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Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer

D&D has never looked so good

Technology-wise, Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer is very close to The Witcher, another recent fantasy RPG title. Both are really using independently updated versions of BioWare's Aurora engine (although it's called Electron for NWN2), used originally in the first installment of Neverwinter Nights. Comparing NWN2 to its predecessor, you can tell that the rendering engine has gone through a lot of changes. The graphics are completely redone, with dynamic environment and character shadows including self-shadowing, great-looking particle effects and shader post-processing. Outdoor areas feature real height maps, and only indoor areas use the traditional tile-based system.

We put on our cleverest disguises before entering the city of Mulsantir

Go back to the Shadow from whence you came! Oops, sorry, I guess we're already there

Mask of the Betrayer uses the new technology even more prominently than the original NWN2. One of the new features compared to NWN2's original campaign is the Shadow Plane, a "reflection of this world" residing in another dimension. The Shadow Plane is realized by simply adding a post-processing effect to the game environment and characters to dull the colors, turning most of the surroundings into shades of gray. Obsidian chose to work smart, not hard, doubling the playing area with a little magic trick. A similar trick turns old animal models from NWN2 into Telthor animals, restless spirit creatures that you'll fight throughout the game.

Weapons and armor are painstakingly modeled, and dressing up your characters is at least half the fun

We met a strange, fiery-haired man in The Veil, and he showed us NWN2's bloom effect

Although many graphics assets are tweaked and recycled, there's still plenty of new scenery and characters to look at. Mask of the Betrayer looks gorgeous: the Electron engine's advanced graphics tech complements a wide variety of environments and character models. Dank and mouldy caves look the part, while bright outdoors are suitably colorful and bloomy - only to turn dark and moody come nightfall. There's a huge variety of different weapons, armor, clothing and accessories that change both your character's capabilities and appearance. You can even craft your own weapons and armor and enchant them with powerful spells.

Sometimes it's hard to see with all the magic going off everywhere

Climactic boss battles usually produce light shows worth admiring

Spell effects are big and flashy - most of them are familiar from NWN2, but some of the new spells are even more spectacular visually. There is a downside: if a fight involves many combat casters, the resulting spell spam can obscure the action almost completely. Particle effects on enchanted weapons look very nice, with flames, frost or electric discharge painting a trail in the air.

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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