Neverwinter Nights 2

Neverwinter Nights 2 is played in the third person from a top-down perspective, where the player controls a hero and his or her attendant party. 5 edition ruleset, players build a player character in accordance with the character creation rules of Dungeons & Dragons, which includes selecting a race and class, then assigning skill points. There are sixteen races and twelve classes available, including the rogue and the wizard, as well as an additional seventeen unlockable classes. Neverwinter Nights 2 makes use of the d20 system introduced in Dungeons & Dragons, where a die roll or random number is used to determine the probability and effectiveness of every action, including attacks and saving throws.

The player character can recruit companions during the campaign, and may form a party with up to three of them. Party members can be controlled directly by the player or given orders dictating how to behave in combat.

Neverwinter Nights 2 takes place in and around the city of Neverwinter, in the Sword Coast region of Faerûn. The first part of the game is set in the small Sword Coast village of West Harbor, which was the site of a battle between an evil host led by an entity known as the "King of Shadows" and the warriors aligned with Neverwinter. The player character's fate is tied to this battle, during which his or her mother was killed. During the campaign, the player has the opportunity to recruit party members to aid in the cause, including the violent dwarf Khelgar and a vocal young tiefling Neeshka. Antagonists include the King of Shadows, a manipulative Luskan diplomat named Torio, and the warlock Ammon Jerro.

Neverwinter Nights 2 is composed of three distinct acts. The game's first act begins in the village of West Harbor, where the player's character was raised as an orphan by the elven ranger Daeghun. After a festival, the town is attacked by a group, led by a githyanki, in search of an unnamed object. Afterward, the character is sent by Daeghun to retrieve a mysterious silver shard from a nearby cave, which was left there years earlier after the defeat of the King of Shadows.

Neverwinter Nights 2 was unofficially announced on April 1, 2004, when an Atari employee listed the names of several games in development, including a "NWN2" in response to an inflammatory comment on Atari's forums. The company officially announced the game on August 4, 2004. Obsidian Entertainment handled development of the game and BioWare, the company that created the first Neverwinter Nights, offered support and guidance to Obsidian. The two companies collaborated in a similar manner on Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II, an Obsidian–developed sequel to a BioWare game.

BioWare joint CEO Ray Muzyka said "Neverwinter Nights remains one of the most important titles BioWare has ever created. We certainly plan to remain involved in the production and development of Neverwinter Nights 2". Obsidian employed several game designers from the defunct Black Isle Studios, which developed other Dungeons & Dragons role-playing video games such as Planescape: Torment, the Icewind Dale series, and the Baldur's Gate series. Development of Neverwinter Nights 2 began in July 2004, when Obsidian assigned several staff members to work on the project.

Reception of Neverwinter Nights 2 was generally favorable. It placed number 6 on Amazon's video game pre-order list the week before its release, and was a best-seller for several weeks afterwards. It received GameSpot's "Best Story" award for 2006, beating out the reader's choice, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. It was also nominated for a Golden Joystick Award for Best PC Game of 2006. The editors of Computer Games Magazine presented Neverwinter Nights 2 with their 2006 "Best Writing" award, and it was a runner-up for their list of the year's top 10 computer games.

While some reviewers considered Neverwinter Nights 2 superior to its predecessor, Neverwinter Nights, the sequel received lower overall review ratings. 5 edition ruleset is in full swing in Neverwinter Nights 2, where critical hits can devastate your entire party." The game's representation of the Forgotten Realms campaign setting was also well received. The storyline was widely considered one of the game's strong points and an improvement over Neverwinter Nights.