Game has DRM. Does not belong on GOG.
Back when NWN first came out, my old PC sadly couldn't run it. Not that I minded THAT much, it gave me more time to replay the Baldur's Gate series for the gazillionth time. It must have been about a year in or so, that I finally decided to get the game. At first, as a singleplayer gamer mostly, I must admit I was disappointed. The story never drew me in like any of Bioware/BlackIsle's other classic RPGs. It wasn't until the second expansion, Hordes of the Underdark, that I actually felt they finally managed to create a really captivating single player campaign I enjoyed. However, the Original Campaign isn't the main selling point anyway, as far as I was concerned. It's the near infinite amount of player-made modifications and the many possibilities of the multiplayer that got me addicted. By the time the game got uninstalled from my PC, XFire told me I had clocked over 9000 hours on it (well, over 6000 actually, but that doesn't sound nearly as dramatic). Whether you're a powergamer who wants to make the best possible build and test it in PvE or PvP; or whether you're a social gamer who just wants to relax and chill with a fun group of friends; NWN mods (single or multiplayer) offer a good time to everyone. There are even 18+ mods and servers if you're into that kind of thing. Most of those 6000+ hours for me however, were spent on what NWN players refer to as a Persistent World. You could also call it an MMO Lite, I guess. A world that runs 24/7, where you drop in whenever you want, go on quests together, roleplay together, grind together, and PvP together. The 64-player limit ensures a "small" scale, resulting in IMO a much better social experience than any major MMO. Either way, this game was a life-changer for me, resulting in many lasting friendships. The only thing making me thing twice about buying, is that most of the old community must have moved on by now.
Several years ago I mostly stopped paying attention to the RTS genre as my attention shifted to RPG games instead. So granted, I might not be able to compare to all of the latest RTS games, but I still know my basics of the genre. First off, graphics. Personally I love them. IMO good sprites are still able to kick the behind of mediocre polygons anytime, anywhere. And good sprites this game has for sure. The art is among my favourites of all RTS games I played. But what really matters is the gameplay. I have some mixed feelings overall. I played the tutorial and the first few levels of the adventure mode so far, so keep that in mind. It's possible that things change later on. The basic gameplay is quite good IMO. I like the concept of the heroes and how they interact with the regular troops. I also think they did a very good job at mixing RPG and RTS elements into one playable game. What I do think is a bit of a failure, is the actual battle tactics. As a player you have access to three different formations. No matter how much I try though, they don't seem to make any difference. In fact, my units don't even change where they stand when I change the formations. Did someone forgot to link these buttons so they actually work? The AI seems to be ill in the same bed. Apparently it's never heard of tactics or formations either. Instead, most combats come down to the same technique, namely endless waves of enemies crashing onto your troops. Like the Russian armies in the 20th century, it seems the AI just throws as many troops as it can against you, without bothering to use them properly. This makes the combat get dull quite fast, at least for me. Overall I'm still enjoying the game so far, or at least the adventure mode. But I have my doubts whether it can keep my attention until the end of the game.
