– By Salvador Madrigal – Slavezero
Neverwinter is a new free to play MMORPG by Criptic Studios and Perfect World. If the title sounds familiar, that’s because it takes place in the Neverwinter Nights story arc. The games character creation is not as robust as the usual D&D character creator of the board game but still gives you a good amount of stat adjusting. And just like Neverwinter Nights, there are player generated quests that add to the content and lets players add to the already abundant quests and events making for a different experience every time you log in. The different races you choose from are standard D&D races such as Elves, Orcs, Humans, Dwarves, Halflings, Tieflings and half breeds. The classes you’ll be able to choose from are trickster rogue, control wizard, great weapon fighter, guardian fighter, and devoted cleric. These are pretty much the staple for any MMORPG. Where this game differs from most MMOs is it goes with the action rpg style of game play instead of tab targeting like in World of Warcraft and such, making it feel more like you’re in the fight.
Gameplay
If you have played Tera Online, you’ll be no stranger to how the mechanics to this game work, very simple, where you aim is where your attacks go. I’ve been playing Neverwinter for about a week now, and I chose the guardian fighter, aka the tank. The guardian fighter’s main bread and butter is getting all the agro and then standing there and taking the damage by blocking the damage with its shield. But you can also just avoid the special attacks of the monsters and bosses, you don’t have to just stand there and take it if you don’t want to. The quests are pretty standard hunt quests, although there are skirmishes which are like open air instances you can queue for. Getting dungeon groups is a cinch on simple button press and you’re good to go. All in all, it’s very easy to get into the game and start playing.
Graphics
The graphics of the game are good for what you’re paying for which is nothing. There are very scenic areas of the game which gives you the feel of a D&D adventure. The dungeons are what you think of when you play D&D, a moody and creepy feel to the caves and broken down citadels. The lighting and weather effects are excellent giving you a fog of war or deep dark dungeon feel making for a creepy feel when you see giant spiders coming out of the darkness. Magic effects and ability effects accurately portray what the spell is supposed to do. In short, good graphics, not the best I’ve seen, but better than most free to play games.
Audio
The game’s sound track is standard to most role playing games with moody music during dungeon dives and epic battle music during large skirmishes. The voice overs are pretty standard with nothing really outstanding, but they do their job to move the story along. The monsters and enemies of the game have decent banter and voices making them feel realistic.
If you’re into D&D, you might want to check this game out. With all the content that’s user generated plus what’s already in the game, you’ll be kept busy and entertained for a long time. And if you don’t like it, you didn’t lose any money on it unless you bought stuff from the item mall. If you’re looking for a game with the D&D lore, this is your game. With player made quests, this game will always have fresh things to do.
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