by Robert Workman on Monday, September 08, 2008
Legions of Neverwinter Nights fans will be pleased to know that the next expansion in the ongoing massively-multiplayer online role-playing series, Storm of Zehir, hits shelves this fall.
The new adventure adds several new features, starting with party customization. This enables you to enhance your party members, balancing them on your own terms in order to keep up with incoming enemies. There will also be more dungeon crawling than ever before, along with a new non-linear game world, which unfolds with the help of an Overland Map. All of this ties together with the next chapter in the Dungeons and Dragons series, set for release mid-2009. In the meantime, Zehir will keep you plenty busy.
As the story goes, King of Shadows suffered a vicious defeat, leaving the Sword Coast battered by a terrible economy. Trade syndicates have begun to surface, with greedy barters taking advantage of post-war confusion amidst the community. Your players find themselves in a moral dilemma, right in the thick of this newly arisen market. You can either steal and sell goods to the black market for personal gain in Faerun, or create trade empires with your friends. These will increase your fortunes and experience significantly, both necessary for battling an evil serpent named Yuan-Ti.
With the new Overland Map, you're able to freely explore two new areas in the game, the Chultan Peninsula and the Sword Coast. These non-linear areas tie in with other familiar locales in the game, including the Neverwinter and Crossroad Keep, along with the lush, tropical jungles of Samarach. You'll keep an eye on your party and others using the Overland map, watching out for groups of monsters and traveling soldiers. Sometimes you'll want to stay close to these parties, however. The more divided you get, the more dangerous and unpredictable your travels become. Of course, some players don't mind that. Just don't say we didn't warn you.
Along with improved environmental detail and hours of customization and market expansion, Storm of Zehir also includes multiplayer. Several improvements are available, and modders who love tweaking their performance can use the Overland Map to extend their strength and flexibility over others.
Best of all, creating a customized party from the ground up should make this experience feel more personal. You call upon a number of customized soldiers to do your bidding, such as fireball-throwing Sorcerers, Fighters and other classes, all of which possess various techniques.
Neverwinter Nights fanatics and hardcore players alike should enjoy Storm of Zehir, as it adds more of what fans love and several compelling new features. We'll return with the final verdict once the game ships this November.
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