Considering GameJackal? Better act fast...

[AstralWanderer]

Getting back OT, I did install a trial version of GameJackal and can confirm that it works with the latest version (121.1549) of Neverwinter Nights 2 : Storm of Zehir (using SecuROM 7.38). Including the NWN2 profile, it takes up 50.31MB of disk space (30MB of that appears to be due to the profile) and adds 29.95KB data to the Windows Registry, which arguably isn't too bad for the functionality it offers.

Creating a profile is pretty easy to do (you need the original CD/DVD obviously) as is running it afterwards (you can create a shortcut that starts GameJackal, loads the profile and starts the game). The game takes a little longer to start than normal (about an extra 10 seconds) but CD-checks themselves can exceed this.

In terms of updates, the GameJackal Updates.txt file refers to previous versions being released on a weekly/fortnightly basis (35 updates since the 15th February 2008). This shows that it is being actively supported and should work with new games within a few weeks of release (gamers are best served waiting for the first patch before purchasing anyway).

The downside for me is the interface which is one of those "we-dont-care-about-standard-look-and-feel" types with multiple skins, all guaranteed to mismatch with your current desktop.

Overall, given the functionality it offers (CD image creation, drive/protection emulation, automatic image mounting) Game Jackal seems pretty compact. The profiles can take up a fair amount of space, but far less than a full ISO image or the game itself (NWN2 with its 2 expansions weighs in at 11.24GB). If you can bear its looks, it's worth checking out.

However the licensing change by SlySoft in the next couple of days is going to change GameJackal's attractiveness a lot - it is the type of software that needs frequent updates to keep pace with protection updates and having a yearly fee to pay (even with a discount) will make it far more costly long-term. Kudos to them for having (and keeping) the lifetime licence for this long though - companies doing this are increasingly rare.