NWN 1 + Expansions or NWN 2

[Xehh II]

What would you buy?

[FactionHeir]

I got both, but I find NWN1 quite a bit more worthwhile than NWN2 + MotB.
Sure, graphics are outdated, but it still has a large community and has nearly countless modules and modifications that will make it a different game experience each time.

NWN2 is more graphics focussed and the camera restrictions make it quite difficult to play it efficiently (IMHO). No actual improvement in enjoyment from my perspective and has a lot of annoying things you cannot change, like the target that will pop up all the time and blocks your sight (you can move it, but not deactivate it, but then it just blocks something else) and that you can no longer drag an inventory item (from equipped or loot) onto another to stash it but actually have to find a free space to put it in.
The removal of the efficient radial system is also a major annoyance as the new system is a lot slower and difficult to work with (unless you use the target system which IMO I dislike).

I suppose the quick cast menu was an improvement, but that's pretty much it.

[Kekvit Irae]

NWN + Expansions, just so you can muck around with the wide variety of user-made modules and scripts.

[econ21]

NWN1 for the mods. The Shadowlords/Dreamcatcher series was better than most professional CRPGs, as is Crimson Tide of Tethyr.

In terms of the official campaigns etc, to be honest, I am not terribly enamoured with either.

The official campaign of NWN1 had flashes of brilliance (Charwood!) but generally drowned in repetitive fights that were far too low for your level. The first expansion (the one with Deekin) was sweet, but limited. The second had a more epic scale but totally failed to grab me.

NWN2 has a better official campaign - better balanced at least. However, neither the NPCs nor the plot are very memorable. I stopped playing when I got my stronghold and have not really felt an urge to play the second half of the game. I won't get the NWN2 expansion until I have finished the first campaign. The soul reaping mechanic sounds off-putting, anyway.

In terms of the engines, I found the NWN1 graphics rather sterile and lifeless - maybe due to the tiles or something. They just seem rather ugly and functional compared to rival games. NWN2 is prettier and less generic, but more clunky to use.

The big advance of NWN2 was enlarging your SP party - the limit of 1 + 2 NPCs in NWN1 just hamstrung the game, given that the typical DnD party has 4+ (fighter, cleric, mage, thief).

If there was the same content available on both engines, I would plump for NWN2.

[Ramses II CP]

As others have said, you'll get triple or quadruple your money's worth on NWN1+XPs in truly excellent mods. I played the game on a number of persistant worlds and solo for a long time, and the quantity of content available for it is excellent.

Don't forget that NWN2 comes with SecuRom too, which is why I don't own it and have only played it a bit on a friend's box.

[Xehh II]

Don't forget that NWN2 comes with SecuRom too, which is why I don't own it and have only played it a bit on a friend's box.

NWN2 comes with securom? That immediatly rules it out, poll closed, NWN + expansions wins by default.

[AntiochusIII]

NWN2 comes with securom? That immediatly rules it out, poll closed, NWN + expansions wins by default.

Not if you download it over the internet.

...no, I don't mean torrents. I mean Direct2Drive. That version rumor has it doesn't carry SecuRom.

It's only an option if you're comfortable with the likes of Steam, though.

[TinCow]

I would buy both, with all the expansion packs, but if you can only pick one, go for NWN1. You simply MUST get both expansion packs though and I encourage your to completely skip the 'original' campaign. It is very poor IMO. The two expansion packs use the same character and take you from level 1 to level 30+. They are far more enjoyable than the 'vanilla' campaign.

[FactionHeir]

NWN2 comes with securom? That immediatly rules it out, poll closed, NWN + expansions wins by default.

To be fair, NWN1 has had SecuROM as well, albeit not SecuROM 7.
I think it was removed in one of the latter patches, 1.68 I believe. So install the game and expansions and patch up.

[Xiahou]

I don't understand all the hate for NWN1's original campaign. For me, it was my favorite- I felt the expansion campaigns were a bit cheesy by comparison(though still enjoyable).

NWN2 was a big disappointment to me. The graphics were prettier, but I don't think it justified the much higher system requirements, the camera angles were horrible and the party controls somehow hurt the immersion of the game for me. I keep meaning to go back it, but there are too many other games that I'd rather be playing.

Regardless, NWN1 with the expansions and user content makes it the clear winner in my book.

[Zenicetus]

I haven't bought NWN2 yet. Even without a full basis for comparison I'd recommend NWN1 plus the expansions. The real content is in the user-made modules, and some may require the tilesets and creatures you get in the expansions.

