Sundancer's review of NWN: Undrentide

Undrentide... Ok so what is an Undrentide, after much worry on my part (as I assumed that an Undrentide was either a really nasty new beastie, or an event that would shatter the world and crush my character like a bug) I finally went to the official site and checked out their FAQ. This is what they have to say about what Undrentide is:

In the Forgotten Realms there was once a nation of powerful wizards called Netheril. So great was Netherese magic that they lived in massive cities that would float through the air. Unchecked ambition destroyed their civilization and sent their cities crashing into the ground (doesn't it always?). Generations later the ruined cities are still filled with powerful magics and fell beasts. Undrentide is one of these cities.

Ok, now that the confusing part of the title is out of the way, I was able to go on and actually enjoy the game. Not having to worry about a hoard of Undrentide's jumping out and crunching my bones in their molars helped as well J.

As in the original NWN game, the character creation was very easy to process and work through. Anyone that has played D&D will find the system straight forward and familiar. And those who haven't will still have no trouble getting going in the game.

The diversity of races and professions is amazing, it allows for you to run a multitude of character classes and experiment with different combinations. Part of what makes the actual game play interesting and fun is that your character will help to determine how the NPCs react to you in the game. Your charisma, alignment and actions will have a definite affect on how the scenario progresses and what sort of reputation you build for yourself. All the possible variations also give the game a good replay value as well so that you can attempt to complete the scenario with different classes and races.

Game play is excellent; you can either manage the game by using the keyboard or the mouse. Nearly all the character's abilities and skills can be accessed by right clicking on your character and moving around the options dial that appears.

Combat is fairly straight forward, right click on the beastie and rotate around the dial to ATTACK! And then just sit back while you kick its butt. However, beware of large groups of kobolds; they tend to turn you into a feathered pin cushion.

But, enough game play and on to the fun part: As with the Plague scenario that came with the original NWN the Hilltop scenario is rich with lore and history. The NPCs that you encounter will feed you a bit of the story at a time as you progress through the game. This is not a flat out "hunt the monster and kill-em dead" constant combat type game. It is, however, one where you get a chance to participate in a story, live the story and help determine its outcome. You have the opportunity on a number of occasions to be labeled a hero of the townsfolk, or vilified by joining with the town's aggressors.

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The scenario and game design allows for some level of control over the path which a conversation with an NPC will take. Most of the informative or story line conversations give you the option of the kind of attitude you want to take with the NPC: From kind and considerate to cold hearted and rude. And the tact that you take can have an effect on the outcome of the conversation. Most roads still lead to Rome (heh) and pretty much all the conversation outcomes will push you towards your next step in the scenario. Some make your life easier than others in the long run *smile*.

The scenario/module design tool that comes with NWN and NWN Shadows of Undrentide is fantastic. Like NWN, it's finally a way for gamers to share their vision of D&D with their friends visually rather than just through verbal communication. Don't get me wrong here, I'm still all for a good PnP adventure where I get together with all my gaming buddies and go storm a castle or take down a dragon it its lair. But the ability to supplement that with the Worldbuilder, or to share your game with people all over the world is almost a dream come true.

Now the Worldbuilder is actually fairly easy to use, once you get the hang of it. What becomes a bit tedious and time consuming is doing all the back end scripting for the NPCs. So, if you plan to create a full fledged module expect to spend some quality time working on it. And I would highly recommend the Versus Books "NWN Official World Builder Guide". It's an excellent resource and guide with step by step instructions to introduce you to the process of creating a module for NWN. The additional functions introduced in Shadows of Undrentide are easy to use once you understand the basic system as they are add-ons and not a change in the system.

The Multiplayer section of NWN is simple to use as well, so long as you're connected to the internet, just clicking on the Multiplayer button will take you straight to the BioWare forum on GameSpy where you can select the Module you would like to join. And once you're in, just link up with fellow adventurers and your on your way to riches and glory!!

Overall I say the game deserves high marks for originality, game play and shear fun. It's not for those that want to just go out and kill everything in the world, but more for a good story and some great high adventure, especially sharing the experience with your friends. You can't beat Neverwinter Nights: Shadows of Undrentide.

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