As surely as winter follows the summer or a comedown follows a hard night out, an expansion pack will trail a successful game. And with a game as popular as Neverwinter Nights there was no question that a new adventure would follow soon after. But in this age of modding can a new boxed adventure stand up to the literally thousands of home made modules that have been created by enthusiasts over the last few months? Or will it be crushed by the sheer weight of numbers of the free entertainment just waiting to be downloaded? Judging by the number of users on Bioware's forums that have registered both the original and Shadows of Undrentide it seems that there's a third, more definite possibility. That Neverwinter Nights was such a brilliantly executed conversion of the D&D experience onto the computer that its fans will lap up anything thrown at them.

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Starting off as a new recruit, Level 1, whose school comes under attack and whose master looses four important magical artefacts to unknown assailants, Shadows of Undrentide begins in a ridiculously similar fashion to its predecessor. The story will see you hunting round a for thieves (check), heading of into the wilderness to discover who is behind it all (check) and working for dragons in exchange for help (check). It's up to you and one of the three new henchmen to go out into the world to track down these pieces and uncover the nefarious creatures behind the theft. While the plot invites feelings of deja-vu there's an interesting interlude after chapter one and a plot twist in chapter two that is not only a surprise but makes for a pleasingly different adventuring dynamic.

Over the three chapters you'll come across the impressive list of additions that make SoU at the very least a value-packed update. There are five new prestige classes to take your character into. The Arcane Archer is a great way of enhancing a Ranger into a deadly arrow-spitting killing machine, able to launch fireball arrows and steadily improving enhanced arrows. Or maybe you'd like your thief to develop into an Assassin, able to deal deadly blows and turn himself invisible. If these don't interest there's the Blackguard, Harper Scout or Shadowdancer to choose from. None of these classes are really geared towards improving fighters or mages. Rather they tweak the skillsets of players who prefer to sneak around and kill from the shadows. There are 16 new creatures you'll get to do battle with; from Frost Giants to Pit Fiends, insectoid Formicans to deadly Gorgons. There are some new familiars to choose from as well such as the Psuedodragon or the Faire Dragon although the only useful function I could find for them was as a posing accessory. On top of this there are 50 new spells, too many to list but an impressive number that should keep the wand wagglers happy.

There are three new tilesets; winter, desert and ruins, which help to expand the scope of the world, it's just a shame that each area is devoid of much in the way of atmosphere. While the occasional giant stone head or over-arching walkway make an appearance your surroundings are bland and make little lasting impression. This isn't helped by the lack of any real focal point like the city of Neverwinter. The fallen city of Underentide is presented as a ruined dungeon, and the rest of the adventuring will take place almost exclusively in caves or plain, small hamlets.

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  1. Saevio_Phoenica Unregistered 6 years ago

    I'd just like to say that was a very thorough review, but I do disagree on some points, which i feel must be stated.
    For me the largest difference between the original campaign (which was one i grew tired of very quickly) was the alternate endings to quests that frequently cropped up if you were an evil character. Just try siding with the Lich in the Interlude, i think it is worth it.
    And I don't believe that you are "doing the same things against a different background" simply because in the original campaign, it was gather 4 of these, then another 4 of those, which, funnily enough, were at the 4 compass points. There was no-where else to go, no really involving sidetracks, no accidental areas to stumble onto. Whereas in SoU, I acutally felt like I was getting somewhere and somehow it just felt like it was less linear while being more story driven at the same time.
    I think that for the first expansion, it was an excellent improvement over the original and I eagerly await the new expansion, HotU.
    Cheers :)

  2. Fantine Unregistered 6 years ago

    Unlike the reviewer, I have never played the campaign game.

    I only play multiplayer and bought the SOU expansion pack strictly for the new features - like the prestige classes, feats, skills, and tilesets. Nor do I feel disappointed in the slightest. The expansion has definitely enriched the multiplayer experience for all of us that play online.

    Just to mention it...

    There are two versions of NWN:SOU online. You can play in Local Vault games and Server Vault games.

    In a Local Vault game, your character file is stored on your computer. So if you want to tweak, hak, or hand your character your own homemade weapons and armor, you can do so. Personally, I do not bother with the Local Vault because the majority of characters here are ridiculously uber.

    What I prefer is the Server Vault. Here your character file is stored on the DM's computer. It's impossible to hak your character. Too, you can only play a Server character when the host has his computer turned on - most of whom run their games 24 hours a day.

    NWN:SOU offers 100's of persistent worlds to choose from - all completely designed by players, and many quite cleverly done. For the most part they do not consist of linear campaigns, but are merely persistent worlds that you can explore, adventure in, and in some cases, even buy a house, or set up a store within.

    Too, the Server Vault mod designers create 1000's of custom items, weapons, helms, etc... so each game that you play will consist of completely different maps, quests, items, and NPC's.

    Most people tend to find a Server Vault game that they enjoy and stick with it. Personally, I play in one called Aventia, which is the home to over 1000 players from around the globe. The moderators have three servers running at 24 hours a day running simultaneous, each one capable of handling up to 75 players. DM's pop in and out, and often lead custom made quests.

    To me, the multiplayer experience is infinitely rich and rewarding. For this reason, I've never seen the slightest reason to even play the single player campaign. Why play against a computer, when you can play within the game with your friends? There's really no comparison - and SOU just enriches our multiplayer world.

  3. dunderling Unregistered 6 years ago

    Good review. The story and content of NWN is just nothing in comparison with Baldur's Gate 2. I thought the companions in NWN were uninteresting. Bioware just don't seem to try hard on this sort of thing. It seems incredible to me that some modules are more interesting than the commercial products.