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| Neverwinter Nights 2 Expansion Pack: Mask of the Betrayer | 
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| From: Atari
Category: Video Games
List Price: $19.99
Buy New: $7.00
You Save: $12.99 (65%)
New (28) Used (2) from $7.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  30 reviews
Sales Rank: 1124
Platforms: Windows 2000, Windows Xp, Windows 98
ESRB: Teen
Media: DVD-ROM
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: No
Age: 12 - 20 years
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 0.1 x 0.1 x 0
MPN: 27559
UPC: 742725275591
EAN: 0742725275591
ASIN: B000R2WIE2
Release Date: October 9, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 worth the wait, not worth the hassle May 12, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
i put this game on pre-order the moment that i heard they were coming out with it. after months of anticipation, it arrived and i immediately installed it, and played it for a few hours. when i loaded it up again, it would not work. after combing through the Atari forums, i was able to discern that the product had some bugs that could be fixed via patch. the automatic updater would not work, so i had to download all of the patches individually, un-install then re-install both the base game and the expansion, and finally was able to play the game normally.
having such problems in the beginning put me off, naturally, but the game once working properly was well worth the wait - and it made the hoop jumping only just tolerable enough. a good game nonetheless, and newer versions of the expansion being made today have the patches included. i wish they had worked through the problems before mine shipped.
 Mask of Boredom April 23, 2008
2 out of 6 found this review helpful
Mask of Boredom
(Note this main contain Spoilers')
I'm not exactly sure why this game received a higher rating then NWN2-baffles me really. MOB is a terrible game with a boring storyline. The companions in this game were just as boring. They didn't interact with each other like in NWN2. Most of your companions were way too serious and acted more like stone animations then letting them come off as real people.
Furthermore later on in the game you soon find out about most of your former companions in NWN2. Most are either dead or missing. I found this to be a rather brutal way of just eliminating them. The companions in NWN2 I grew quite fond of them because of how much they interacted with each other and they really came off as if they had real feelings. With that I was really ticked off Ammon came up and said, "Oh by the way your former lover, Casivir is dead." This was rather heartless of the developers. You're only able to interact and grow your relationship with him towards the end of the game and now you found out he is dead. I really did enjoy my female character being involved with Casivir. They should have allowed him to live and allowed you to try and find him at some point. Maybe in the future they will bring him and have more adventures with more of your former companions.
The world you are in this game looks too dark and depressing and you're forced on some quest that in the end doesn't make any sense, leaving numerous questions unanswered.
Again I still say they should have allowed your character to continue on adventuring through Neverwinter instead of being in this boring land and with this boring story arch.
I do have to agree with people the spirit eating bar is rather annoying and really becomes the focus of your game then actually being able to do other things. Also the "new" Rest system they have in the game ticked me off, I preferred the rest in NWN2.
Looting is this game was crap, most of the time you end up getting essences off the enemies' you defeat, basically forcing you to craft items. Look I don't like crafting, it's too time consuming. I guess the developers were taking the lazy route and didn't want to come up with any new items for the game.
The end of the game made me somewhat happy (I got the good ending) seeing as to how I finally was able to go back to West Harbor. But once again it didn't make sense. It said at the end if you choose to take back up the role of Knight-Captain or find some other adventure is a tale for another time. Oh yeah my character just saved all of Fauren, got a sliver shard ripped from her chest, got some spirit eating curse on her and nearly died because of it and too add found out most of her companions are either dead or missing, including her former lover. Yeah, I'm sure my female character is so looking forward to finding something else to screw her over.
Bottom line watching paint dry is more fun than this Game. The developers need to look at Fable and Oblivion for references. I know they're trying something new, but honestly, it's just not working for me.
 A game that ended a 4-year slump on the RPG market March 29, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
21st century hasn't been a particularly good era for RPGs. Despite its fast start (Baldur's Gate 2 and Arcanum) a downhill trend as far as RPG quality is concerned soon became apparent. With Vampire: Bloodlines (2004) being the last quality RPG and still failing to achieve commercial success, followed by demise of Troika games, RPG market became dominated by generic RPGs, exploring generic setting, with generic protagonist and generic NPCs, generic plots and generic dialogues suitable for cerebrally challenged audience. Paragons of RPG dumbification were Morrowind and especially Oblivion, where the essence of RPG, choice and consequence, was utterly lost and dialogues were, to say it mildly, retarded (so they can match Radiant AI). Unfortunately, since both mentioned games were appealing to a wider, less demanding audience, other developers followed suit and quality on the RPG market was nowhere to be found.
Unlike its predecessor (the original NWN 2 campaign), which was a huge disappointment, Mask of the Betrayer excells in almost every RPG aspect. A very interesting plot takes place in a rarely explored setting of Rashemen, with its unique connection to the world of spirits and the main theme. NPCs and the main characters are well developed through dialogues and plot advancement, with NPCs motives and personalities exposed clearly and in an intriguing manner. I haven't encountered such well written dialogue, interesting plot and compelling characters since Planescape: Torment (1999). Main theme represents a refreshing addition to the game mechanics as well. There are plenty of choices, both those regarding the main theme and those not directly connected to it, and naturally, most of those choices entail distinct consequences for the game world and the player.
So, this game has managed to capture the essence of RPG gaming on PC and hopefully it will help reverse the trend of simplification of RPGs. I consider it among the top 10 games I've ever played.
At least as good as Fallout, Deus Ex, and HotU... February 27, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Just as Hordes of the Underdark was much better than the original campaign of Neverwinter Nights, so is Mask of the Betrayer everything the original campaign of Neverwinter Nights 2 should have been, but wasn't. In NWN 2, whatever you chose to do in almost whichever situation, the result was always the same. In the trial episode, for example, you always ended up fighting in the arena, the outcome of the trial had no consequences. In Mask of the Betrayer, real choices with consequences abound. The story itself is much more imaginative. The milieu has some magic in it (though it's not as enchanting as much of Hordes of the Underdark). The combat is more difficult than in NWN 2, though still perhaps too easy. The curse that some reviewers have complained about can make things very interesting for you. I tried to beat the game as fast as I could, so I never learned to control my spirit hunger, and by the time I got to visit what was left of the former God of Death, I had to devour him to satisfy my spirit hunger (the meter was close to zero, and I was about to perish). Succumbing to hunger in such a grand way turned me into a ravening spirit eater for the rest of the game. This path had its good sides, such as continuous True Seeing, but it also made resting more difficult (resting for 8 hours would take away half of my spirit energy, when it previously had taken much less). In the end, the Betrayer's mask remained broken, most of its pieces hidden, and I chose to turn on gods themselves. Well, it's an immersive game. They should make more of these, not the garbage that the original campaign was. The curse was a great idea, and very well implemented.
 Great Engine Bad Story February 13, 2008
0 out of 4 found this review helpful
Neverwinter Nights 2 MotB Has a great engine battles are fun. Bad guys use decent tactics they attack your healers and swarm to your offensive casters.
The Plot however leaves much to be desired. With out giving away to much your end choices much like the end of the first game leave you ruined. (Unless you decide to go evil in which case you become a world killer)
Sorry just not my cup of tea.
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