06-21-2004, 06:35 PM
I just completed Neverwinter Nights' original campaign. A supposedly 60-hour-plus adventure that I completed in just under 22 hours. Makes me wonder where the hell they get those gameplay-time estimates from.
I think it took me at least 60 hours the first time through, and possibly closer to 80 (although I think 60 was an accurate estimate for a typical "first run" through the game). I really can't explain how you could get done so fast. I'm sure tank classes can play faster than casters, and I'm guessing you didn't go out of your way to find and complete every side quest like some people tend to do. It may also be that the expansion packs have skewed the nature of the official campaign somewhat.
Before playing NWN, I had thought that Black Isle's Planescape: Torment was the best overall game I'd played as far as storyline went. Now, I'm not so certain.
These comments are frankly a little bit surprising. The official campaign is certainly not considered NWN's strong point (although to be honest most user-made content is not nearly as good as the campaign). A lot of people who bought NWN hoping for something like Baldur's Gate or Torment were really let down by the campaign. Personally I thought it was a lot of fun, but more as a hack'n'slash than a real roleplaying experience with an epic storyline.
In any case, the flexible package that NWN brings to the table is something that no other CRPG has attempted to match. If you want a decent combat and loot system for unlimited hack'n'slash replay, it's available. If you want real NPC dialog and quests that involve some thought process, it's there. If you want to get a group of players together and play PnP style through a module or campaign, you can (although designing a worthwhile campaign would be quite an endeavor). If you want to interact with other players in a private or semi-private "persistant world", you just need someone willing to host the server. And if you want to download and play a new community-made crackpot adventure every week, you could probably go 5 or 10 years without running out of crackpot adventures to try. It is, if nothing else, a fairly unique game. That is pretty rare in itself.
I think it took me at least 60 hours the first time through, and possibly closer to 80 (although I think 60 was an accurate estimate for a typical "first run" through the game). I really can't explain how you could get done so fast. I'm sure tank classes can play faster than casters, and I'm guessing you didn't go out of your way to find and complete every side quest like some people tend to do. It may also be that the expansion packs have skewed the nature of the official campaign somewhat.
Before playing NWN, I had thought that Black Isle's Planescape: Torment was the best overall game I'd played as far as storyline went. Now, I'm not so certain.
These comments are frankly a little bit surprising. The official campaign is certainly not considered NWN's strong point (although to be honest most user-made content is not nearly as good as the campaign). A lot of people who bought NWN hoping for something like Baldur's Gate or Torment were really let down by the campaign. Personally I thought it was a lot of fun, but more as a hack'n'slash than a real roleplaying experience with an epic storyline.
In any case, the flexible package that NWN brings to the table is something that no other CRPG has attempted to match. If you want a decent combat and loot system for unlimited hack'n'slash replay, it's available. If you want real NPC dialog and quests that involve some thought process, it's there. If you want to get a group of players together and play PnP style through a module or campaign, you can (although designing a worthwhile campaign would be quite an endeavor). If you want to interact with other players in a private or semi-private "persistant world", you just need someone willing to host the server. And if you want to download and play a new community-made crackpot adventure every week, you could probably go 5 or 10 years without running out of crackpot adventures to try. It is, if nothing else, a fairly unique game. That is pretty rare in itself.