I played through the original game, but it was a bit of a slog. The characters are a grab bag of clichés, and I only liked Sand (who is um, terrific). The overall plot was not too compelling either, and be warned that the gameplay will be easy for any vet. The crafting system is overly complex, tedious, and broken. That said, NWN2 is an enormous improvement over the original NWN and Obsidian should be praised for revising the absurd decision in the first game not to give full party control --a real blight on the Bioware predecessor. Mask of the Betrayer is a masterpiece of good crpg storytelling that destroys hands down both the original IE games and successors like Pillars of Eternity in terms of plot. The characters in your party are terrific (Kaelyn! Gann!) and have well-developed backstory. The atmosphere is infectious. The mechanics of your curse are also good fun even if as a good character it proves to be very easy to handle. I have only played through as good but as evil you can apparently be absolutely malevolent. The only con is that crafting and gameplay difficulty is broken -- any veteran of CPRGs will be cruising through most of the combats. Also I'm sad Ammon Jerro was not a full party member. 7/10 for the original game, 9/10 for Mask of the Betrayer, haven't played Storms of Zehir.

Let's start with the strength of this game: what works in NWN2 is the immersion. I felt really taken by the plot, I cared about the characters, the D&D setting felt believable, even in its clichés. The idea of managing your fortress and your army has been reused in Pillars of Eternity, Dragon Age Inquisition and Pathfinder Kingmaker. Your choices during the game will affect wether your companions will stay loyal to you or not, what factions will you support and how much damage will you inflict upon the NPCs around you. Defending myself during a trial, being diplomatic to lizardfolk, supporting a dragon against fire giants and then convincing said dragon not to eat me, encountering trapped devils and being besieged by vampires were all memorable moments to me. Of course, NWN2 isn't without flaws - the cutscenes are debatable by today's standards, and I would have wished for more choices and consequences, for instance in the matter of divinities. Still, NEverwinter Nights 2 is a game I'm in love with, and I was happy to replay one of the classics of my teenage period on GOG.

The plot writing of Neverwinter Nights 2 (including DLC) is quite good. Although it's a game from 2006, it remains a classic DND game worth reminiscing.

One of the best games of all time!

It seems like a lot of people passed up this one; the first Neverwinter Nights had a lot of potential, but was a game for people who like mods and module building. This game has all that flexibility, plus three of the best D&D campaigns that have ever been adapted to PC. The original campaign is equal parts lighthearted parody of classic D&D cliché and clever subversion of the tropes of the standard campaign; it's full of little jokes for people who know the system, but it's also a rich and fun story for anyone who doesn't. Storm of Zehir is the closest thing I've ever encountered to actually playing pen and paper D&D - it's a genuine campaign, full of asinine player choice, freedom and scope. Both are excellent D&D campaigns. Mask of the Betrayer is basically the harrowing dreamlike lovechild of Baldur's Gate II and Planescape: Torment. And it's an Epic campaign, so is suitably ridiculous to boot.