Neverwinter Nights and Icewind Dale II . . . Worth Playing?

Zerostatic

Zerostatic

CAGiversary!
Ok, my backlog is out of control so I don't want to add any more games to it unless the game is really a must-play. However, I recently acquired Neverwinter Nights and Icewind Dale II (it was only $8 dollars for both of them!). Now I need to know if I should add them to my backlog or if I should just through them up on EBAY.



I haven't followed PC games that much in the past so I don't know the legacy behind these games. I know they are both well known and that they reviewed well but how are these games viewed today. Do they hold up well? Is either one considered a classic? I love games with good stories, is the story in either of these games amazing? Thanks in advance!
 
I've played a bit of Neverwinter Nights but couldn't get into it. They are based on D&D rulesets so they tend to attract that crowd, and it helps if you're familiar with those before playing.

It didn't turn out to be my kind of game, but from what I gathered, if you are into PC-type RPGs, they are must play.
 
Icewind Dale II and the entire Baldur's Gate series are solid, but extremely dated. A lot of things about them are frustrating things that were common back in the day.

NWN, however, is still enjoyable.
 
NWN is very much worth it. The engine is just very solid and has aged well. There's even a couple thousand people still playing online at any given time. There are several Premium modules available from Bioware; I recommend getting the Diamond Edition which comes with all expansion packs and a few modules. There are also many community modules that are very good.

Your tolerance for dated graphics and such will affect your enjoyment of the older Black Isle games, however. I'm still able to enjoy them, but I absolutely adore them and played them when they were new. I say get a GameTap subscription and try them out. They are all on there, with expansions, including Planescape Torment.

These are the most important RPGs in CRPG history, I wouldn't go without trying.
 
I loved Neverwinter Nights when it first came out. Unfortunately, I never got the chance to finish the game since I lost my game save. I tried NWN 2, but it just doesn't seem to be as good.

I played a bit of Icewind Dale II, and I just couldn't get into it as much. Maybe it's my preference to control a single character to a party of characters.
 
No, not Neverwinter Nights! At least not the original campaign. If you have one of the expansions, they're better, but even then, I'd hesitate to say they're must-plays.

Icewind Dale II is heavier on combat and less story-driven than the other games that use D&D rulesets. Personally, I didn't like it too much. Having said that, neither game is worth ebaying since they both have complete collections for only $20 new, so you're only likely to recoup your $8.
 
I think that the draw to Neverwinter Nights is the mod-community. You've essentially have a never ending slew of stories to play through. A lot of the user made stuff is top tier material too.

Purchased Icewind Dale II, but it's graphics have aged poorly, never played past the 1st scenario.
 
I love Neverwinter Nights, however, I strongly suggest you play it in co-op with friends. A few years ago when I got Neverwinter Nights me and two of my friends hooked up three computers through a LAN and played Neverwinter Nights co-op every weekend until we beat the game—then we played through the expansions. That was some of the most fun I have ever had.
 
Neverwinter Nights: If you play with other people, yes.
Icewind Dale: I can't recommend it. It's not that it's bad - hell, I'd put it above NWN - but it is absolutely not for me or people like me.
 
Neverwinter Nights is good. I wasn't a huge fan of the official campaign . . . it's a pretty basic hack and slash affair, especially once you hit chapter 3, if memory serves. That said, it's a good way to learn the basics of the game and shows off what the toolset is capable of.

Speaking of the toolset, once you're ready for some user made content, I'd recommend checking out the NWVault Hall of Fame. There's some very good modules there for download. I'd venture to say at least a few of them beat the official campaign in overall enjoyment.
 
Ok, so here comes the big question:

Anybody want to start a new campaign? I'm up for any part, really, even the expansions. I just have nobody to play with, and the game seems waaaaaaay better in multiplayer. Any takers?

And I updated to 1.69, so let's get it started!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I could be wrong, but I remember that having different content from your friends prevents you from playing with them. Like if you have the original game and two expansions, you can't play with a friend who has just the original game, even if you're going to play the original game. Someone know for sure?
 
[quote name='The Crotch']I might potentially be in.[/QUOTE]

Awesome.

I've started the single player campaign, but every time I try to create a new account, the game tells me I've been banned. That can't be possible, since this is the first copy of this game I've ever owned, so what could be going on? Anybody know?
 
[quote name='The Crotch']No idea and hey what happened to Harrison Ford I don't like this new guy.[/QUOTE]

You don't dig the Bankytar? It's vintage.

;)

And I'm sure I'll get this problem sorted out somehow. Any recommendations on user made modules?
 
Nah. I never really gave the game enough of a chance after my initial disappointment with the campaign to be able to talk much about mods.

Heard there were some decent Planescape ones, though.
 
I think I've figured out what happened. I bought my NWN package from Half-Price Books, so it didn't come with any box or instruction manual. When I was installing it, I realized that there was no CD-Key on the product I just bought ANYWHERE. Before I started freaking out, I just found a posted key on the 'net, and that was that. Guess I can't play online until I get an official key from Atari or whatever. :cry:
 
Yeah, key's in the manual, I think.

EDIT: No expansions on my part either, by the way. Like I said, the main game was a bit of a turn-off.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Well it seems I'm condemned to single player until I get around to buying a new copy with a CD key, and that's not very likely. Oh well, there seem to be some pretty decent single-player modules. Check 'em out Crotch, especially if you were turned off by the main campaign.
 
I was a huge fan of Baldur's Gate, and I enjoy tinkering around with the D&D 2/3 & 3.5 ruleset, but I was turned off of Neverwinter Nights. It just didn't capture me with it's storyline. Then again, I played for only a few hours before I turned it off.

Icewind Dale II is more of a action-packed Baldur's Gate. I played the first chapter, lost a few characters - tried again, and was a little more successful. I think I was looking to recapture that Baldur's Gate magic, and played Icewind Dale II with the wrong mindset. I wouldn't mind trying to pick it up again.
 
If you want to play multiplayer NWN, you should go here:
http://www.neverwinterconnections.com/
It's a Neverwinter community site where you can schedule games, meet DMs running custom games, etc.

I played NWN games there for years before the appeal wore off. Now there is NWN2 but I haven't seen the community embrace it much, NWN is still the best.
 
IWD2 was pretty fun, with a (then) robust character customization program. Well, robust compared to the rest of the Infinity based games. It was also interesting in the fact that it used the D&D 3E rules. Very combat heavy but at least it offered a lot of different dialogue and quest options depending on class, race, alignment...not the most complex, but they were there. The first IWD was the only Black Isle game that I never finished out of boredom, but I felt the second one definitely came more in line with some of BI's other games. It's no PS:T, heck not even a BG1, but it was fun. If you're looking for a dated dungeon-crawler with some options, I say go for IWD2.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
bread's done
Back
Top