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Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer

Taking control: interface issues

The expansion pack is set after the original campaign, and it is intended that players use the character that finished the original campaign or, if they prefer, a new character that starts at level 18. If you intend to plunge straight into Mask of the Betrayer without finishing the original campaign, I'd recommend first playing the Uninvited Guests module and the original campaign's Harvest Day Festival tutorial. Events of the Shadow King campaign are referenced in Mask of the Betrayer, so you'll run into some pretty confusing dialogue if you're new to the game. Some previous experience of the game mechanics and interface is absolutely vital, since the expansion has no tutorial to help you make sense of the game's messy interface.

Neverwinter Nights 2 benefits from a big widescreen monitor like Elton John benefits from a big wardrobe [now that's debatable! - Ed]. At low 4:3 resolutions, you'll have a hard time seeing what's going on in the game world from behind a bunch of quick selection and quick cast slots, a compass and a mini-map, chat box, event dialogue, character dialogue, etc. Luckily you can move and resize the various GUI elements to your heart's content, and minimize some of them when not needed; there's even a keyboard shortcut that hides the interface altogether, for when you want to enjoy the scenery or get an unobstructed view of the battle.

A high resolution, widescreen display is the perfect partner for Neverwinter Nights 2's GUI

On a low-end system the game won't run well above 1024x768 resolution, which makes the interface very cluttered

In Mask of the Betrayer, the interface is further cluttered by the addition of yet another mandatory gauge. You can minimize this "spirit level", but since you have to keep a close eye on it, it will probably sit there for a majority of the game, taking up valuable screen real estate. Sadly, despite its name this gauge won't tell you whether your monitor is perfectly horizontal. It has quite another function - but revealing that would be a spoiler.

You can play using one of two camera modes: character or strategy. In character mode, the camera is centered on and follows behind your character, and you'll see the surroundings from their perspective. Strategy mode, on the other hand, views the world from a top-down angle, which makes is easier control your character and companions in battle. The camera is rather quirky, and inexplicably keyboard controls for moving your character are different in each camera mode, but tweak with the camera settings and you'll probably find a good approximation of playable.

New since the original campaign is the addition of the time of day display in the bottom left hand area. The display cycles around showing simple day and night graphics to give you an idea of the current time and the rate of time flow; a reminder that time is passing, your insatiable hunger is growing, and you need to get moving. Another nice improvement was the new world map format when travelling between areas. The world map now gives a description of your current area and your selected destination, as well as an estimated travel time, which as you will learn becomes increasingly more important.

Combat: turn-based for better or worse

Combat mechanics in Mask of the Betrayer are no different from Neverwinter Nights 2. Battles take place in real time, but actions like attacking and spell casting are turn-based. This combination is confusing at first, because your character goes on partial autopilot and you don't have control of every strike. After you've encountered hostiles, you can still run around as usual, but clicking on a hostile creature makes your character engage in combat. You'll keep hacking away at the enemy every round until the enemy is dead, you give another command, or your character gets dazed or dies.

If you want to survive the tougher encounters, however, combat requires a bit more than just twiddling your thumbs. It's a good idea to keep a close eye on the damage you deal to your opponents, and the damage your character is receiving. The event box shows the exact dice rolls and modifiers that determine hits, misses, damage and other effects, so if your guys get pummeled every time by a certain foe, you can decipher the cause of your humiliating defeat. In fact, for me many of the challenges in Mask of the Betrayer involved finding a particularly tough enemy, getting killed or running away for dear life, and coming back later buffed up against that specific threat.

Later on I was told that my character build just wasn't up to par, and that I wasn't kitted out well enough to handle the monsters I ran into. "Buffing" and "kitting" up a big chore and annoyance, or the best part of the game, depending on what you like. If you're obsessed with micromanagement - strapping your character with the best equipment, and casting a dozen or two protective and ability-enhancing spells before every major fight just to get the highest possible bonuses - you're going to enjoy this game quite a lot. There's plenty to do and see in the campaign, but you need to work hard to actually get there.

If you're not into fiddling with magical items and figuring out the best combination of accessories for your fabulous outfit, I have some bad news for you: many of the NPC companions are spell casters, so you'll be managing their spell books as well as everything else. They also require constant control and oversight during combat. If you let the AI cast spells, the best case scenario is that they'll waste their most powerful spells when the battle is almost over, and in the worst case they'll blow you and the rest of the party to smithereens with area effect spells. There's a steep learning curve to the game, and Neverwinter Nights newbies will have a hard time with Mask of the Betrayer.

Page 1: IntroductionPage 2: GameplayPage 3: Single-player CampaignPage 4: GraphicsPage 5: Tech AnalysisPage 6: MultiplayerPage 7: Conclusion and Final ScoresPage 8: NWN2 Retrospective

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