Everything works well after an initial adjustment period, but it's annoying when you make occasional strategic mistakes because of the gameplay delays. In practice, this means some characters can act more often than others, and it frequently feels like the player-character is waiting in line. Game decisions are made in real-time, but all character and NPC actions take place according to D&D rules. The game engine is not exactly real-time, but not entirely turn-based either: it's a hybrid. The game feels laggy because each combat move needs several rolls (attacking, defending, etc.), and keeping track of each attack can be confusing. The biggest complaint is the brief pauses during combat. Gameplay is good, with smooth animations, intuitive controls, good graphics (though very reminiscent of Baldur's Gate), and the solid 3rd Edition AD&D rules. Neverwinter's story - already overshadowed by the impressive DM abilities - is something of an afterthought. But interest wanes during the second and third chapters, when the story moves north and loses steam.

Sure, the tale of mysterious plagues and hidden powerful enemies is interesting, at least initially. Archers can hire swordsman, and many players will be well served by the trusty halfling Tommy who earns his keep by disarming traps and opening locked treasure troves. However, Neverwinter's henchman feature, which allows every character to hire an assistant, allows players to complement their character with a suitable warrior. As usual in RPGs, character creation dictates gameplay style, and it's entirely possible to create ineffective characters. including the ability to import face photographs. The character creation process includes plenty of options - races, genders, classes, attributes, etc. This, however, is a problem with most online games playing with friends is very important. However, random games with unknown DM's are likely to be frustrating, especially if you get a sadist DM.

In this sense, Neverwinter allows far flung comrades to join up via the Internet and adventure together, again. Of course, the real fun of having a DM is generally getting together a group of friends. The only real fault of the system, as it was with the old pen-and-paper RPGs as well, is that the quality of the game depends almost entirely upon the skill of the DM. The DM mode is revolutionary, allowing cyber-dungeon masters to create episodes, dialogue, characters, and monsters, then manipulate everything in real time. These are picayune faults, however, and the good aspects of Neverwinter outshine its problems. It is not, however, the nearly perfect game that many expected - a humdrum story mars the experience. To Neverwinter's credit, it is a solid game with strong gameplay, innovative aspects, great multiplayer options, and a powerful level creation tool. Of course, with lofty expectations all too frequently come high standards, disappointment, and mediocre games. For everyone who missed the pen-and-paper role-playing games of the seventies and eighties (lots of people), Neverwinter sounded like a dream come true all the fun of the interactive D&D games, skillful DMs, and computers to handle the complex statistics. Neverwinter Nights was closely watched throughout its development because of what it promised: the ability to play old-fashioned D&D games, with powerful dungeon masters (DMs), through linked computers.

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