A Review of Playing Evil in the Video Game “Neverwinter Nights 2″

[Editor's Note: There's a handful of micro-spoilers in here, but nothing that will keep you from enjoying the game.]

I’ve waxed philosophic before about breaking out of my assassin RPG niche. In the video game Oblivion, I played a  hyper-testostrinated human male fighter carrying the largest and longest weapon I could lift. In Jade Empire, I chose a female magic user. Throughout the Original Neverwinter Nights Trilogy (Neverwinter Nights / Shadows of Undrentide / Hordes of the Underdark) my avatar was a tricksy, elvish Shadowdancer.

Neverwinter Nights 2 (NWN2 for short) gave me a new option for avatar diversity.

It was 30 Dec 2007. The game installer chugged away as I read the back of the game box for the upteenth time. Bright letters across the box declared, “Everything you do has a meaning”. Other games have offered options for playing evil characters, but NWN2 seemed to go a step further, almost daring players to test the boundaries of morality. After all, the game designers had taken the time to plot out the repercussions of all your actions in the game. My Inner Philosopher pitched a denim pup-tent as he thought about turning the reins over to my Inner Evil Draconian Overlord.

Evil it is then. For while I’d played a diverse series of characters in the past, I’d always been on the Good side. The obviously-we-have-to-kill-the-shadowlord-because-he-wears-black-and-has-a-deep-voice side. What if I wanted to kill the shadowlord just so I could take his place? What would it be like to be the new evil on the block?

I decided to find out.

And so Pyro Firespawn was born. Don’t laugh. He’s a Chaotic Evil Tiefling. Tieflings are humans tainted with blood of a demonic heritage.  He’s got horns and a tail. He likes to burn things. He’s also a cleric, so he can kill people, raise them from the dead, and then kill them again. (That’s why I told you not to laugh.)

Xtna helped with the aesthetic creation of Pyro. He’s my first avatar to have any resemblance to my physical self. At least, as near as the game engine would allow us to create. Do you want to date my avatar?

The Difficulty of Evil

So I set out on my Evil Epic Adventure. It wasn’t as simple as it sounds. Right away, I discovered difficulties being evil. If I simply slay everyone who got between myself and what I wanted (merchants, for example) I’d have no one to back me up and the game would end with me in prison. That wouldn’t be a long game, and it wouldn’t be a satisfactory ending.

Evil Lesson #1 – Evil requires Power and/or Stealth. Pretty much all the sins require you to be stronger, faster or sneakier than someone else. When you’re a Level One Pissboy, you ain’t pushing anyone around. Therefore, I shied away from being what I called Stupid Evil. I had to keep my eyes on the big prize. Intelligent Evil is far more evil, don’t you think?

Evil Lesson #2 – Evil Looks Good. I often found myself weighing off which side of the fight would help me more in my evil goals. Should I be nice to this person because they might join my party or give me information? Should I kill the dragon and save the townsfolk, if that is the only way to get them to tell me where the uber-important evil magic sword could be found? Signs point to yes.

Evil Lesson #2 “The Enemy Of My Enemy Is My Friend” One thing was always certain. I was literally hell-bent on defeating the King of Shadows, because he was coming to destroy everything.  In fact, some of my companions were happy to stand alongside me in battle although they did not agree with my alignment for the same reason – because the Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend.

I was so Good at Looking Good and being Evil, I could have run for the Republican Party.

Evil Lesson #4 – Evil Loves Company. Did Hitler have any friends? Probably more like “associates” or “companions”, which were another aspect to consider in NWN2. They have alignments too, and if I upset their more…delicate sensibilities, they could leave or worse, turn on me at a crucial moment. There’s no pleasing everyone, and some of my companions did leave me because of my choices. Others flat-out defected to the other team. (…and died some pretty spectacular deaths because of it. Seems their actions had repercussions too.) So, in order to keep the allegiance of my followers, I had to avoid certain evil tasks that I wanted to do. In order to increase their loyalty, I had to help them perform some good tasks I didn’t really want to do. Basically picking my battles and weighing off short term Goodness for Long-Term, Big-Picture Evil.

Halfway through the game, I had worked my evil system perfected. I was truly evil in (seemingly) unimportant interactions and lied and backstabbed when appropriate to further my larger objectives. On the surface I was just a Regular Guy who looked like he was following the rules. In this respect, I became less Chaotic Evil and more Lawful Evil. I was so Good at Looking Good and Being Evil, I could have run for the Republican Party.

