Neverwinter Nights 2 - latest details

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Sick of being a homeless adventurer? This slick sequel promotes you to full-fledged warlord

Promising a huge, story-intensive quest, endless battles and tools to customizeit however you like, Neverwinter Nights 2 looks to have everything an RPG fan could want. We don't know yet how it plays, but we recently got another, deeper look at the game's pieces. And don't let the oddly boring, publisher-issueImages and Movies fool you - Neverwinter Nights 2 looks incredible.

We've alreadycoveredsome of the basics of this Dungeons & Dragons -themed RPG. Now, we'veexplored the character-creation system, which will offer 12 starting classes (fighter, cleric, ranger, etc.),plus 17 "prestige" classes - more specialized jobs that can be adopted later. A mage, for example, might become a necromancy-focused Pale Master, while a thief could become an assassin.

We also got a look at the new Warlock class, which apparently comes with kickass destructive spells (we only saw one, but it involved laying down huge walls of flame, and that's cool by us).

But probably the biggest change from the first Neverwinter Nights is that this time, you get a stronghold. About halfway through the game, you'll be given domain over your very own castle keep, which you can build up by recruiting specialized workers, soldiers and other hirelings. To help direct their energies, train them and generally keep things running smoothly, you'll give orders to a steward, who also looks after the place when you're away.

Mikel Reparaz
Mikel Reparaz
After graduating from college in 2000 with a BA in journalism, I worked for five years as a copy editor, page designer and videogame-review columnist at a couple of mid-sized newspapers you've never heard of. My column eventually got me a freelancing gig with GMR magazine, which folded a few months later. I was hired on full-time by GamesRadar in late 2005, and have since been paid actual money to write silly articles about lovable blobs.