Neverwinter - Two Reasons To Try Neverwinter

Forbes has a small editorial that gives us two reasons why we should play Neverwinter. I guess they couldn't find more than two.

The Homepage/Landing Page

It’s a simple concept, but it makes a big difference.  With modern shifts in MMORPGs moving toward being able to find a group immediately and get right into an adventure beyond grinding or questing, the landing page gives players an excellent overview of what options they have at any given time.

Have around 10 minutes?  Queue up for a skirmish.  Have more time and want to go on a dungeon crawl with a group? Option is right there.  Looking for a solo experience?  Find an interesting quest to participate in.  All of the day’s special events and popular Foundry quests are also available for perusal.  It’s a great way to answer that quintessential MMORPG question of “What am I going to do today?” and provides a plethora of options that encompass play styles from casual to core.

The Foundry

We had a chance to see the Foundry at work and were impressed by the concept, but how does it really hold up?  While we didn’t have a chance to get to run anything truly epic in scope during closed beta, the experiences that were available in Foundry play were every bit the equivalent to traditional questing and in most cases far more interesting.

Players are able to sort Foundry content by popularity and a number of other factors as well as leave ratings and reviews.  The good stuff does rise to the top, and the system allows players to create multi-tiered adventures and quests that players can dive right into and completely eschew the “standard” game content if they so desire.

A single 20 minute Foundry quest had me taking on bandits in bar, driders in the darkness, and unraveling mysteries surrounding a cat.  The Foundry lets players wield developer tools to craft content, and once the game enters open beta there’s no doubt that talented and dedicated mapmakers will be putting their skills to work.