Or so I thought.

Fate and/or the game designers were a step ahead here, because it wasn’t long before I was placed on trial for a crime I did not commit. I thought I had little to worry about… until they began to call in Character Witnesses.

Let’s put it this way – it was a long trial.

That aside, my philosophy of Evil-When-It-Matters worked well. I gained a lot of trust and respect with my companions, the Thieves Guild, and with good King Nasher himself. Eventually I was granted my own keep and knighted. I had a party of very powerful followers, some of whom could beat Mother Teresa on the Goodness Meter.

Then the time came, and I took my party of followers deep into the enemy’s domain to confront the Shadow-Lord himself.

Denouement – Evil is Good

Sunday November 15, 2009 I reached the ending of Neverwinter Nights 2. The inner sanctum of the Shadow Lord’s stronghold. Because of my evil affiliation, I was offered the opportunity to leave my companions and join with the Shadow Lord.  I saved the game and played out both possible endings. [Note: You might get the same opportunity for the alternate ending if you play a good character, but since I didn't do this, I can't be sure.]

I have to say, the evil ending was easier and more satisfying, but it was more because of the way the actual endings were written – something which has raised concern with more than one person who played through NWN2. If you’re interested in reading more about the NWN2 endings, check out this review by aeon (warning: spoilers) which does a good job of summing up the disappointing ending for good characters.

Was it Fun Being Evil?

It was certainly a lot more work. Often, I had to try and guess what the game designers meant to be Evil choices in the game. The ambiguous wording of my question-response options made me think, “Is that an evil thing to say?” The Good responses were mostly obvious, so it probably would have been easier to play a Good character.

Some of the evilness was fun. Double-crossing a dragon? Wow. Fun and rewarding. Happily throwing out promises you have no intention to keep was more of a relief than actual ‘fun’. Killing people who thought they could trust you, that was a tough one.

In short, being evil towards evil beings was wicked fun. Being evil towards good people wasn’t easy. Being evil towards helpless people brought me no joy at all.

Beyond Evil

With NWN2 behind me, I’m just in time for the next big thing… Dragon Age: Origins. Apparently, they’ve tried even harder to blur the line between good and evil.

Dragon Age: Originsis on my Christmas list. So expect a review when I finish it…two years from now…

-Z

There’s two distinct advantages to waiting a few years after a game’s release before you pick it up:

• The price will be low
• The system requirements will be laughable. (Unless you never upgrade your computer)

Case in point is Bioware’s Jade Empire released in 2005. Fate laid a copy of Jade Empire in my path for a measily two dollars (plus tax)  Hey, I’m only human right? Some would argue that statement, since I put in 29 Hours and 31 minutes over a 4-day marathon of gameplay and finished the game.  Somehow I also managed to work my full-time job. There was time in there for bathroom breaks and caffeine power-ups, but no sleeping that I remember.

Those who played Neverwinter Nights will recognize the game engine and controls, although much has been simplified and streamlined for your pleasure. Combat is reduced to three options: Attack, Block, and Power Attack. These function in a Rock-Paper-Scissors format:

• Block avoids Attack
• Attack cancels Power Attack
• Power Attack beats Block

There’s also Chi, a spirtual ability which can be used for healing and applied to some attacks to make them more powerful. You also have Focus, which slows down time and allows you to move faster than your enemies.  Focus and Chi aren’t unlimited, and should be used sparingly during combat.

The Good

The real beauty of this game lie in its simplicity. For example, there’s very little inventory to manage. No armor. No potions. No weapons. You have a list of fighting styles that you’ve learned. If you learn a dual-sword technique, you have dual swords. No encumbrance, no shuffling equipment onto and off from pack mules. No running into town to sell off a bunch of stuff to make room for more stuff. You do have some magic gems which augment your abilities, and some ‘plot items’ which are simply keys to finishing certain tasks, but there’s nothing to be replenished or reloaded except your Mind, Body and Spirit.

Despite some yawnable cliche’s (see below) the story was top notch. Definitely not a writer’s strike going on when this game was made. Interesting, funny and lovable characters, who had some believable interactions and entertaining conversations. Throughout the game I could turn to Henpecked Hau for a lengthy and entertaining conversation. A turning point in the story comes when you finally confront the Emperor himself - what happens is something you will *never* see coming.

