Bards sing tales of heroes from ages past, but never have the Forgotten Realms so desperately needed a champion. Years have passed since the war between Luskan and Neverwinter, almost enough time for the wounds of war to heal. But the brief peace the Realms have known may be at an end. Tension growing between the mighty city-states means the Sword Coast again teeters on the edge of open war. Unnoticed, a greater danger stalks the City of Skilled Hands. Unbeknownst to the denizens of the North, deep in the Mere of Dead Men, dark forces from across the Realms have been rallied under the banner of a legendary evil. If left unchallenged, all of the North is doomed to fall under its power.Genre: RPG
Publisher: Atari
Developer: Obsidian Entertainment
Release Date: Q2 2006
Mark "RumDragon" Bolin: When I picked up the original Neverwinter Nights, I was just looking for more of my Baldur's Gate fix. What it ended up offered me was amazing, and for the sequel, I am most excited about building my own gaming world. The graphics are nothing short of amazing, and the world looks as if it will suck me in for a good long time. One of the greatest assets Obsidian has here are the legions of fans who will ravenously throw themselves at the modding aspect of the game, keeping it going well into the future.
Keith Durocher: My first pen-and-paper RPG was Dungeons & Dragons, and even though my passion for it may wax and wane, it has never truly extinguished. In my experience, NeverWinter Nights was the single best D&D PC game adaptation, a rock-solid blend of action and storyline. Immersive from start to finish, it helped define what an RPG could be when the community behind it was given the proper tools to carry it beyond the retail box. The sequel promises more of the same, only much, much better looking. How could I possibly resist its siren's call?
Matt Mefford: Prepare for a second helping of one of the most compelling RPGs ever made! Not only was the first Neverwinter Nights a huge success, but it also spawned a vast multitude of free content made by the community. This is good news for casual gamers and die-hard RPG buffs alike, as this title will be maximum bang for your buck because you'll be getting one of the best RPG titles of 2006, and you will soon have access to a large amount of quality, custom-made content. Welcome to the community!
Corey Owen: Neverwinter Nights was one of the best RPGs ever created so it's really no mystery why I'm interested in the sequel. The guys over at Obsidian have their work cut out for them, but I have faith. Their first game SW: Kotor II was an excellent first endeavor, and now that they have a little more time and resources, I know that they'll blow us all away. A must for RPGs is an excellent story, and Neverwinter Nights 2 will have that in spades. With tons of gameplay and multiple branching paths, the replay value is sure to be high, and if they keep with tradition, there will be multiple expansion packs to keep the fun going for months on end. Couple that with the fantastic toolset that they give the community, and you can be sure that this will be one of the best values in gaming of the year.
Gordy "XyzzySqrl" Wheeler: Fan-created content, thy name is Neverwinter Nights. For the most part, the Bioware-created modules were ignored (although they shouldn't have been) by fans who rampaged to put their own creations online as fast as possible. This led to a lot of junk smacked onto the 'net, but it also led to unforgettable adventures like Stefan Gagne's Penultima series. Developer Obsidian always outdoes Bioware whenever they're given the chance to, as we've seen before with Knights of the Old Republic. Now that they're not being rushed to put out product we ought to see some pure genius from them. We're already starting to see how well they're doing with the toolkit, which will likely again be the cause of many fan-frenzied uploads, but the single-player game is looking downright awesome as well. Between graphical upgrades and a seriously beefed-up game engine, it's hard to guess just what Neverwinter Nights 2 will be capable of. Extra feats, prestige classes, the 3.5 Edition ruleset ... lots to look forward to here. Hey, maybe Bards won't suck anymore!
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