NWN 2 is what I would classify as a "C" class game; it wasn't really even good when it came out. As far as the original Diamond edition, I got mine off of a shelf at a Walmart for $2.99, back a few years. In no way is the package deal worth even $10. Don't get me wrong, I support GOG.com; but not when they pull crap like this. Now, on the off-hand that someone bought the rights and is re-releasing it for more money, again, GOG should have recognized that and not gotten dragged in. Again, send them a message that games as old as these two should be priced accordingly.

Neverwinter Nights 2 shines by its epic storyline, also blending excellent humour and plot twists, guided by a solid writing around a deep lore, and served by a lovely voice acting (for many of the main characters, at least). Memorable companions will stick around, in the like of what you’d find in a KotOR or Mass Effect, even if some of them are genuinely antipathetic. Remember also that this is from the era that had the Jedi Knight games come out, and from both the form and content, NWN2 yields a similar great atmosphere. The first part of the game will seem very linear for a lot of players, and there is indeed more linearity than some other RPGs, but it also gets much better as you progress. There is a grand adventure awaiting, covering a massive amount of what Fantasy D&D style has to offer. I cannot help but comparing with the recent Divinity:Original Sin II that’s been praised so much, in spite of the time and gameplay gap between the two games. I shrugged reading on Wikipedia that “complexity” was praised in D:OS2 compared to other RPGSs. With all its qualities, it falls short of matching NWN2, if only in combat complexity, with all the possible spell combinations, potions, etc – even if the elemental “combos” remain the strength of D:OS2. The maps will not be so large in NWN2 (another computer time…), and enemy encounters are conceived more traditionally, but it doesn’t make the world appear smaller (hell, think of a Baldur’s Gate or a Pillars of Eternity). In a way, it helps to focus on the plot and its events. Crafting can be tedious but is rewarding, as opposed to collecting items that are useful for barely a single level. Combat is especially easy, and even more casual gamers will want to play on a higher-than-normal difficulty level. Plot problems are also usually dead simple, with one issue on a map solved by a solution “item” on the same map. But – to me at least – that doesn’t bring down the fun as much as the opposite case, with puzzles solved by spotting a tiny poop on a gigantic map, or overfrustrating, overpowered foes (*half spoiler* although you can find at least one in NWN2 *half spoiler*) that make you want to stop playing and load a bad movie instead. Again, I can’t help but thinking about the last phase of D:OS2 which was, overall, awfully balanced (*digression* D:OS was much better in that regard, and others *digression*). Unfortunately, even after all this time, NWN2 is still buggy. Those won’t be of the worst kind, but they are unfortunate enough to take half a star out (which I can't). Often, the skill/spell commands are wayward and the AI doesn’t always execute them as it’s supposed to, which can be frustrating in the most decisive moments of a fight. Nevertheless, NWN2 is an underrepresented, underrated icon of the genre that at the time had the guts to make it into full 3D (when Obsidian is sorta backpedaling now with Pillars…) and should be on any fair GOG virtual rack.

I love this game. I can't tell you how many hours I spend playing this and the first one when they were new. However, replaying it has revealed a number of issues: 1. The ruleset transaltes poorly to RTwP. Especially casters get the short end of the stick, at least with targeted offensive spells constantly going to waste because a party-member sniped the enemy you were targeting. Likewise, martial classes become very passive to play - just choose who to hit and wait until they die. 2. It's rife with bugs. This mainly became an issue when I hit act 3 of the vanilla campaign, when all of a sudden all of my progress on the keep was mysteriously gone, including all upgrades for my army, and the construct refused to activate even though I had found all the parts. Ultimately, this became so frustrating that I quit playing. If you can overlook this, the story is great, especially for Mask of the Betrayer, and the character progression in DnD is always enjoyable.

The control interface is quite old, out of time, and also very buggy. But the gameplay is fine (that is, D&D 3.5 rules are interesting). What I really have a problem with are the stories/plots. I feel that they are not on par with the other Obsidian games. Original Campaign: The TRPG adventure vibe is authentic, but the plot is just average. There are many places along the sword coast to visit, but the map elements are reused too often, which drastically break the immersive experience. Mask of the Betrayer: The story happens in Rashemen, and is the best in NWN2. There are fewer places to go visit, but there are more variations of map elements. Namely, the maps are more well made. However, there is something like hunger system that runs constantly, which drives you to do everything, wasting the great sceneries on the road. Storm of Zehir: The game system is drastically changed. You moves your pawn on an overmap for a lot of time. The plot is average. The inner maps are well made. However, in most towns, you can only access the tavern or your trading post. It's a pity that we cannot freely tour the cities of Samarach. Mysteries of Westgate: We go back to an authentic TRPG adventure with this one. The plot is ok, but all events happen in (a few districts of) the city of Westgate. It means the maps are more well made and detailed, but I also feel like going to more places along the deagon coast.

PLayed em all and I still find me playing this one.