The Role Playing was the best I’ve seen in a game. Lots of discussions, and dialog options, and choices of how to specifically phrase your replies. For example, you might get the following four different ways to say “Yes”:

• Yes, your most worshipful Emperorness.
• Yes.
• For Gods sakes, Yes! Now quit asking me stupid questions!
• [Charm] Oh yeah you big stallion!

This much dialog might be a turn-off for those who just want things to Line Up And Die, but I thought it was fun. It really let me get into my character’s motivations and let me mold my character into what I wanted. More specifically a Cold-Blooded-Yet-Smoking-Hot-Asian-Female-Assassin. Duh.

The game world is ”based on” China.  The alternate language that occurs in the game is called Tho Fan, created specifically for the game by Canadian linguist Wolf Wikeley.

If it looks like China and it sounds like China… Fine, I’ll say it, the game takes place in China. Regardless, it is steeped in Eastern Philosophy, which gives it some great quotes. Here are some of the more memorable ones:

• The Wheel of Life must turn!
• Ask not where the path leads. Instead ask why the path is there.
• If we aren’t drinking we should be fighting.

The Bad

I had to turn the music down. Yeah, it fits the mood and all, but I need to be able to hear if a 20-foot tall stone golem is trying to sneak up on me.

The plot was good despite the cliche’s, but they were there. Ever play a game where you die and have to fight your way out of the underworld?  Yeah, me too. Ever played a game where you are forced to fight a copy of your own character? Yeah, it’s probably the first module every D&D GameMaster thinks up. Ever hear the plot, ‘Local peasant rises up to defeat the evil draconian overlord?’ You can check, but I think that might have been done already.

The game engine had a couple minor quirks. I got used to the limitations of the camera quickly. There is a very limited range of up/down motion with the camera, and no way to zoom the camera in or out. That said, the camera was positioned ‘just right’ for most of the game. Mostly. I did run into several places where the camera got stuck pointing straight down about a foot off the ground. Not very useful. I had to watch the map in the corner of the screen and move to a section with some stairs, and that would jar the camera back to the correct position.

Jade Empire takes the “I” out of AI.  Even on ‘Master’ and ‘Jade Master’ difficulty settings, the bad guys didn’t seem to have any attacking style. They seem to perform a randomized combination of Block/Attack/Power Attack. Enemies you aren’t directly targeting don’t go out of their way to hit you, like they want to wait their turn for your full attention or something.

The Upshot

Jade Empire is a fun console-ported-to-PC game, with an interesting blend of Hack-N-Slash mixed with Role Playing, all steeped in an Alternate Eastern Mythology. Simplified combat and no inventory put the focus back on gameplay where it belongs.

The Twitter Review

Just completed *Jade Empire* 29hrs 31min total, I kicked that game’s ass in 4 days! What an awesome game! It was like being in a movie!

A Review of the Video Game Oblivion

You might recall that I was playing Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion as an Axe-Wielding Barbarian, which was quite a shift in character for me.

Well, in the past year (60 game days) I have tracked down the king’s heir; Tiber Septim. I located the Amulet of Kings, relit the Dragon Fires, and enabled Tiber to vanquish the evil Lord Dagon. I have cast evil back into the shadows, and was treated to a lovely extended battle animation sequence, then proclaimed a Champion of Tamariel.

In the process, I joined a dozen secret societies, shut 14 oblivion gates, and killed off 1062 beings.

Blow me, Sims.

Oblivion has now been added to my list of completed video games.

Oblivion was simply a fantastic game from start to finish. A complete world to be immersed in and do whatever you please, regardless of the world-ending plot hanging over you. In fact, after defeating the Evil To End All Evils, the game does not stop. You could continue on and help out each and every person with a problem, or kill every living soul who crosses your path. The expansion packs: “The Shivering Isles” and the “Knights of the Nine” (which will be realeased in the Game Of The Year edition – Yes, Oblivion was Game Of The Year last year) means I can continue on my rampage of Killing For The Greater Good with new locations and quests, if I so choose.

Oblivion has smashing graphics, and a fantastic plot. There were so many quests, that I finally had to be picky with whom I aided, and in the end, I gave up all other quests to focus on the big one, or I might never finish:

“Sorry about those rats in your basement ma’am, but I have to go close some inter-dimensional rift in the time-space continuum…”

For the record, Oblivion has replaced F.E.A.R. as my Favorite Video Game. Here is the current list of my favorites:

Quake I (1996)
Half-Life I (1998)
F.E.A.R. (2005)
Oblivion (2006)

The game Deus Ex was a contender sometime between Half-Life and F.E.A.R., it was pretty good, but I lost interest in the game very near the end and never finished it.

