shandras homestead, nice moment for the character.
MotB:
Safiya (+3). My least favourite of the MotB companions. Not annoying or anything, but rather flat and characterless. Explained by the plot, but not so sure it's a good decision to write a character like that into the players party. She gets a little plus for Kaji, which is a type of character I normally dislike, but who I found to be quite funny and likeable.
Gannayev (+5). Pretty interesting concept. A charismatic hagspawn Spirit Shaman. Manages to be annoying in a likeable sense, and has some great lines. Voiceactor is pretty good. Doesn't fit in as well in the party as the other characters though. His moment is in the Hag Coven, but other than that he's not particularly tied in with the plot.
Kaelyn (+9). A very good character. A pretty interesting backstory, and extremely likeable if you share her views on things. Loyal to her cause, and will diss you if you don't agree with her. Extraordinary voiceacting. A "goody-goody" character that I actually really like. Sees things in black and white (there's even an ingame conversation about that). She is delicious to trick and betray if you're playing evil. Really liked Kaelyn.
Okku (+6). A Rainbow Bear. The gruff and honorable character. Didn't like him all that much at first, but warmed up to his character as the game went on. Kicked butt (to much butt in fact) in battles. Liked his voiceacting.
One-of-Many (+7). OK, so there's not much character development going on here. But this thing is deliciously evil. Thousands of evil souls inhabiting the dead husk of Okku. This thing is just a lovely sidekick for any crazed evil character. Very good for the "bwahahah" factor. I don't normally enjoy characters like this, but something about One-of-Many made me giggle. I also found his voice(s) to be quite creepy (reminscant of good ole Darth Nihilus).
Phew.