I didn't love the official campaign in the main game, but it's not bad as a way to get comfortable with the game mechanics and combat. I'd suggest playing it at least as far as the Charwood side quest, which is brilliant. It goes downhill from there, and many user mods are far better as an overall story.

The only thing I found tiresome after a while with NWN1 was the relatively limited number of background tiles, so there's a lot of repetition in the scenery. Every castle looks like every other castle, there isn't that much variety in outdoor scenery, and so on. The user mods do some creative things with lighting, and the extra tiles in the expansion packs help, but it still got a bit visually boring after a while.... especially since NWN followed the BG series with its nicely drawn and constantly varying 2D backgrounds. But the story quality in the better user mods are what sucked me in and kept me playing.

BTW, NWN is fun as a co-op LAN game too. I played through most of the modules with my S.O. It doesn't always scale the difficulty level up properly for co-op multiplayer, but it's still fun, and there aren't that many co-op games like this out there.

[Justiciar]

Neverwinter Nights was far superior to it's sequel, tbh. For me, NWN2 fell on it's arse with Character Creation, and failed to redeem itself from there on. And everything was so much more simple in the first game! Not to mention that some of the most memorable RP I've ever experienced owes itself to NWN. It's toolset, DM client, multiplayer, and the vast range of mods makes it one of my all time favourite games. So aye! Get the first!

[Vladimir]

Diamonds are forever. The cheezy main quest insults the intelligence of older players but this game could literately last you forever. The expansions are definitely worth it and the mods rock. My favorite is A Dance with Rogues. A lot of adult content and the newest update isn't my favorite but you'll finish it feeling that you've done (or are about to do) something grand.

If you can only buy one, buy Neverwinter Nights: Diamond Edition.

[Bellum]

Well I haven't played any multiplayer, mods, or expansions, but NWN1 SP campaign was crap and the engine sucked compared to Baulders Gate. Playing NWN2 was more like playing BG2, so it gets my vote.

[Kekvit Irae]

Original campaign or the expansions? I agree that the OC was total crap (I felt more like a Fed Ex driver than a hero), but Shadows of Undrentide and Hordes of the Underdark improves the game drastically.

[Lehesu]

Just bought Diamond. But I am going to play through Baldur's Gate II + Throne of Bhaal before getting into NWN, and then maybe NWN 2 when the price hits 20.00 dollars. My patience for the DnD RPG system has increased with time.

[Justiciar]

There can be little doubt that as a single-player experience goes, Baldur's Gate and it's expansions/sequels far outranks the Neverwinter Nights series. But if you've never experienced the mods, multiplayer, and toolkit, you've only played half the game. Less, even.

[AntiochusIII]

There can be little doubt that as a single-player experience goes, Baldur's Gate and it's expansions/sequels far outranks the Neverwinter Nights series. But if you've never experienced the mods, multiplayer, and toolkit, you've only played half the game. Less, even.

But, to be fair, I found the underlying game mechanics of NWN2 to be superior to the first title, and of NWN to be superior to the original Infinity Engine games. For one, I know, game-wise, what the hell am I and what impact my choices make in the stats section each time I choose a class or level up. I played half-blind in the Baldur's Gate series, letting the story carry me where it needs to with only basic attention paid to the "powergaming" side of it -- I even cheated my way somewhat to make the passage easier since I couldn't be bothered to optimize my character as such.

I think the NWN series did a far better job at translating D&D into understandable computer codes than the Baldur's Gate series quite frankly.

Of course, the fact that I enjoyed Baldur's Gate 2 and Planescape: Torment as much as I did despite knowing -nothing- about their stats system only testifies favorably towards the storytelling quality of said titles. And RPG is precisely the type of genre where story carries half the game, or perhaps even more.

[Vladimir]

Just bought Diamond. But I am going to play through Baldur's Gate II + Throne of Bhaal before getting into NWN, and then maybe NWN 2 when the price hits 20.00 dollars. My patience for the DnD RPG system has increased with time.

NWN 2 is definitely a bargain bin game. There is a nice mod on the forums that dramatically improves NPC AI though. Once I upgraded to 1.10 the AI just died and I had to get the user made fix. I really miss the radial menu. To do something new I have to sit and think about it for a minute or read something. With the radial menu I could just right click and play around to do whatever I needed.

We'll have to see if it stands the test of time. I heard that there is a Planescape mod (3) being made for it and I can't wait!