Willowimp

I've been playing Neverwinter since the Alpha test (2012) and almost exclusively to the date of this review. I paid for the $200 Hero of the North pack pre-release and several other packs after. The total amount of money I've put into the game is no more than what I would have spent to play any other game with a standard activation cost, subscription fee and paid DLC. Many of the poor reviews are on three issues: 1) It's not a DnD game. 2) It's not an MMO game. And 3) It's a F2P P2W game. 1) While it may not be like NWN, DDO or ADnD 2E, it very much is DnD. The characters, monsters and spells come from the DnD books, the city is Neverwinter and it feels real and alive. The Foundry allows for player created content and not only is there a lot of it, there are some really good adventure series in there that scale from level 1 to 60+. Combat is fluid, dynamic and situational. This is not a WoW clone where only 2 of the 5 party members need to pay attention, everyone is involved in Neverwinter. When played with friends with voice chat enabled, it gives the same feeling that playing the table top game does. There are camp fires at "break" points for people to change spells or powers, or simply just get up to take a wiz and grab another beer. The game is fun just like DnD should be. 2) Maybe it's an MMO, maybe it isn't. What does any game "need" to be to have a glorious MMO stamp of approval? There are more than enough people playing at all hours of the day/night to make the world feel alive. There are thousands of guilds, and the guild finder tool is second to none for helping you to find a guild that is right for you. With the Foundry, the amount of content available is literally in the tens of thousand of hours of play time. New classes and races are being patched in every few months, with the 8th class (Paladin) coming in March and a new adventure zone. And the level cap is rumoured to be raised shortly after with more content for those higher levels. The game is every bit as massive as any other online role playing game. 3) Yes, the game is 100% F2P. But how a PvE coop game can be P2W, I don't know. The game has a PvP option, but Neverwinter is the furthest thing from a PvP game. Also, getting to the level cap and acquiring the top tier gear is all about taking the time to play the game. There is no cost associated with it. The only part of the game that has a cost is reducing your time to get there, or buying cosmetic items that are only available in exclusive packs. I've spent a lot of money on promo packs. I did it for a new mount, a new race, or even the same race that just looks a little different. But once I was at level 60, I had no advantage over anyone else that didn't spend any money. Now, I don't love everything about Neverwinter. It definitely has it's problems. Here is a list: 1) Refining. The whole refining system is garbage, and likely the single reason why most potential long term players quit the game early. It aims to confuse people about what they should be doing to upgrade enchantments and runestones, and gives them the impression that the highest level enchants are required for the "end game" when that just simply isn't the case. And the cost, both in game and real money, is just ridiculous considering past rank 4 you have a greater chance of failing an upgrade and losing your mats than you do having success. My recommendation is, don't fall into the trap. Use what you have and upgrade at your own pace. Most of my characters use enchants they find on the ground. 2) The Inventory System. I understand that backpack space is always a money grab for F2P games, but it's getting painful. Again the Refining system strikes here because It takes a monstrous amount of space to store all of the refining mats needed for it. I have 6 alts now with upgraded backpacks to store all of it. Then there's all the quest items, keys, skill kits, potions, etc... My main character has the max amount of space unlocked and I still never have enough space to store quest loot. There is a lot of stuff that gets put into backpacks that should have storage like the profession resources and assets. Refining crap for one! 3) I like the Profession system but it's way too much ****. By the time you gain the achievements to unlock more than a few profession slots, you are 10 levels above any of the gear you are able to craft. So, you have to stop playing your character and only log on to grind professions to keep them on par with the level of your character. Horrible design flaw! Now, some might say that Leadership needs a grind because it brings currency into the game. I say, redesign it so lower tier tasks give common resources, and the higher the level the task is, the more valuable the resource it requires but gives a higher reward, either in resource, chest or Diamonds. But the way it is, is not a deal breaker for me, so I will continue to enjoy it for what it is.

This game is so fun, the DEA should put people in jail for playing it. I has a 6 player coop where playing as a team actually matters. People that like to wander away from the group end up dead. 6 classes that impact the game in their own unique ways. AND the game is fully modifiable for tons of extra fun beyond the core game.

If I could sum up the game in one word it would be "cheap". The game looks and plays like a indie project that didn't have the resources to make a decent quality game. It has a good story and the quests are fun at times, but it also has plenty of bugs and glitches which ruin the immersion of the game. Don't be be fooled by all the spamming user reviews that give this game a 10 out of 10. It's just some lame kid hired by FunCom to inflate the meta scores of this game. They are desperate at this point because they know everyone that pre-ordered this game are incredibly disappointed. By the end of summer, this game will be the The Lonely World.

The fact that this game was released in 2009 and has no user reviews speaks volumes about this game. There are no user reviews, because there are no users playing it. It's quite possible the worst WoW-clone in the history of WoW-clones. The only thing this game has going for it is the investors in the game have deep pockets and are so far invested in it they don't want to let it die. So the game may survive with no playerbase for years. Be warned, this game is terrible.

I have to give this game a zero. I downloaded the game through Steam as they had the All-In-Wonder Bundle for 66% off. But unlike other Steam games, I can't just simply download the game and play it. This "Games of Windows Live" App keeps popping up and I've tried several times to register, create a profile, download patches, etc.. and nothing I do seems to please it. So since Games of Windows Live won't let me log into the game, it's a fail. Too bad, because I absolutely loved the first three AoE games.