Neverwinter - Review Roundup #2

Here is the second round of reviews for Neverwinter.

BagofGames - 8.5/10

Neverwinter is far more than just a simple nostalgia trip. While for the most part, it’s a fairly standard fantasy MMO, it’s one that uses those old tropes oh so well. If it seems a bit old school in tone, hey, it’s based on the game that started it all. Yes, you’ll spend a fair amount of time questing, hacking and slashing, but that’s what you came for, ain’t it?

GameRevolution - 3.5/5

The free-to-play allure of Neverwinter quickly loses its shine once you head into the cash shop for your first time. All items including mounts and companions are extremely expensive. Inventory space is painfully limited in the game unless you cough up $10 per additional bag. Respecs require real money as do bank slots. Although you can put up with the inconveniences, players having access to rare gear with real money is distasteful. Consequently, when you see other characters with powerful gear you have no idea if they earned it or just plopped real-world currency into the Zen Market.

If you’re in-between MMOs and looking for something to soak up time, Neverwinter is a good choice. Its action-oriented combat will make your stay memorable, and you might find yourself spending long nights in The Forge. Once you realize it doesn’t make an effort to build community and heavily rewards those who invest wallets full of money you may become turned off as quickly as you fell in love. If you’re a Dungeons & Dragons fan you may be willing to push aside the shortcomings. For everyone else it’s a great vacation spot but not the kind of place you’d want to live in.

Tentonhammer - 90/100

Pros

• The Foundry is awesome.
• D&D action in the Forgotten Realms.
• The Foundry gives players the ability to create the kind of content they want to play.
• Dynamic combat system makes for engaging gameplay..
• Did I mention the Foundry?

Cons

• F2P marketing in-game is aggressive and off-putting
• Players expecting a continuation of Atari's Neverwinter Nights series (and its powerful Aurora toolset) will be disappointed
• Players accustomed to traditional "Trinity"-style group play will need some adjustment time

Conclusion

I was happy to spend the 60 bucks on the Guardian of the North Founder's Pack many months ago. Even though the game is totally free to play, and I could have gotten almost all the same stuff (or equivalent to it) through the Zen Market for the cost of a few hours of gameplay, it still feels worth it. Neverwinter is fun and engaging, and well worth the time investment even if you don't want to spend the money.

Gamingtrend - 80/100

It’s hard to review an MMO. If we look at this same just 6 months from now I bet you a great deal of what I’ve said above will be changed. Chat could be segmented and improved. PvP could be expanded, new maps and modes added, and classes balanced. The ridiculous amounts of currencies could be consolidated, and the Astral and Zen markets will have settled by then. But what about what’s in the (virtual) box?

Neverwinter was purpose built to be free-to-play, but they have also made the pay aspects fairly non-intrusive. They’ve provided an incredible amount of content wrapped around character classes that are a great deal of fun to play. Sure there are some balancing issues in the PvP realm, but otherwise the game is pay-for-convenience, not pay-to-play. The team at Cryptic have worked very hard to take the pen and paper game and bring it to life, and without a doubt they’ve succeeded. The Foundry is a revolutionary step, and it extends this game infinitely. I’d like to take my hat off to TiLT from our Forums – he is consistently among the top of the highest-rated content creators, and I look forward to running more of his adventures. In my opinion, Neverwinter has taken the crown for F2P MMOs. You don’t have to take my word for it as you can download the game and join us in the world of Faerûn.