User Reviews (11 - 21 of 148)

Show these reviews first:

Highest Rated
Lowest Rated Newest
Oldest Most Helpful
Least Helpful

A step up in D&D computer gaming

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 14 / 16
Date: December 04, 2000
Author: Amazon User

I've played D&D since 1978, and played all of the D&D computer products (yes, ALL of them) since the very first Gold Box hit the shelves sometime around 1988. And Baldur's Gate is an incredible step up for those of us used to the too-linear game format from those games. Baldur's Gate is innovative in that you can choose where your party goes. Even though the flow of the storyline is still controlled by a 'chapter' method, you can still have leeway as to where your party goes. Usually, though, unless you follow a general storyline (which is laid out for you rather well; it doesn't leave you scratching your head wondering what to do next), you'll end up stepping into an area that you weren't meant to step into until you were a much higher level - and you end up getting wiped out. (If you want an example, when you first head for the Friendly Arm Inn in the beginning of the game, try going north to the farm. Have fun with the ankhegs!) The story centers on you, the main character. You choose the character you want, and if you're familiar with D&D you'll find nothing different here. All the other members in your party are NPC's, and therefore computer controlled. You do have a measure of direction over them, by altering AI 'scripts' to govern how they behave in certain situations. And, if you don't feel like messing with that, you have the option of turning the AI and directing them all on your own. They still communicate with each other, though, which is entertaining. Try having a Good NPC and an Evil NPC in your party, and watch as they make verbal jabs at each other. I was at first skeptical of the combat system, until I realized that the Pause button is there to alleviate those exact concerns I had. You can stop the action and then assign tasks to all your party members, then unpause it to let them carry out their missions. Sometimes, though, when fighting many baddies you will see a character kill his/her opponent, then stand there like a dummy while the others are fighting on. This is why, if you turn off the AI, you need to keep an eye on your party. Spellcasting is somewhat more difficult, in that you click on an icon representing the spell you want to cast. Sometimes, this is a pain if you don't know the symbol and have to right click on it or leave the pointer over it to let the game identify the spell. Otherwise it is very simple; click on the spell, click where you want it to go, and it happens. The game comes with a few voices for your character that you pick while generating him/her. I don't like any of them, and you're also going to get tired of the limited number of character portraits. But, there are websites out there just for this problem; you can download more pictures of characters and voice-overs to give the game more enjoyment. All in all it is an excellent game, and it makes me wonder if things have advanced this far in twenty-two years, what the heck will we be playing in another twenty-two years?

AD&D really come to life.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 10
Date: December 14, 1999
Author: Amazon User

If you're into RPG's and are looking for a computer game to mirror the AD&D world then THIS IS IT. If you're into exploring a realm and discovering it's secrets then THIS IS IT. The multiple choice dialog approaches real Role-playing. Rules, items, character classes, etc, come directly from AD&D.

As the main character in the story, you've got a series of tasks to complete. These major plot sequences help you discover your hidden past and possible future. Many minor sub-plots fill the story out with lots of flavor. The outcome of some encounters depend upon your characteristics or maybe who's in your party with you.

Magic, weapons, items, strategy, diplomacy, tactics, personality... it's all there. This software is very true to it's genre. I can't wait for the sequels.

Good for hardcore gamers and RPers

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 10 / 10
Date: May 03, 2000
Author: Amazon User

One of the things that always made D&D annoying for me to play was that the GM could rarely be completely cold and fair in regards to die rolls. sometimes the GM would pick a favorite class or a favorite PC and they'd always come out better than others. Well, in Baldur's Gate the GM is the computer so everything is fair and impartial.

On the singleplayer aspect the game is fun. You can be whatever type of person you want to be and do whatever you want. You can be a noble paladin ot a scoundrel thief... it's up to you. As you progress through the game you gain experience and abilities and learn more and more about why people are hunting you.

On multiplayer it can be fun if you have the right group. The story is the same as it is in singleplayer except one member of your party is the main character while the rest of the group are backups. If you have a group with enough imagination you can have a game that lives up to any tabletop D&D game.

In actual gameplay, a lot of what you do is travel from place to place and quest. Sometimes you encounter people who want to talk to you and sometimes you run into a pack of monsters to kill. The interface reminds me a bit of Diablo, but the games are not clones of each other, I assure you.

Although the game is slightly buggy that cleared right up with a patch. I also like the ability to customize your character portraits and sounds, it makes the roleplaying aspect all the more real.

Simply put the best PC RPG ever!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 11 / 12
Date: May 18, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Thats right, the best ever. Well at least the best I've ever played. But before I gloss BG's upsides, I'll address its few downsides. First off, the cheats for this game make cheating hard to resist. If you know how to access the cheat menu, you can spawn any item in the game. WEAK! And trust me, it's hard not to create Drizit's Defender +5. Also, the ammount of Fed-Ex quests (go all the way accross the game world and bring me back a pair of boots kind of quests) make for a few mundane moments. But if you plan it out right, they shouldn't really set you off course. Now for the upsides to BG. The game uses all of the AD&D rules, which might scare off quite a few gamers, but unless you know AD&D rules, you won't notice any changes. The game engine is sweet, all of the spells look great and flow seemlessly into the action. You can import customized character appearances and sounds (oh yeah, there is very little voice scripting for each character) and also import and export your characters at will. The plot is enthraling at it worst, and the NPC's really spice up the experiance. All in all, the single best RPG I've ever played. Better than Diablo, oh yeah. As much as I love Diablo, where Diablo lacks, BG more than makes up for. Interplay, or more specificly, Black Isle & BioWare, have established themselves as the premier RPG studios in the business. (Don't ya wish Ultima IX was designed by them instead of EA) With the success of BG and the Fallout series (also amazing games) I won't hesitate to pick up any further titles designed by BioWare or Black Isle. With BG 2 coming out later this year, as well as Icewind Dale, which is out at the beginning of June, and the release of Neverwinter Nights, and with the recent announcement of Fallout: Tactics BOS, its going to be a big year of RPG's. And that doesn't even count Diablo II. To sum it all up, if you like RPG's, and you can't wait for either BG 2 or Diablo II, buy BG. Without a doubt my favorite game of all time, and not too many will argue that it is one of the greatest titles ever.

