Continuing an ancient gaming tradition. Review

Continuing an ancient gaming tradition.

Though ostracized for much of the 20th century, nerdy gamers have a long and noble

history. Don’t believe me? Earlier this month, an ancient Roman 20-sided

die sold at Christies for $17,925.00

– definitive proof that we can trace our geek lineage back 2000 years. I hope



Gary Gygax was the winning bidder.

While I can’t trace my own gaming back quite that long, I have been

playing Dungeons & Dragons or one of its computer variants almost constantly

for twenty years. Most recently, after I beat the single player Neverwinter

Nights campaign, I quickly became addicted to the online play for several

months.

So

as a fan, I’ve been eagerly anticipating Hordes of the Underdark,

the second NWN expansion behind Shadows

of Undrentide, and now that it has arrived, I’m not disappointed. While

not perfect (what is?), Underdark offers a little somethin’

for everyone and is another must-have expansion pack for NWN

fans.

Fans of classic dungeon-crawls like Dungeon

Siege will be especially pleased by Hordes, as there’s

more linear progression to much higher power levels than the other NWN

titles. The simple plot seems to be inspired by Dungeon

Keeper…

The city of Waterdeep has always been a magnet for adventurers. They come

from far and wide to test themselves against the traps and creatures in the

Undermountain, a dungeon directly under the city. Undermountain, conceived and

maintained by the mad wizard Halaster, is constantly changing, restocked with

new monsters, fiendish traps, bewildering puzzles, and precious treasure to

tempt bold warriors to unlock its secrets…or die trying. Why would Halaster

do all this? No idea. I guess that’s why everyone thinks he’s crazy.

Normally, Undermountain has simply lurked under Waterdeep, waiting for people

to adventure downwards. However, recently things from the Undermountain have

been coming to the surface, and it turns out there’s stuff even deeper down

than Undermountain… in the Underdark. You have been warned.

The campaign will take you about 15-20 hours to complete and will take you

from level 15 to about level 25. That’s right – your characters are no longer

limited to level 20; “epic levels” have been added to let you buff up all the

way to level 40, if you like. You can also have up to two henchmen instead of

just one, bringing it closer to a party-based game. Add to that about 50 new

feats, about 40 new spells, 6 cool new prestige classes, 4 new tilesets, and

some new music and you’ve got a robust expansion.

But what really impresses me about Hordes is the inspiration

the developers took from the online community. One of the best parts of NWN

is that they spent as much time on the toolset as on the game, giving the users

incredible freedom to create their own worlds. And what better way to find out

what people want than to watch what they make?

The graphics, for example, are largely unchanged except for some more detailed

texture, especially for characters faces. But the developers added something

that’s been available to players as a very popular hack for ages: you can now

unlock the camera, look over you character’s shoulder and view the world from

a new perspective. You can at last check out the sky (although you wont see

much sky in the well-named Underdark) or peer down at that suspicious treasure

chest.

The

new epic levels are also great, and again imitate what the community has been

doing for years. Many online servers scripted in their own epic levels a year

ago, awarding permanent bonuses to players for experience at certain points

over level 20.

Another popular online mod was the addition of a crafting system so players

could use resources to make armor, weapons, jewelry, clothing, and even magic

items. ATS and CNR were two competing free tradeskill mods that you could

add to your server. Again, Bioware took their cue from the fans and added new

trade skills and support for crafting in Hordes. They also

added items that allow you to customize some of the look and color of your items.

The love for the multiplayer game that I thought was missing from Shadows

of Undrentide is definitely here in Hordes. It’s great

stuff that’s clearly for the online crowd, because looking at the sky and crafting

your own items is pretty much useless in single-player Hordes;

when you’re a level 21 demi-god, who cares if you can make a large shield? Instead,

just go online and you can show off your new purple monk’s robes.

But some of that love is missing from the single player. I prefer more open-ended

gameplay than the linear story of Underdark, and it seems like

all of Bioware’s best storywriters were busy working on Star

Wars: Knight of the Old Republic, because the dialogue options are more

limited, choices seldom effect your alignment, and someone seems to have confused

being evil with being a jerk.

So the best part of Hordes of the Underdark turns out not

to be the new campaign, but the extensive online support and terrific response

to its dedicated fan base. After anticipating the game and getting to play a

new adventure, I get to anticipate all over again what the fans are going to

do with all the new tools provided to them. Plus, I don’t have to wait 2000

years.