This review is based solely on my experience with the single-player campaign of Neverwinter Nights.  Thus, I can't comment on the on-line capacity of the game.  I bought this game thinking that it was the successor of Bioware's excellent Baldur's Gate series, which are among my all-time favorite video games.  In a few ways it does improve upon these earlier masterpieces, but in many more ways it proved to be an inferior gaming experience.  Unless you have the time and patience to explore this game's on-line side, don't bother getting it.  There are many better computer roleplaying games out there (e.g., Morrowind, Baldur's Gate, Diablo 2, etc.).

Gameplay: This is a D&D-style fantasy adventure that Bioware has made a reputation for presenting well.  You create a character at the beginning and build him/her up with experience points during a 70-80 hour main quest.  The basic idea is similar to other such games, but the implementation here is unexciting.  First, this is a single-character game in which you don't have a party.  You can hire a mercenary, but for the most part you are on your own.  It makes for a rather uninteresting experience, since your hired hand does not have much of a personality and specializes primarily in poor pathfinding and suicidal behavior while in combat.  Unlike great games by Bioware such as Baldur's Gate and Knights of the Old Republic, you virtually have no control over your mercenary, who is often a liability.

Another problem with the game is its structure.  It is largely comprised of dungeon crawl after dungeon crawl after dungeon crawl.  A few of the dungeons are well done and memorable, and the game does pack in an awful lot of monsters.  But the experience is rather claustrophobic insofar as your adventures are boxed into four chapters in which you simply explore a town, its countryside, and underground areas.  Unlike Baldur's Gate, you can't revisit towns that were in previous chapters, and there is really no reason to since they are rather generic in feel.

The story itself is not a bad one, but is full of cliches and rather predictable.  You can take the noble good-guy route or be an outright villain, but the main story will unfold in the same way.  The main deficiency with the single-player campaign is the almost utter lack of connection that you feel with your character and the other NPCs you'll encounter.  There is none of the banter, bickering, and cameraderie that made the characters so memorable in Baldur's Gate.  Here, your mercenary has no stories to tell and even main characters like Aribeth and Aarin Gend are just there to push the story alone.

Perhaps even more distressing is how unstable this game was on my computer.  I had the 1.23 patch and it crashed to desktop about every 30 minutes.  The current patch (1.65) is available at Bioware's website, but it's 66MB!  If you have a dial-up internet connection like me, you know what that means (hours of waiting to download).  It's really a shame that Bioware has fallen into the pattern of other developers and has begun releasing games that still have technical issues (I had similar crash problems with Knights of the Old Republic, but the Baldur's Gate games were models of stability).  I hope that they avoid this with Neverwinter Nights 2.

Graphics: The game looks good, but not great.  Graphics are largely an evolutionary improvement over Baldur's Gate.  There are a few interesting changes, such as more combat moves, spell effects, and so forth. You can zoom the camera in close to the action, but things get blocky looking.  Those who do use the Aurora toolset that comes with the game should have a lot to choose from, though this game is not the best looking RPG available.

Sounds: The music was good and set the atmosphere.  Voice acting was hit-and-miss, with the whiny main character, Aribeth, being the worst offender.  Overall, the sounds in the game served their purpose, but didn't rescue the otherwise mediocre plot or excuse the lack of real character development.

Replay/value: Since I don't play games on-line or have an interest in downloading mods by others, Neverwinter Nights had a short shelf-life for me.  Due to the ho-hum story, bland characters, and crashing, I won't be rushing out to buy Neverwinter Nights 2.  If you like dungeon crawling for dungeon crawling's sake and haven't played some truly extraordinary games like Morrowind or Baldur's Gate, then this game might be worth a try (be sure to get the latest patch).  Otherwise, skip this one, since it doesn't begin to measure up to the high standards previously set by Bioware.
This review is based solely on my experience with the single-player campaign of Neverwinter Nights. Thus, I can't comment on the on-line capacity of the game. I bought this game thinking that it was the successor of Bioware's excellent Baldur's Gate series, which are among my all-time favorite video games. In a few ways it does improve upon these earlier masterpieces, but in many more ways it proved to be an inferior gaming experience. Unless you have the time and patience to explore this game's on-line side, don't bother getting it. There are many better computer roleplaying games out there (e. g., Morrowind, Baldur's Gate, Diablo 2, etc. ). Gameplay: This is a D&D-style fantasy adventure that Bioware has made a reputation for presenting well. You create a character at the beginning and build him/her up with experience points during a 70-80 hour main quest. The basic idea is similar to other such games, but the implementation here is unexciting. First, this is a single-character game in which you don't have a party. You can hire a mercenary, but for the most part you are on your own. It makes for a rather uninteresting experience, since your hired hand does not have much of a personality and specializes primarily in poor pathfinding and suicidal behavior while in combat. Unlike great games by Bioware such as Baldur's Gate and Knights of the Old Republic, you virtually have no control over your mercenary, who is often a liability. Another problem with the game is its structure. It is largely comprised of dungeon crawl after dungeon crawl after dungeon crawl. A few of the dungeons are well done and memorable, and the game does pack in an awful lot of monsters. But the experience is rather claustrophobic insofar as your adventures are boxed into four chapters in which you simply explore a town, its countryside, and underground areas. Unlike Baldur's Gate, you can't revisit towns that were in previous chapters, and there is really no reason to since they are rather generic in feel. The story itself is not a bad one, but is full of cliches and rather predictable. You can take the noble good-guy route or be an outright villain, but the main story will unfold in the same way. The main deficiency with the single-player campaign is the almost utter lack of connection that you feel with your character and the other NPCs you'll encounter. There is none of the banter, bickering, and cameraderie that made the characters so memorable in Baldur's Gate. Here, your mercenary has no stories to tell and even main characters like Aribeth and Aarin Gend are just there to push the story alone. Perhaps even more distressing is how unstable this game was on my computer. I had the 1. 23 patch and it crashed to desktop about every 30 minutes. The current patch (1. 65) is available at Bioware's website, but it's 66MB! If you have a dial-up internet connection like me, you know what that means (hours of waiting to download). It's really a shame that Bioware has fallen into the pattern of other developers and has begun releasing games that still have technical issues (I had similar crash problems with Knights of the Old Republic, but the Baldur's Gate games were models of stability). I hope that they avoid this with Neverwinter Nights 2. Graphics: The game looks good, but not great. Graphics are largely an evolutionary improvement over Baldur's Gate. There are a few interesting changes, such as more combat moves, spell effects, and so forth. You can zoom the camera in close to the action, but things get blocky looking. Those who do use the Aurora toolset that comes with the game should have a lot to choose from, though this game is not the best looking RPG available. Sounds: The music was good and set the atmosphere. Voice acting was hit-and-miss, with the whiny main character, Aribeth, being the worst offender. Overall, the sounds in the game served their purpose, but didn't rescue the otherwise mediocre plot or excuse the lack of real character development. Replay/value: Since I don't play games on-line or have an interest in downloading mods by others, Neverwinter Nights had a short shelf-life for me. Due to the ho-hum story, bland characters, and crashing, I won't be rushing out to buy Neverwinter Nights 2. If you like dungeon crawling for dungeon crawling's sake and haven't played some truly extraordinary games like Morrowind or Baldur's Gate, then this game might be worth a try (be sure to get the latest patch). Otherwise, skip this one, since it doesn't begin to measure up to the high standards previously set by Bioware.