Is it worth it?

[Raistlin Majere]

now that its been out for a while, id like to ask if its worth buying. i dont want another nasty suprise like NWN. that single player campaing sucked(as does Lionhearts), so im hoping this would be better...

[andrewas]

SoUs campaign is much better than the NWN OC. The characters are better, the quests are a bit more interesting, and so on. It still cant hold a candle to the likes of BG, but what can these days? Its also increasibly essential for online play. So I would say its worth it. But if you disliked NWN for reasons of interface, or if you didnt like the graphical style, you might want to skip it.

[Larry_OHF]

Yes, SoU is worth buying, and has a better game for Single-player than does the original NWN. Also, HotU will be worth buying. I have already paid for mine.

[ScottG]

Yes and No - Its definitly worth it for the extras for module development.

(Caution....Minor Spoilers ahead)
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As for the game itself.... hmmmmm. so,so. Experience points, level-ups, and difficulty are for the most part MUCH better than NWN. It's essentially broken up into 3 chapters (chp. 1, Interlude, and chp.2). The total module time is far more reasonable than NWNs which seemed to drag on forever.

Chap.1 is pretty good (until latter on you find out that the premis is flawed). Chap.1 gives decent quests and the atmosphere is fairly classic (though the small towns are much to small - however most of the chapter is in a nature setting). Chap.1 was difficult when it should have been (and only a little too difficult at one or two points).

Interlude was a lot of fun from the right perspective - Think of it as a full chapter, (in length and complexity it most certainly is), and don't try to simply rush through it "to get to your destination". (Remember, its the journey that matters.) Taken from this perspective I'd say that Interlude is the best portion of the game. It takes about as long as the first chapter and it was spot-on in difficulty (except for the ending of the first part of Interlude which was substantially easier than the ending of the level just before it). The quests here are forced - you either do them or you don't progress (and in this sense its more linear than chap. 1 or 2). Still though, the "quests" are quite fun. Atmosphere here is Excellent. Places seem in proper proportion (unlike chap.1's towns and chap.2's "cities"). Visuals are on par with chap. 1 and are fairly impressive (not unlike visiting the forest for the first time in NWN).

Chap.2 is not nearly as good. The initial difficulty of opponents can for some be overwhelming - and perhaps far worse you'll not encounter much else within this chapter to rival that initial level of difficulty. Chap.2 seems to be the least in length as well (time-wise) - in fact it feels as if the developers "rushed it" and cut down on the scope of what it should have been. The atmosphere is VERY weak here for what is supposedly a city (or at least a portion of one). Graphically speaking chap.2 was severly short-changed. Venues you would expect as being majestic (despite age) are sometimes totally devoid of style. This isn't to say however that it doesn't have a few esthetic wrinkles that are unexpectadly pleasing (and they usually coincide with plot - so it isn't boring). The quests in this chapter are not linear and their respective levels of difficulty were poorly done.

So the good:
Decent plot (certainly better than NWN but not as good as BG1 and not even close to BG2).
New pretty senic graphics for outdoor spaces.
Pretty good transitions.
Good time duration.
Several good battles (at least 10).
For the most part good difficulty vs. level.
Good weapons and armor
(oh, and Knockdown is no longer uber powerfull - its quite respectable now.)
a few nice surprises.

The bad:
mediocre (sometimes absurd) urban settings.
identification with THE antagonist (instead of focusing on yourself as the protagonist).
some enviroments lack esthetic panache.
brutal pricing structure on goods/weapons/armor.
few real "puzzels" to solve.
weak ending.

If just the gameplay aspect of NWNs was a c then I'd up SOU two increments to a b-. The real potential of this game however is carrying forward your character to the next upcomming module (which sounds fantastic). Another great thing about this module is the addition of a few prestige classes that can give you some additional fun in this module and offer a completly differnt gameing experience in NWN should you choose to plan-out a new character to "roll" through it.

[Raistlin Majere]

thanks for the feedback! i think ill buy it then, ive long since stopped comparing games to BG(2), cause there probably wont be any better. besides, im bored to death here!

[Attalus]

I agree with the review, and recommend that you buy it. I had a blast, but also agree Chapter 2 is a letdown, and very difficult for a mage.