Developer: Perfect World
Publisher: Arc
Platform: PC, Xbox One
Tested on: Xbox One
Neverwinter (Xbox One) – Review
A few MMORPGS that are available on the computer are also getting a version on consoles. Just like Final Fantasy XIV – A Realm Reborn, Neverwinter has gotten a place on the Xbox One and PS4 might get a release too, but this isn’t confirmed yet. The question rises if the game still gives the same vibe though.
The game has a few differences but a lot of similarities with the PC version. If you want to read the previous review, you can find it here.
Story
Neverwinter is actually a spin-off of famous Dungeons and Dragons settings, more especially the Forgotten Realms campaign.
The setting of the game is in the Sword Coast region of Faerûn and you will spend a lot of time in the grand city Neverwinter. There has been a Spellplague that has hit a lot of people, but this metropolis wasn’t demolished by it. Another disaster wasn’t too far away though. Mount Hotenow, a volcano near Neverwinter, erupted and struck the city. Neverwinter was in despair and was eventually destroyed and overtaken by evil mercenaries. Things seemed to be lost, until Lord Neverember arrived after a while. He made the impossible happen: he took control of one of the most important places in town: Protector’s Enclave. Soon after, the reconstruction started and he persuaded the inhabitants to rebuild their hometown. Although this is a great ideal, it isn’t done without threats. The neighbouring areas are still hostile and there are struggles within the Protector’s Enclave. If that isn’t enough, there are constant attacks of the evil queen of death, Valindra. She controls an army of undead people and wants to take control of Neverwinter and probably the rest of Faerûn. This is where the game starts. It might have been an idyllic place in another setting, but it isn’t that joyous now. Your ship has been wrecked and you awaken on the beach. It seems that your help is needed and it is your job to aid the inhabitants of this city and its surrounding towns.
Graphics
The quality of Neverwinter on the pc was quite ok, for a free game. This is also something that is visible on the Xbox One. Most of the times, the characters are nicely finished, while at other times, it feels like you’re looking at graphics from the previous console. The same goes for the armor and the weapons. Some items, the more higher ones, are real gems and all shiny, while others blend into the environment. This doesn’t mean that your character will suddenly disappear, but it doesn’t really stand out.
Non-playable characters have the same problem as well. They don’t really stand out and are sometimes hard to notice. Next to that, there are several enemies that wants you dead. Every area has their own certain flock of rivals and although they have a few specific characteristics, it is sometimes hard to keep them apart.
When you look at the surroundings, they are quite nice and the quality is ok but there are some rendering problems. Running around in the Protector’s Enclave, you can see the distant background pop up, just like the windows and trees.
There also seems to be another difference between the PC version and this one. It looks like the developers deleted some of the details in the Xbox One version because some items aren’t being displayed, when they were there on the PC version.
Sound
The sound doesn’t feel any different between the Xbox One version or the one on the PC. The game still has quite a lot of soundtracks and the sound effects are very nice. There are some real dramatic-sounding tracks in the hostile areas and this was a great idea. If you enter another area, you will notice that the music and style will change.
You will hear that every attack or has its own particular sound effect. The voice overs are nicely done as well. Every voice really fits each character. A flock of lookalike enemies have mostly the same sound but you will be busy killing them than listening to their ramblings.
Gameplay
The situation you’re into and the given quests aren’t any different from the PC version, but there are quite some differences gameplay wise.
Combat wise, the system is still the same and is similar to a third-person shooter. With the PC version, you had to target enemies by moving your mouse and hovering over them. This is a bit different on the Xbox One version. Here, the cursor is in the middle of the screen and if you want to target something, you need to move your cameras. This means that the cursor doesn’t move but your angle or position does. It might be a bit tricky at the start, but you’ll get the hang of it quite fast.
Since a Xbox One controller only has a limited amount of buttons, the developers had to find something to solve this since you have quite a lot of attacks, spells or other functionalities. Both the buttons as the D-pad are used and you can toggle between two sets. The buttons are mostly used for spells and/or melee attacks, while the D-pad is set for some other things like seeing the map or going to the chat screen. The left and right trigger are your main attacks, while the right bumper also has the possibility to put an attack. You can always change the ‘key’ bindings though.
Although Neverwinter is now in the Xbox One, it is still an MMORPG. This means that you still can see other gamers run around and you’re capable of inviting them and so on. If you want to target them, you will need to hover over them and then press A. This might get quite annoying during dungeons though, since A is also the button to pick up items. If you want to get a dropped item and someone just runs in front of you, you probably will have selected your companion.
Before you can jump into battle, you will need to make a character. Luckily this didn’t change, because you can still choose between several races and classes and the customization options are still quite a lot. You can change everything. Want to have some nice tattoos? No problem. Maybe you want to have a blind character? Well, just adjust the “eyes” settings.
Some races have racial bonuses and those might work better with certain classes. It might be an idea to check this out before making a character. Next to that, every class has their own specific stats that are important if you want to do more damage or have more defence. When levelling up, you get points you can assign or you can equip armor with stats. Next to that, you get some other points so you can improve your attacks or learn new skills. This is divided in two parts though, namely the general powers and the combat powers. The general powers are learned at the start of your character and are a combination of your race and class. These can’t be altered, while combat powers are learned and/or improved when you spend points.
If this isn’t enough, you can also spend ‘heroic points’ in the feats. This is a kind of ‘talent tree’ that will give you quite some boosts. When you have enough points in a certain ‘tree line’, you become more specialized and you get the chance to spend paragon points. These points can still be altered but if you want to improve your character permanently, you will need the ‘boons’. This means that you can get permanent boosts if you clear certain campaigns.
When you’re ready to kick some enemy butt, you need to find quests first. You get one when you first start the game and you will have enough follow-ups. They aren’t that hard to find since you have a neat golden shiny trail you can follow. When you level up, you also get some special quests that give you more information about certain elements in the game (for example: enchanting).
There are some other things you can do as well. You can queue for several events, like skirmishes, dungeons and PVP. These are quite fun to do and you can bring some extra company as well! At Rank 16, you get the possibility to get companions to help you. You can give these helpers a name and some items. They even gain experience and you can level them, so they can help you even more.
Of course, every MMORPG should have professions. There are quite some professions to choose from and you can learn and practice every one of them. You start with only one free profession slot. This means that you can only do one certain activity but it doesn’t mean that you can’t switch between professions. This is a good way to get certain items or you can earn gold this way.
Venturing the big world will make your bags go full with loot. If you want to sell these goodies, you can go to the Trade House and set items for bids or buyouts. You will need Astral Diamonds if you want to buy something though. This rare currency isn’t something you find that easily. You need to refine rough Astral Diamonds. You can get this currency by completing certain daily quests and by invocation. These Astral Diamonds can be used for other things as well, namely they can be traded for Zen. Zen is something that can be bought online as well and is needed to buy the super rare items and certain services.
Overall, the game has a smooth gameplay, although there are some lags now and then. Also, there are loads of pop-ups of players getting special items and it can’t seem to be turned off.
Conclusion
Neverwinter was great on the PC and you will get the same vibe if you play it on the Xbox One. The storyline isn’t any different from the PC version. Both the graphics and the soundtracks are great. Next to that, the game has loads of things to do and offer you a variety of classes and races to select. Neverwinter is still free (although you need a Gold membership) so it is a great game to check out!
Neverwinter (Xbox One) - Review,
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