It took a long time for anyone to beat the original Half-Life, and F.E.A.R. only did it by taking Half-Life and adding in some great level design, audio environment, spooky paranormal events, and the kick-ass effect of “Bullet Time” where you could slow time down momentarily and take out a roomful of bad guys by yourself.

Oblivion topped them all by creating huge, GPU-melting environments, and a open world, where you weren’t locked into a linear plot. You choose where you want to go, and what you want to do. If you want to take up a skill you don’t have yet, just start doing it. The more you do, the better you get.

Now, I’m on the lookout for another game to sate my trigger finger, probably something SciFi, now that I’ve quested as an axe-wielding barbarian for about a year now. Tabula Rasa looks promising, as does Crysis. But, what I really want to do is fly an X-Wing with a squadron of online gamers against the Death Star…

KTHXBYE,
-CZ

Reviewing Oblivion and playing out-of-character

I’m playing Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion now, which is awe-and-some. The level of detail in the character generation is sick, for a game where you switch between first-person view and third-person view, and in neither case can you see your own face. I quickly developed my favorite alter-ego, a thief/assassin, and set out.

Oblivion is open-ended both in plot and in skills. You can go anywhere you like, and while there is an overall plotline, you don’t have to follow it. Your skills increase for whatever you keep doing. For instance, the more locks you pick, the better you get at picking locks. The more you jump around, the more your Acrobatics skill increases. I immediately started working on my sneaking and lockpicking skills, and use of a bow and daggers.

After the game gives you a chance to get used to the controls and interface, you are given an option to pick from a list of character occupations or archetypes (fighter, scout, mage, witchhunter, priest…) the mouse pointer hovered over the word “Assassin”, when my Inner Philosopher woke up.

IP: “What are you doing?”

Me: “I’m picking my character’s occupation.”

IP: “Assassin again, hmm?”

Me: “What?”

IP: “Well, don’t you always pick the Assassin?”

Me: “Sure, because it’s my favorite.”

IP: “Have you ever played anything else?”

Me: “Well, no…”

IP: “Then how do you know if you wouldn’t like something else better?”

Me: “I like the Assassin, and I’m playing the Assassin.”

IP: “Fine, fine, I was just wondering what that might mean about your personality.”

Me: “It means that my mad sneaking-around-skillz allowed me to live through High School, and now I can use those same skillz to unload a Quick Shadowy Death on the virtual residents of Oblivion.”

IP: [yawns] “It could also mean you are a cowardly bastard who just likes to shoot other people in the back.”

Me: “Do you really think I paid $50 for this game in order to develop a new virtual skillset?”

IP: [Deathly Silence]

Me: “Fine. I will pick some other occupation if you will stop that.”

IP: [Normal Silence]

Me: “Thank you.”

So I started over and made a Fighter. A real fighter. I mean a Drinks Petrol and Pisses Nitroglycerin fighter. He is also a lizard who can breathe underwater. I picked a name in the lizard tongue which means, “Eater of Puppy Dogs For Breakfast”. He carries an axe so big it blocks out half the screen (Note To Self: Need bigger monitor.).

And no more sneaking. When I enter a dungeon, I yell, “Woe to all who are here, for I have come to paint the walls of this place with your blood!” This has several advantages:

• The wimpy characters run. They weren’t worth my time anyway.
• The tough guys come out of the woodwork, so I don’t have to go looking for them. (Note to Virtual Self: Need bigger satchel for healing potions, ideally a Bag of Holding.)
• It makes me feel like a tough guy. Even if the dungeon is empty.

This is very strange for me, and not a very easy playing style for me to get used to. Plus, I doubt the skills I’m learning by ‘Stretching Out’ and playing a gregarious, blundering oaf will translate well to the real world:

Troubled CoWorker: “Conrad! I’m so glad you are here, there’s a problem with my computer!”

Me: “Ha! How Dare it trouble you poor, helpless cubicle dweller! I am here to destroy your computer problems!”

Troubled and Disturbed CoWorker: “But don’t you want to know what’s wrong with it first?”

Me: “A waste of time! Look! I have already gutted this machination of evil, and I will hang the entrails around your cube! The next computer you get will think twice about giving you problems!”

Troubled and Really Disturbed CoWorker: “Great…um, thanks. Guess I’ll be leaving early today…”

Blog on,
-CZ