OT: Neverwinter Nights 1 vs 2

[Colorless Green]

I need some new distraction, and I've been planning on picking up one or both of these games for years, and I'm pretty sure I'll own one of them after work today.

My conundrum is that I'm not sure which of the two I should pick. Given the type of game, I'm considering it safe to assume that some to many of you have played one or both of these games, so if anyone would be willing to offer an opinion on which of these games I should buy (first) and why, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

-CG

[Vang]

Biggest question, is what is your computer like? If its relatively new, I'd go with NWN 2.

I have both, and actually just started a new campaign last night in Storm of Zehir, since I bought it 6months ago and never actually played it.

They are both great, and I prefer the customization of outfits that NWN 1 provides, as opposed to NWN 2. I think the second expansion Shadows of Undrentide was one of my favorite campaigns due the shortness of it and trying out new characters(8-12hrs once you play through it once or twice) With that said the new D/L content one is suppose to provide as similiar thing.

Both have epic levels with an expansion, I prefered the storyline of Mask of the Betrayer a lot.

So basically if your computer is kinda new, and can take advantage of NWN 2 better graphics, get that, otherwise get NWN Platinum I believe is the edition. Either you'll enjoy quite well.

[Ashmer Amadeus]

I've never played NWN 2, but I'd vote that you pick up NWN Platinum like Vang said. I have it on my computer and I enjoy it very much when I take a break from D2. I think its very fun to MP. I play with a friend of mine. He plays a Rogue/Shadowdancer/Assassin and I play a Cleric/Champion of Torm. Very good stuff. He stinks vs undead, and I have turn undead. I enjoy the fact that you can carry the same character over from one game to another. The original campaign in NWN is a stand alone story. The two expansions though are one continuous story. So you can make a guy for the OC, and then make a new guy to play through both expansions. And there are more modules for the game then I can count. There is even a D2 module I'm pretty sure.

[Colorless Green]

There's a diamond edition of NWN1 that contains all three expansions. Is there a reason to pick up platinum (just the first two expansions) instead?

My computer should be able to run NWN2 - it's definitely good enough on everything except the graphics card, where it's borderline (I'll be verifying which side of borderline it's on before purchasing, obviously, but I can't do that from work).

@Vang, and anyone else who's experienced both: is there much of a difference in gameplay between the two? Or any other stuff of that type? The reviews I've been reading (which, granted, are a bit old, which is why I'm asking here) seemed to say NWN2 screwed up a bunch of things that NWN1 did well. Also, are you aware if there's as much user-generated content in NWN2 as there is in NWN1? I like to get my money's worth out of these kind of games, so near infinite replayability is a big plus.

Thanks for the opinions!

-CG

[Vang]

Diamond edition, is the correct edition CG, thought it was the platinum.

A campaign takes so long that I don't go much into the user created and the character is basically finished and I have such a long gap that an entire run through doesn't bother me, but doing a quick search on biowares forums, shows a lot modules, and some for multi-group from SoZ as well.

The biggest benefit to NWN 2 is the Storm of Zehir(SoZ) expansion, to where you can create your own party of four, like the old BG's/IWD days.

I haven't had any problems with NWN2. I will say the biggest change is it allowed for four character classes, as opposed to the normal three, which gives a greater powergaming experience(My first walkthrough was a Barbarian/Frenzied Berzerker/Fighter/Cleric, and he was near invicible with a buff or two)

Regardless, both are good, I personally haven't played NWN since I got NWN2, so go whichever one you want to play. Maybe start with one and go to two after you've did all you wanted to.

[Ugla]

I like the original NWN campaign a lot. I played it again some three months ago just to get "back into it" before I started the "Shadows of Undertide" expansion - I'm parked right outside the starting building due to the lack of playing time :rolleyes:

I'm a bit confused by the previous posts. Is there indeed a third expansion to NWN1? I only have "Hordes of Underdark" in addition to SoU..

I gave NWN2 as a birthday present to my friend (only to get "paid back" by HoMaM5 along with all the datadisks - where the hell am I supposed to get the time for it? :crazyeyes: ). I was told though, that NWN2 keeps up the quality of its predecessor, thus the only logical choice is to try both :wink:

[Avallach]

Platinum does have HoTu and SoU included. There is another, Diamond, which includes Kingmaker. Also if you patch up to the latest, 1.69, you get 3 more moduals. Can't recall all 3 names but Infinite Dungeons is one and that one is great because it scales with your character level.

I've got both and I myself perfer 1 over 2. In 1 you play solo, in 2, you control a party. I perfer the solo style and also my comp is borderline on 2 so I get the occasional slow down. Both are great games though.

[Ashmer Amadeus]

CG: I have Platinum. I've never played Kingmaker. I've tried a couple of the player made modules. I use Bootcamp to modify my guys. I've beaten the game a few times, so now when I start a new guy, I use bootcamp to start my guy at level 4, with some halfway decent gear. I've played the three small modules that come with the game. The Dark Rangers Treasure is just a gold fest. Darkness over Daggerford is a great module. I'm sure you'd get you money worth as long as you get Platinum or better. The original campaign will take quite a long time. Especially if you do most of the side quests. By rights you can complete all of chapter one pretty easy, but there are probly 25 or so side quests that can be done. Its different then D2 though. The monsters don't respawn. And the spiders always seem to kick my ***. Until I took the plant domain that is. Then turn undead works on them. I hate knockdown....

[ShadedOne]

Just my 2 cents:

You probably won't be playing NWN for its visual appeal. Games like that are enjoyable because of the depth and personalization. I'd say go for NWN Diamond. I have played that game on and off for ages, and it really is a new experience everytime I start fresh. Can't really go wrong.

[Colorless Green]

You probably won't be playing NWN for its visual appeal. Games like that are enjoyable because of the depth and personalization. I'd say go for NWN Diamond.

While I was actually at the store buying it at the time, that's pretty much exactly the conclusion I came to. Most of my research has basically turned up that NWN1 wins in gameplay while NWN2 wins in graphics. I prefer gameplay. There's still a pretty good chance (if I don't hate this one) that I'll buy 2 at some later date.

Thanks a bunch for everyone's input.

-CG