by Adam Miller

Pros
•  excellent story
•  choices that make a dramatic difference
•  dream sequences bolster production value
•  many surprises that keep you on your toes constantly
•  henchman system carried over from the Shadowlords series

Cons
•  no experience for combat

The Bottom Line - Definitely one of the elite NWN modules thus far. 

Download - Module and Hak Pak 

Review

The old expression "practice makes perfect" applies to this module beautifully. The author has taken his experiences from his Shadowlords series, arguably the best module series until this one, and raised the bar for all module makers. In fact, the author has done such an excellent job that he deserves to be a part of the official Neverwinter Nights development team. 

From the very first dream sequence that opens the game, you realize that this module is going to be something special. Thankfully, the module only gets better from there as you constantly interact with a wide variety of characters on a plethora of quests. During these interactions, all of your choices have significant meaning as you must use your instincts to guide you. One wrong choice can change your alignment substantially and probably get you killed in the process. For example, a woman is hiding from a man in the cellar and you have to decide what to do about it. Situations like that one come up through out the module and the choices you have to make really draw you into the game.

The only downside to the module is something that some people may or may not agree with: no experience points for combat. Yes, this system goes away from the standard hack and slash model that has been done to death, but there should still be a balance. Getting zero experience points from an enemy that takes a minute or so to kill seems a little harsh. 

Moving past that, the story is excellent since it is filled with many turns and twists. The henchman system from the Shadowlords returns to further boost the story with a few surprises this time. The special effects with the dream sequences are nice, but what really sets Dreamcatcher Part 1 apart from other modules is the number of times that it will genuinely surprise you. If you want to play a highly deep and entertaining game for a few hours, there is no better module than this first installment of the Dreamcatcher series (at least until the other installments are played and reviewed).

Game Ogre's Rating (out of 10):

9.50

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