Baldur's Gate 2: Ultimate Collection (Shadows of Amn and Throne of Bhaal)
Rating:  -
Simply put, this is the best CRPG I've ever played. The only recent CRPG that comes close to is NWN:Hordes of the Underdark, and even then it's far too short an experience to make it the equal of BG2 and BG2:TOB. Words cannot express the beauty of this game and many hours I've spent playing it. I've beaten it many times, each time enjoying it. There are several decent mods on the net that add depth to it as well, the most polished of them being The Darkest Day mod, which really fleshes out the gaming experience. I love this game, I'd marry it if marriage wasn't a bankrupt institution and this wasn't a piece of virtual code on a computer instead of a human being.
Rating:  -
Based on a hybrid version of 2nd and 3rd Edition D&D rules, this games allows you to create one character and pickup up to five others to round out your adventuring party. Unlike most games where the NPCs just do what you tell them, these will complain if quests aren't being done, or if they don't like each other (or your actions). There is also character romance between males and females (which can be turned off). In this regard, there is actual role-playing in this game.
The side quests are fun and some are very challenging. The landscapes and monsters are well done visually though much less of BGII is dedicated to wilderness adventures unlike BGI.
The main plot has a good story (and would have made a better movie than the one they made) and has interesting characters. The NPCs are characters that can (and will) affect you in several ways (good and bad).
I gave the game 4 stars instead of 5 based on 2 'issues' (unrelated to AI issues with NPCs getting lost) or interface.
1. At a certain point in the game, it becomes 100% linear. You have no more choices of what to do. Coming about halfway through an amazing game, that was disappointing to see).
2. Some encounters, as you become very powerful, become absolutely ridiculous in terms of how many monsters are present.
Overall a very fun game (it should get 4 1/2 stars). Much better than TOEE, Pool of Radiance 2, and Icewind Dale (all of whom are hack, slash, and repeat a naseum). If Bioware made a 3rd game in this vein, it would be very much worth getting based on BG and BGII.
Rating:  -
The Baldur's Gate Infinity engine really shows its age as you squint at poorly animated, hideously ugly graphics. Graphics do not make a game, of course, but they can help. Here they don't.
Nor does the actual gameplay. Again we're presented with the quasi-realtime combat of the previous Infinity engine games, with nothing improved. So it's just "see enemy, click mouse, wait until battle is over" gameplay again. If you're a spellcaster, you might actually have a useful spell or two this time around, but even if you do, all that means is that you simply keep clicking your "quickspell" button while your little avatar does a two-frame dance. The AI for your allies, as always, is horrendous. Unless you have far more patience for poor gameplay than I do, you'll be tempted just to let them all die and play solo so that you don't have to keep them from doing the most idiotic of manuevers or from wandering off on their own.
The storyline is overblown and melodramatic in the worst possible ways. I felt no connection to any of the characters in the slightest, as every situation they found themselves in was so cliched, so predictable. Alas, the sole redeeming feature of the game is the solid musical score, but that can't carry the game alone.
Rating: -
Let's face it...most computer games you buy will present an interesting novelty for MAYBE a couple months at most before you get bored and retire it to the shelf or sell it used to someone else. Not so with this great game!! It's still novel even after owning it several years!
I can't think of any other game that has been on the market this long and still sells in software stores today for over $10. And for great reason! There are so many ways to play this game that even after three years of trying I STILL haven't explored every facet and possibility! When this game was released in 2000 I wrote it off as a bit too expensive and complex for my taste. The following year the price had dropped slightly and I was itching for a new game, so after reading all the great reviews, I bought it. Wow! I couldn't believe the combination of depth, entertainment value, variety, and graphics a single game could produce!
I can absolutely GUARANTEE that anyone who likes role-playing will love this game. While you only start with a single character, you pick up other NPCs along the way, each one with their own unique personality, race, goals and behavior pattern, splendidly illustrated by voice-over sounds, dialog, and portraits.
Just a few examples...there's Minsc, the bald and brusque ranger who takes all his best advice from a small space hamster Boo, and loves to give any evil a "good butt-kicking!" Viconia, a seductive, almost liquidic evil dark elf (aka drow) who thrives on subtle innuendo and lust for power. And Imoen, the sweet, the innocent, slightly naive but ever-supportive mage who has stood by your side as a sister since childhood. There are a slew of other characters just as interesting, some you can take with you, some to provide you with quest clues, and some who only want to kill you. And you can even romance some of the party characters based on your dialog choices. If you play a male, you can even go so far as to get one of the female characters pregnant! (I won't give away which one).
The many possible permutations of the game let your quests and sub-quests vary greatly, depending on factors such as who you have in your party, your alignment, your ability scores, your class of choice, who you might choose to romance, and in some cases even the items you carry. Change any one or more of these and you are presented with different plot lines and conversation choices for your many quests. But one thing in common with ALL plot lines is that none are boring, and many will make you laugh. In repeat play, I saved every 2 minutes just to explore the different possible quest and dialog paths.
I think I've played this game about 60 times now, and I'm STILL happily exploring it.
Another pleasant thing about this game, if you are an advanced computer hacker, is that it is relatively easy to modify...which, naturally, has produced PLENTY of unofficial expansions and modifications available on the web, providing you with even more ways to play (my personal favorite is a modification called "The Darkest Day", which you can easily pick up from any web search engine).
In a nutshell...I can't think of a better PC game investment than this one in terms of playing time, interest, entertainment, humor, and modifiability, than to buy BG2. Still going strong 4 years after release!
Rating: -
This is a remarkably good value for a game set that will entertain you for hundreds of hours (if you do all the side quests and everything). It tells a good story, provides you with ample chances to exercise tactically-sophisticated combat, and is overall just a lot of fun to play. The character interactions and romances are an added bonus, as they help flush out the game world.
I hesitate to give this game five stars, since there are certainly better games out there (Planescape: Torment, for one). But, when I think back on how much time I devoted to this game and how much I enjoyed every second of it, I realize that games really don't come much better than this.
Highly recommended, particularly if you have a couple hundred hours to kill.
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