Neverwinter Nights: EE - Tyrants of the Moonsea Review

Angry Duck Gamer reviewed premium module Tyrants of the Moonsea for Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition.

A Story Set In The Moonsea

Tyrants of the Moonsea is an adventure across the whole Moonsea region, where life is very harsh. It's a terrible land in the Northern part of Faêrun that is plagued by one of the largest criminal groups of Faêrun, the Zhentarim. The few cities free from the influence of the Zhentarim are not better off, though. Most of them are controlled by other evil tyrants.

When the protagonist arrives in the region escorting a merchant, the situation gets even worse. A strange cult is using demons to attack cities and roads and it seems that a conflict between the Zhentarim and Hilllsfar, a city ruled by the evil wizard Maalthiir, may be inevitable. The presence of the cultists is creating mistrust among the rulers of these lands and the current situation is tense.

Soon, the protagonist is joined by a colorful cast of characters: a wizard who is the bastard son of a Waterdeep lord, an amnesiac undead rogue and a mysterious knight who hails from Mulmaster. Guided by an elven Harper, the player's mission is to discover what is happening in the region and how to prevent the massacre from getting worse.

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Thanks GabrielMP_19!

More information.

I have a soft spot for the original NWN, but Beamdogs Enhanced Editions doesn't enhance nearly enough to justify a purchase.

Maybe in 5 years or so, when they make NWN2 EE and it's actually enhanced, I could be convinced.

Originally Posted by entfremdung
I have a soft spot for the original NWN, but Beamdogs Enhanced Editions doesn't enhance nearly enough to justify a purchase.

Maybe in 5 years or so, when they make NWN2 EE and it's actually enhanced, I could be convinced.

Lucky for you TotM was releases ages ago for the original NWN - it is quite good. The EE version is better, though. NWN:EE had been on discount at GoG so many times, that I think it was well worth the meager pennies I paid.

Originally Posted by Sir_Brennus
Lucky for you TotM was releases ages ago for the original NWN - it is quite good. The EE version is better, though. NWN:EE had been on discount at GoG so many times, that I think it was well worth the meager pennies I paid.

The original TotM is not a complete version of the game. The EE is much better, but yeah, if you don't want to buy the EE and then buy the premium module, you can simply play any of the other hundreds of mods in the NWNVault.

I've heard great reviews of this module, I do plan on giving it a try out for myself at some point.

Just one question is the mod complete finally? As the regular version never was. Before anyone says the original version was it wasn't. It was released early.

Had to do with Atari & BioWare cancelling the premium module sales.

It has some detail on that in the review.

Originally Posted by lackblogger
It has some detail on that in the review.

Didn't click the link. That's why I asked. Basically to lazy to read today.

Anyway.

This is a very story-focused quest with hardcore Forgotten Realms lore and a very coherent story. If that’s your cup of tea, you’ll enjoy it. That said, all the problems are real. Some areas feel empty, the second half of the game is not as good as the first one and it still feels slightly unfinished in some parts. It is fair to say that the quality of the product is above average when compared to most modules, but remember that this is no Aielund Saga.

Answers my question its still unfinished in some areas.

Originally Posted by Couchpotato
Anyway.Answers my question its still unfinished in some areas.

The game is complete. It FEELS unfinished sometimes, but it's as good as anybody will ever get. There is a hook at the end for a fourth game, but the story makes sense even if another game is never done.

There have been rumours (possibly wishful thinking) of a 4th module to finish the series but nothing concrete.

Most people aren't invested enough to appreciate the under the hood changes in EE but it's hardly expensive being on sale regularly for less than $10. If you do get into it though that $10 can go a very long way.

Originally Posted by GabrielMP_19
The game is complete. It FEELS unfinished sometimes, but it's as good as anybody will ever get. There is a hook at the end for a fourth game, but the story makes sense even if another game is never done.

Well then answer my question. How is this different from the original version? As the mod maker admitted the ending was rushed and not complete years ago. So not finished.

It hasn't changed unless he made new content for the enhanced version.

The blurb talks about more story, new art, monsters, music, voice acting etc

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1…f_the_Moonsea/

Originally Posted by KaosWarMonk
The blurb talks about more story, new art, monsters, music, voice acting etc

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1…f_the_Moonsea/

Thanks but I still prefer an opinion from someone who played both versions.

What exactly does NWN: EE enhance anyways? I tried it, but my memory of the original is too hazy to make a direct comparison. All I know is that the game felt awkward as hell to me and has aged very poorly imo.

Is it just higher resolution and better compatibility?

Originally Posted by JDR13
What exactly does NWN: EE enhance anyways? I tried it, but my memory of the original is too hazy to make a direct comparison. All I know is that the game felt awkward as hell to me and has aged very poorly imo.

Is it just higher resolution and better compatibility?

Bug fixes, optimization for modern OS, and better online play.

https://www.beamdog.com/files/release_notes/nwnee_release_notes_final.pdf

One thing of note is the toolset has been improved, and some older mods need patches to play. Also you have to re-convert the movies from mods as they changed format.

As for graphics not much has changed but mods do improve the graphics.