I’m really excited. I’ve been a fan of cRPGs since the Ultima days on my dad’s Apple //e. That interest was renewed with Baldur’s Gate (and it’s expansion Tales of the Sword Coast) (which actually pulled me away from the pool table for months). Icewind Dale (and Heart of Winter and Trials of the Luremaster – which totally rocked!), Baldur’s Gate II (and Throne of Bhaal), Icewind Dale II, Neverwinter Nights (and Shadows of Undrentide and Hordes of the Underdark), Wizards and Warriors, Black and White, Vampire the Masquerade – Redemption… all absolutely great games in my opinion.

Loved them. Lots.

Baldur’s Gate II, in fact, was the main attraction of the first themed LAN party we had. It was at the house Mel and I were renting, and stands out as one of the better LAN parties we took part in. My favorites, of course, being the first few, and the surprise birthday party Mel through for me. That was teh rock.

When I first heard about Neverwinter Nights 2, I was only mildly excited. Interests wax and wane, as they are wont to do. I’d gotten back into pool, and have recently renewed my interest in cycling, and, truth be told, my hardware is out of date. I didn’t feel like spending cash money on something that would really only serve as a gaming platform. However, as pool wanes, cRPGs wax. The movies. It was the movies. That’s what did it. Those movies really convinced me that this is a game I could get in to.

More than that, in a few critical ways, NWN2 seems to combine the best of NWN and the 2nd generation Infinity games. I’ve read some comments that disparage that idea, but for me, it’s exactly what I’ve been wanting. I distinctly remember thinking that combining some of the best features of BGII and IWDII with NWN would make for a killer game. The biggest "flaw", for lack of a better word, was not having more control over the henchmen (called "companions" in NWN2) and their respective inventories. As is typical, the henchmen AI wasn’t stellar, and I’d find myself micromanaging encounters more often than not. In the Infinity games, this was something of an issue, but my experience was that it took a step backwards in NWN. Additionally, BGII added "strongholds" to the mix. A stronghold was a home base of sorts, though management of it was really nothing more than going there every now and again to solve problems when the main story problems got wearisome. I don’t know how strongholds will be implemented in NWN2, but I hope that they’ll involve more pleasurable and relaxing endeavors than simply offering different problems to solve.

All things considered, mating Infinity with Aurora to birth Electron is a Good Thing™, IMHO.

Given the peeks at the game to be released later this year, it looks like I wasn’t alone in those thoughts, and in spite of myself, I’m getting terribly excited. Excited enough to get my budget and monthly expenses in order to see if I can finally afford that desktop replacement laptop I’ve mentioned before. I’m looking at Dell’s XPS M1710