Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of Betrayer

Metachronos overall score = 8.6 / 10

Positive
# Deep role-playing experience that offers up puzzles and battles
# Intriguing story with plenty of replay
# Cool new Forgotten Realms setting to explore

Negative
# The spirit-eating mechanic is annoying at best, frustrating at worst
# The isometric camera can't remember its position

If Neverwinter Nights 2 was a movie, it'd be a typical summer blockbuster. After all, last year's fantasy role-playing game was packed with tons of colorful characters, humorous dialogue, and, above all else, nonstop action as you battled your way through the game. On the other hand, Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer, the newly arrived expansion, is a much darker and more cerebral experience. There's not that much comic relief, and there's a lot more puzzle-solving than before. That's not to say that it doesn't feature plenty of action. In fact, it's packed with titanic battles. However, the tone is a lot more serious. Not every new feature in Mask of the Betrayer is a home run. The game's most controversial addition is undoubtedly the spirit hunger that consumes your character. This hunger acts like a drug addiction, and it can be completely frustrating at first because the mechanics are confusing. Basically, your character has to consume spirits (essentially souls) to stay healthy and alive. Consume too many spirits too quickly, and you become more addicted and the effects of eating souls are shorter and shorter lived. The easier path is to suppress and satiate your hunger, which is basically the good path. But if you play an evil character, you have to consume spirits, so it becomes a vicious cycle in which you spend most of your time worrying about your spirit level. It's too bad that developer Obsidian doesn't let players opt out of this mechanic entirely. As it is, you have to carefully manage your every move, given that acts such as resting and travel will only drain the meter more quickly. This hunger system is probably a boon to hardcore role-playing fans who enjoy making tough decisions, but those who enjoyed NWN2 as a fun romp are apt to be frustrated.



Aside from those issues and a few small bugs, Mask of the Betrayer is a fairly polished game, and it's a lot more impressive out of the box than NWN2 was at its debut. The code has been optimized over the past year, so the frame rate holds up, even during graphically intense battles where spell effects are everywhere on the screen. Additionally, mod makers and dungeon masters will appreciate the new tile sets and improvements made to the built-in editor that lets you build your own adventures. The audio experience in Mask of the Betrayer is excellent, from the abundant and solid voice acting to the bombastic orchestral music that swells during battles. Mask of the Betrayer is a much more mature expansion, both due to its content and because it demonstrates how Obsidian Entertainment is maturing as a developer. If you felt that NWN2 was a bit too action-focused, then you should definitely check out Mask of the Betrayer's blend of combat, puzzles, and decision-making. As it is, Mask of the Betrayer offers up a rich role-playing experience for fans of the genre.

looks good

yes i's good. but i think world of warcraft is better. well, at least it's better than runescape . even the first game in the series which was released in 2002 is much, much better

lol everything is better then runescape(even super mario)