So, Cryptic released a video of their new child for everyone to see: Neverwinter. I didn’t have high for hopes for this one, and for a good reason. I loved Neverwinter Nights, and I knew that “Neverwinter” was only the chosen name because it would remind the hypothetical players of other games. Much better games, I mean. There are no words to describe how utterly generic the video felt, so I’ll just post it here for you to lament with me.
What was THAT? Could it be any more boring? “True D&D”? What does that have to do with anything? The combat system is obviously changed (those numbers would make no sense in a D&D game), and that’s pretty much 90% of what D&D actually is. Monsters from the Monster Manual? Great! An ogre! Yeah, I can see how that totally changes the MMO landscape. Other MMOs might be trying to create new, more involving mechanics. But here we have ogres! From the Monster Manual! Also, rats, goblins, maybe even spiders and unicorns! A world of fantasy yet unknown to mankind waiting to be unveiled with the most trite of combat paradigms!
Because that’s the best part. There is already a Dungeons and Dragons Online. A game that actually tries to stick to the name it evokes, and even though it has lots of changes from the PnP game, they are built upon a pretty solid adaptation. And it took a proper setting (which D&D per se isn’t), Eberron, and expanded on their content. And hell, the result is pretty acceptable. Now, Neverwinter? It seems stand for everything that makes MMOs horrible, and use these things as features. How, in the name of the infinite layers of the Abyss, is ANYONE supposed to be hyped by this garbage, is beyond the reach of my mind.
