Obsidian's best RPG so far, Mask of the Betrayer (from now on MOTB) boasts compelling, original storytelling... which is ironic for the sequel of a game as narratively trite as Neverwinter Nights 2 (NWN2). Thankfully, MOTB becomes more of a spiritual successor to the masterpiece Planescape: Torment.
Writing is rich, characters unique (from a narcissistic Hagspawn able to access people's dreams to a giant bear spirit), the unusual D&D setting intriguing (not the typical Sword Coast but the exotic Rashemen and other planes of reality). The story starts with the character receiving a mysterious curse; there is an interesting (if not entirely successful) attempt to integrate this crucial plot point into the gameplay.
MOTB inherits many elements from the previous game, both good (character system) and bad (interface, camera); plot is loosely connected with it, but having played NWN2 is not mandatory. The worst consequence of this being a sequel is that it deals with epic-level characters, which is cheese-flavoured D&D at its worst.
Interestingly, all three NWN2 expansions turned out to be better than the original game: MOTB for the high-quality writing, Storm of Zehir for its juicy gameplay ideas and Mysteries of Westgate for being nicely tight, with a total lack of filler content. NWN2 had none of this, with run-on-the-mill plot and characters (boisterous dwarf! mischievous female rogue!), a gameplay tailor-made for an abuse of the resting mechanic, an atrocious amount of filler combat.
Writing is rich, characters unique (from a narcissistic Hagspawn able to access people's dreams to a giant bear spirit), the unusual D&D setting intriguing (not the typical Sword Coast but the exotic Rashemen and other planes of reality). The story starts with the character receiving a mysterious curse; there is an interesting (if not entirely successful) attempt to integrate this crucial plot point into the gameplay.
MOTB inherits many elements from the previous game, both good (character system) and bad (interface, camera); plot is loosely connected with it, but having played NWN2 is not mandatory. The worst consequence of this being a sequel is that it deals with epic-level characters, which is cheese-flavoured D&D at its worst.
Interestingly, all three NWN2 expansions turned out to be better than the original game: MOTB for the high-quality writing, Storm of Zehir for its juicy gameplay ideas and Mysteries of Westgate for being nicely tight, with a total lack of filler content. NWN2 had none of this, with run-on-the-mill plot and characters (boisterous dwarf! mischievous female rogue!), a gameplay tailor-made for an abuse of the resting mechanic, an atrocious amount of filler combat.
