Neverwinter Nights 2: Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies.
There's an apocryphal cop-out that bad Dungeon Masters are reputed to use whenever they get pissed at their players, or can't figure out how to end an adventure. It's called "Rocks Fall. Everyone Dies." Spoilers (and an explanation) inside.
DM: "Rocks fall. Everyone dies."
For a spoiler which connects this cop-out to the end of Neverwinter Nights 2, scroll down...
Ah, screw it. You deserve to have it spoiled, because there's no reason to wait in anticipation for the ending when it is basically just this:
Rocks fall. Everyone dies.
Neverwinter Nights 2 starts out OK, with a decent storyline, better graphics than its predecessor, and a solid Act 2 wherein the main character inherits a keep and has to go from "attack mode" to "defense mode", building up the keep for a coming attack.
It also features the same character interaction found in the Knights of the Old Republic games, wherein you can influence your NPC companions through dialogue options and side quests.
However, this all collapses in on itself at the end of Act 3, where most of those choices become meaningless. Theoretically up to a half dozen of your companions can choose to turn against you in the end, but realistically it's only one or two, and their deaths -- when you run your sword through them -- are meaningless, with nary a tear shed before you proceed to loot their corpses like anyone else's corpse.
This is to say nothing of the actual ending, after you defeat the bad guy. The moment the final killing blow lands, that's the end of your game. Cue the badly sized-up photoshop slides, with narration done by Jimmy from the mail room. That's right, not even cutscenes, not even pre-rendered video, not even a professional voice actor. Just some guy reading some lines over some slides. That's it. That's the end.
And what is that end? Well, as the title suggests...
Rocks fall. Everyone dies.
You, the hero of the realms, along with 10 or so stalwart companions, all of you 20th level whatevers, with access to the most powerful spells on the planet. Are crushed. Under some rocks. Or something.
Granted, granted, there is a strong hint that you (and your companions) actually survived the rock fall, and entered some alternate plane of existence. But whereas the excellent Planescape: Torment actually showed you wandering off into this alternate existence, this game doesn't even do that much. And so we are left with what we are left with.
You kill the bad guy. Rocks fall. Everyone dies.
It should come as little surprise that the people who foisted this upon us are the same people who did the same thing with Knights of the Old Republic 2, a game infamous for its stunningly stupid ending. Rumor has it that -- as was the case with KOTOR2 -- people have found additional unused content on the NWN2 DVD, content that includes additional plot threads and romances that are left unresolved and open at the end of the game.
Did the developers run out of time? Or money? It must be one or the other. There can be no other reason for the ending, if it can be called that.
Rocks fall. Everyone...
Oh, you know.
The official the ENDING SUCKED thread(spoilerific) (from the Bioware forums)
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Something I should have added above is the stupidity in the storyline that involves notions of death and healing. I have a 20th level cleric in my party carrying a Rod of Resurrection which brings people back from the dead, and yet there are at least two parts in the storyline where key characters are "killed" forever and ever and ever.
NPC: "She's dead."
Me: "But I have this Rod of Resurrection right here."
NPC: "Alas poor character. Forever dead. Nothing to be done for it."
Me: "Really, it only takes 5 seconds. Let me wave this wand and..."
NPC: "The kingdom is lost, now that this great hero is dead. Alas alack."
Me: "But I..."
My condolences, games gone bad are a bummer but it made for a good read. The Rod of Resurrection bit is just classic. I wonder, did they have to cut staff and budget or something?
aeon writes:
** ' NPC: "She's dead."
Me: "But I have this Rod of Resurrection right here."
NPC: "Alas poor character. Forever dead. Nothing to be done for it."
Me: "Really, it only takes 5 seconds. Let me wave this wand and..."
NPC: "The kingdom is lost, now that this great hero is dead. Alas alack." ' **
I busted out laughing at that one. Spot-on.
Reminds me of the scene in the first Austin Powers film where Scotty Evil is like, "You're just gonna leave em on that ridiculous slow-moving lowering mechanism, rely on some mutated sea bass to finish em? You're not even going to watch and make sure?" [Yes, Scotty, just gonna assume it all goes to plan....] "Aww, c'mon, I'll go get my gun, it's in my room, take me twenty seconds, bang! Done! Seriously, we can do it together! Pow! It'll be fun--" [Scotty, you just don't get it, do you?]
Don't you just love cutscenes that take battles out of your hands, and cinematic "plot developments"? 'Especially in RPG's. "You will play the role of a person watching a cutscene supposedly involving the character you rolled up." Where is Wizardry 9 when you need it!