I guess I'd like to see improved character models, but the more they swap out in this kind of thing, the higher the risk of creating something that jars with the original vision or, more importantly, our memory thereof. I'm seeing some depth of field effects, better anti-aliasing and a rejiggered, cleaner UI, but fundamentally it looks like Neverwinter Nights at a higher res.
Or, at least, so I understand it - I may be howlingly wrong. It's not quite as powerfully evocative as The Elder Scrolls theme, but it sure puts me back in a very particular place.Īs for the enhancerisation levels, it doesn't look like quite as much has been poked and prodded as was the case with the Infinity engine games, but a) clearly I can't see what's been done under the hood and b) NWN arguably needed less doing, as 3D can often scale up to different resolutions and have post-processing applied in a way that always isn't quite so easy for 2D games. NWN was revered far more for its mod-friendly nature and bundled editor, which resulted in a colossal number of player-made adventure modules over the years, than for its fine but unexceptional singleplayer campaign, and that remains the major reason to be excited now.Īh, that music. We've had both Baldur's Gates, earlier this year we had a solid if slightly too mod-replicating take on the e'er-essential Planescape Torment, and now Bioware's first foray into 3D RPGs steps up to the plate. And now it's getting the spit'n'polish treatment for a semi-remastered release.īeamdog, headed up by former Bioware bigwig Trent Oster, has for some time been in the business of creating 'Enhanced Editions' of 90s and early noughties cRPG hits. What I am saying is that 2002's Neverwinter Nights was one of those games that embeds itself into your life in various ways, for years. My three main memories of the original Neverwinter Nights:Ī) exasperating various Bioware devs by doggedly creating an all-Dire Badgers module in the editor during a studio visitī) my boxed copy INCLUDING ACTUAL CLOTH MAP being stolen by a jealous middle manager at a former workplaceĬ) playing co-op with Jim and Kieron, formerly of this parish, and sometime contributor Dan Griliopoulos, who rather complicated proceedings by attempting to murder every NPC we encountered.