NWN - Diamond Edition Review @ Game Apex

BioWare's Diamond Edition of NWN has been reviewed at Game Apex. The multi-page article has a score of 8.5/10 with aging graphics the only major criticism, although the campaign stories didn't overwhelm them:

It seems like Bioware put more into the actual game engine than the stories themselves. The main quest in the core game starts off by pitting your character against a horrific plague known as the Wailing Death. As the story progresses, the real "bad guys" are revealed and a cure for the plague grows within reach.

More information.

Does anyone actually believe the reviewer played it? 20 hours per module eh? He must have had greater boots haste to accomplish that feat.

I will say that NWN is the first game that I've played the original content as well as the first expansion without getting sick of it and needing a diversion.

I was considering a break before starting Hordes of the Underdark but after seeing that outstanding in game cuts scene with the Drow queen there is zero chance I'm stopping now! Pretty impressive.

I finished HoTU in 14 hours and I think the OC in around 15 hours. I will admit I made little attempt to finish any sidequests in the OC as I found it extremely tedious with a pretty bad story and repetitive gameplay.

You mileage probably varies based on your character choice, for example I would expect the game to take a lot longer if you played a class like a druid or a rogue, while a pure fighter could probably do it in half the time with ease.

Originally Posted by bjon045
I think the OC in around 15 hours.

I don't see how that is even remotely possible … I think Chapter 2 took me more than 30 alone! I know I'm a completist and try every conversation, but still … 80 hours vs. 15 … I've just never heard that sort of number.

What's a "Diamond Edition" ? Never heard this term before.

And will it probably substitute the "Gold Edition" I saw ? Will I have to buy "another one" ?

Originally Posted by Alrik Fassbauer
What's a "Diamond Edition" ? Never heard this term before.

And will it probably substitute the "Gold Edition" I saw ? Will I have to buy "another one" ?

Gold is old Here is a descriptive paragraph:

BioWare has released Neverwinter Nights Diamond, which is both something new and something old. The pack is a compilation of the Neverwinter Nights saga, as it now stands, with the original title and the two expansions – Shadows of Undrentide and Hordes of the Underdark. But that’s not quite all. BioWare had included the Aurora Toolset with the original releases, which allowed players to create their own game modules and Diamond includes three complete adventure modules – Kingmaker, ShadowGuard and Witch’s Wake.

Then there is Platinum which has more add-ons.

It's a good thing that they didn't make more add-ons, because they are eventually going to run out of precious substances!

Now available — Neverwinter Nights Uranium Edition

Originally Posted by txa1265
I don't see how that is even remotely possible … I think Chapter 2 took me more than 30 alone! I know I'm a completist and try every conversation, but still … 80 hours vs. 15 … I've just never heard that sort of number.

It's actually pretty easy if you play as a solo fighter. You get more exp that playing with a team and you can just run past a lot of the fights. I also have a very low tolerance for Bioware dialog (you read one you have read them all) so I tended to skip most of the conversations.

I recall someone finished Gothic 2 in less than 10 hours….now that is impressive

Uhm, it might be possible - but if you run past the fights and skip all the dialog and plot… are you sure it was a game for you at all?? No wonder you found the game tedious if you skipped all the parts that makes RPGs fun to play

Originally Posted by bjon045
I recall someone finished Gothic 2 in less than 10 hours….now that is impressive

See, I guess that is where we differ - I would consider a speed-run, where you cheat and use 'trainers' and skip all non-critical seconds and take direct routes to everything and skip all fights … I dunno, one of the biggest wastes of time I could imagine. If I couldn't luxuriate in the fields and forests of Gothic 2 with the wonderful music playing … it just wouldn't be Gothic 2 …

Originally Posted by txa1265
See, I guess that is where we differ - I would consider a speed-run, where you cheat and use 'trainers' and skip all non-critical seconds and take direct routes to everything and skip all fights … I dunno, one of the biggest wastes of time I could imagine. If I couldn't luxuriate in the fields and forests of Gothic 2 with the wonderful music playing … it just wouldn't be Gothic 2 …

It took me about 100 hours at least when I played through Gothic 2 for the first time. Don't get me wrong I like to enjoy and fully explore most RPG's as well, however the NWN OC did not inspire me at all. Every single chapter is structured the same and all the areas are very poorly designed, how many cities have you seen with chests laying all over the place? (each chest with a couple of gold pieces or some random jewel). I found it very diablo'ish so that is probably why I raced through it.

HotU was better, the only reason I finished it so quickly was because the character I used was obscenely overpowered (level 7 weapon master + rest into fighter) who duel wielded katanas and got something like 6 attacks a round with a close to 50% chance of critical rolls. I remember in the final battle I was doing like over 300 damage a round to the demon (level 27 with a katana +12 and katana +10 in the offhand).

hmm, I need to pick this up finally, especially now that the cd isnt required anymore and the whole shebang is prolly 9.99

You should Sammy. If I see one in a bargin bin I plan to grab it.
The oc was boring in SP but I did a run with a friend in MP and we had a lot of laughs. This is the only game I can say I have played in some form or another for at least 5 years consistantly.

Originally Posted by bjon045
It took me about 100 hours at least when I played through Gothic 2 for the first time. Don't get me wrong I like to enjoy and fully explore most RPG's as well, however the NWN OC did not inspire me at all.

Well, it's all relative. I spent about 80 hours the first time through Gothic 2 and I still wanted more, much more. Conversely the first chapter alone in NWN felt like 80 hours and I wanted less, so much less. Control panel -> add remove programs was the most satisfying side quest in NWN.

Originally Posted by xSamhainx
hmm, I need to pick this up finally, especially now that the cd isnt required anymore and the whole shebang is prolly 9.99

Sadly it was only recently I realized I didnt need the CD. I kept taking it in and out over and over and over and over again then one day I forgot. I felt like an idiot.

Originally Posted by MudsAnimalFriend
Well, it's all relative. I spent about 80 hours the first time through Gothic 2 and I still wanted more, much more. Conversely the first chapter alone in NWN felt like 80 hours and I wanted less, so much less. Control panel -> add remove programs was the most satisfying side quest in NWN.

Thanks for the great laugh I had when reading this. Btw, I completely agree - the whole OC was rather boring and felt like a 100 hours when it was probably less. By the end chapter I started skipping fighting whenever possible, though at the time I was playing a fighter/thief character.

Knowing what I know now, I would skip the OC completely, might play SoU, and for sure go through Hords one time. The advantage of buying the game now would be the multitude of excellent player made mods. And the Premium Mods they packed with the Diamond version.

Actually, the real advantage to getting the game is that you can join Cm, myself and others from here online to play some of these great mods!!

I understand people calling the OC 'disappointing', but if that is your metric of 'bad' … you haven't traveled the lands I know …

Disappointing doesn't equal bad. The OC is not bad, just tedious, repetative and a trifle boring, compared to HoU and many of the mods. Heck, I'm not that enamoured of the NWN2 OC either!!