Neverwinter – Open Beta

May 2, 2013

First Impressions, Level 1-5

I chose to take a relatively easy course in my open beta character selection, a human warrior, Guardian class.  I figured this would give me the best chance to take a beating and get to know the games mechanics and combat dynamics.

The story starts off with a shipwreck on the shores of Neverwinter.  This is not very original and I can name two more games that start the same way, Age of Conan, and Path of Exile.  But with that lack of originality aside, you run straight into the simple tutorial and almost immediate combat. 

Any experienced MMORPG player will have no issue managing the controls of the game and understanding the combat.  So far I’ve seen that combat is based more on action than strategy.  Quick fingers and well-timed use of skills are essential and it reminds me of my first game play in Age of Conan, which I believe pioneered this style of combat in an MMO.

After journeying through the first introduction and storyline portion of the game, you find yourself in the city of Neverwinter itself.  The city is crowded with buildings and feels a bit claustrophobic, but its vivid colors make up for some of the crowding.  Graphically, it reminds me of an updated World of Warcraft by some of its styling and color use. 

As you continue your storyline progress the use of the games pathing system really comes into its own.  It uses a sparkly magic like path along the ground which leads you to your next objective in quest you are working on.  Keep in mind when following this path that you should be sure to look around.  You don’t want to get so focused on the path and miss a treasure chest or secret entry off to the side (not to mention some monster).

Neverwinter obviously has its roots in the Dungeons and Dragons world, but it hasn’t felt like it yet for me.  Other than the name of the game, it feels like a split from the class system I would have expected from Neverwinter.  If you come to this game expecting it to be like Neverwinter Nights 1 and 2, you may be disappointed.

Though I’ve reached level 5 now, I haven’t had to group with anyone to complete any missions.  Instances have been manageable on my own and I’ve only had to use health potions twice.

Neverwinter’s free to play format limits your character slots to two, but since I only have one character for now, it hasn’t felt limiting.  As you walk through the city you get to see lots of shiny bobbles which Zen points could buy you.  This is obviously a selling tactic, but since the game is free to play I can’t fault them for that.

The Foundry is going to be interesting to see in the long run as well.  It allows for player created content, instances and missions to be created and played.  I haven’t tried it yet, but I look forward to it!

Overall I think the game plays well and I haven’t run into any glitches.  Admittedly my PC hardware is really decent, but I don’t think the game will graphically overpower the average PC gamers system.  For my first impression rating, I’ll give the game a decent 6 out of 10.  It hasn’t blown me away with any new innovations as of yet, but the gameplay is intuitive, the HUD is simple and the storyline has some potential.  PERFECT WORLD has a lot of games to manage at once, so I hope they have the staff to manage this one properly.

Game Website:  http://nw.perfectworld.com/