Groucho

Well, this comes out today, but I'm having bad luck finding any reviews. GameRankings reports one, a print mag in the UK giving in 91%, but you can't read it.

What's the buzz on this? I'm interested, but cautious since Bioware wasn't involved this time around.

nickdawgy

Why does this have to come out the same day as FFXII? Damn!

Oh well, time to wait for a price drop.

Setzer

Exactly what I said. I pre-ordered the collector's edition and will pick it up tomorrow but it's going to be collecting dust until I finish with FFXII.

outer-edge

I will get it without Bioware's involvement. Obsidian handled Kotor 2 well enough (despite the rush) and it seems they took more time with NWN2. Even if the campaign is bad, I have some people I am already planning on online module with, so it will serve its worth.

Groucho

Here's the first review I've found:

http://www.worthplaying.com/article....thread&order=0

It only covers the pack-in campaign (doesn't cover the toolset at all), and it's a 9/10.

outer-edge

I've played with the presell toolset a little bit. It is a moe complex interface, but so far looks to be more flexible.

Chris_D

The GameSpot review raved about the single player campaign. 8.6 I think the score was. Sounds like maybe a good purchase if only for the main campaign.

Setzer

I wasn't going to touch this game until I beat FFXII but I wanted to see how the game looked graphically and the character creation process. Character creation is much, much better than NWN1, I just wish there were more options for the head and body. If any of you checked out Gamespot's review, in which they gave the graphics a 6/10 -- I would say they're right on with that score. Graphically this game is a disappointment, and I'm running this thing on a fairly high end PC with a 7900GT 512mb card and I have the settings maxed. The screen shots are totally misleading. Also, the camera in this game is HORRIBLE. I was playing through the tutorial and I tried all the different camera settings and could not get one that didn't screw up when I went to move my character. Going to have to play around with the settings some more when I actually start playing the game.

adamblast

Link to the gamespot review (8.6)...

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/never...s2/review.html

I may pick it up on the way home... although I should wait; I'm notoriously slow at PC games, hell, I'm only partially thru Oblivion...

brainee

I love CRPGs, and the early reports are favorable, though this is looking more and more like a good one to wait a little bit before getting. If its like NWN, user-created mods may be able to fix some of the annoying gameplay problems (like camera control, inventory). And just so many computer games seem to need a couple months for the patches, that it feels silly to not wait on it and get a better version of the game for less money.

I like a lot of what I see. Return to the party-based system (with controllable NPCs joining the hero) similar to BG and Planescape. No "action-based" fighting system -- there are so many action combat games (especially creeping into RPGs) that it isn't asking to much to have at least some games rely on strategy and planning (and not fast fingers). The tileset looks improved (less literally like snap-together tiles, and more like a real world). All reports of the single player game are that its great. If the modding community takes to this like the first game (and there's no reason to think they won't) there will be loads of gameplay. The system requirements and reported sluggish play concern me a bit though. My computer is a couple of years old now. Oblivion started to push the limits of me being able to run things at maximum settings (I ended up turning resolution down a little bit for a better framerate). Do you think if I could handle Oblivion I should be fine for this, or is NWN2 even more demanding?

Groucho

In terms of graphics, I've found that Oblivion looks better and plays smoother than NWN2.

Setzer

Oblivion is a hack-n-slash FPRPG, at least I think it is. NWN2 is a DnD game in which you actually have a party of to 4 or more characters. I agree the graphics are lacking but it's unfair to compare this game to Oblivion.

Groucho

Agreed. The games try (and do) very different things. My point is that for the steep requirements NWN2 has, the graphics and performance are lacking.

Joe Molotov

Sounds like Doom 3 vs. Half-Life 2.

Joe Molotov

So what's the verdict, guys? I picked this up for $25 on Black Friday, and I'm only a few hours in, but I like it so far.

Groucho

I haven't had a lot of time to play it, but I really like the engine and the original campaign. It looks and feels a lot more like the original Baldur's Gate games than the originals.

I'm still disappointed in the performance. I booted up the PC version KOTOR 2 for comparison: same developers, same engine, only a couple years old. It doesn't look quite as nice, but it runs so much better.

I'm very happy with the game (and I paid full price).

CaptStormy

I too am enjoying it. (Black Friday Special - Thank You) The system requirments are insane! i have a x300 graphics card and am ready to just shelve the game till I get a better graphics card! Loving it so far though.

al_bundy

gogamer.com is having a special on it, and i might have to pick it up