Finally, a faithful yet fun adaptation of AD&D

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 12 / 14
Date: August 05, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Baldur's Gate is the first great AD&D game for the computer to come along since the Gold Box games from SSI. (I didn't really enjoy the Eye of the Beholder series.) This translation to the world of computer gaming is the most faithful yet, disallowing such Gold Box quirks as spellcasting while armored. Fortunately, Bioware did make some changes in the interest of gameplay balance. For example, Cure Light Wounds always heals 8 hp, not just d8 -- a boon since you begin at level 1 and have many battles to get through.

The emphasis is definitely on adventuring and combat; the story is acceptable at best. (The ending is particularly non-spectacular.) With respect to combat, some abilities do seem overpowered. In particular, Baldur's Gate imposes none of the penalties on archery that a good DM would: you can continue to rain arrows upon an enemy engaged in melee with you, and you can fire into melees without ever hitting anyone besides your intended target. A friend of mine used the Sanctuary spell to disgusting effect: while the enemies stand around pointedly "ignoring" the enchanted priest, the other party members rain death upon them. Also somewhat jarring are the NPCs who initiate conversations with you even while invisible or hidden (to prevent the player from "breaking" the plot).

But playing Baldur's Gate can be an immensely fun experience. Frankly, this is what AD&D is meant to be, translated on to your computer screen. You explore, meet deadly monsters and quirky NPCs, gain in power and magic, find neat magical weaponry and people to join your party.

Some advice: - Don't get hung up on "maxing" out your characters. Unless you enjoy being a munchkin, just have fun and do what your character would do. I found myself trying too hard to win battles without using any of my wand charges or potions, adding to my frustration and leaving me with unused wands and potions at the end of the game. - You don't need to keep all the letters and notes you find. The important ones end with, "(This looks important. You should hang on to it.)" This is important because a single letter or gem takes the same amount of space as a suit of plate mail or an Ankheg carcass. - Summoned monsters are very useful, and don't feel as cheap as exploiting Sanctuary or archery. - If you're having trouble with the Warrior Skeletons (heh), the newest patch purports to weaken them a bit.

Diablo? Ha!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 12 / 14
Date: November 03, 2000
Author: Amazon User

If you are like the many blinded PC gamers, than you might believe that Diablo is the ultimate RPG. Let me guide you to the light. Diablo is a good game because of its great multi-player system and more action-based controls. Baulder's gate is so much larger. Diablo had 1 disc, 1 town, and a mere 16 levels under it. Not to mention how small the town was. Baulders Gate has tons of settlements, as well as several large cities. There is a whole world in Baulder's Gate, and it has 5 discs (6 including the expansion.) It is so much bigger, and with the original and the expansion it takes up about the same amount of space as Diablo 2. You can control up to 6 heroes in your party, where in Diablo you control one. Also, every piece of clothing, armor, or weapons changes your character's appearance, where in Diablo only certain classes of weapons change the appearance. Plus there are many more classes. Diablo 2's big accomplishment was that there were 5 classes to chose from, which all look exactly alike to start with. In Baulder's Gate there are many classes, such as the Ranger, Fighter, Cleric, Mage, Thief, and so on. Also, any class can be a selection of mythical people, including Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Halfings, Gnomes, and Half-Elves. And at anytime during the game you can modify your character's appearance. So, if you are looking for a great on and offline RPG, forget Diablo and get Baulder's Gate!

As Great as You've Heard

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 11
Date: December 15, 1999
Author: Amazon User

OK. Just thought I'd chime in with the chorus. This is the MOST ADDICTIVE computer game I have ever played (and I've been playing them since you had to spend hours typing in code from magazines to play simple DOS text only games). I don't get into to the shoot-um-up games; I like story line and puzzles to solve, etc, so I usually play adventure games. I played D&D years ago and so enjoyed a return to the RPG format when I received this game as a gift. It's the best of all worlds. The Tales of the Sword Coast pack adds more depth and challenge - puzzles and better side quests. Some parts of the game do move too slow and the monsters tend to get more numerous rather than more complex as you go through. My only complaint is the abrupt ending. You finally get through this horrible battle and the game just stops. You can't even plunder the bodies much less have closer to the quest. All-in-all its worth the money and the hours-upon-months you'll spend playing.

Even when you hate it, you still love it

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 11
Date: April 07, 2000
Author: Amazon User

I've been playing RPG's for quite a few years, and have played quite a few of the old AD&D titles but hadn't seen anything that really interested me since Ultima VII (VIII was a bit of a dog - I never finished). By the time I got bored about halfway through Eye of the Beholder III, I thought I'd had it with AD&D. But then I saw so much written about BG, and from the reviews, etc. I knew I would love it, so I rushed out and bought a new PC, and BG (bundled with TSC) was the first thing I loaded.

Let me tell you, this is a serious GAME! Six CD's of it! You have to do some serious character generation and a lot of preparation before you get going. As stated by other reviewers, your characters die at the drop of a hat in the early parts - no wonder people resort to cheating when your characters start off so weak and so poor. I ended up doing a few early quests and importing my character (which imports with gained experience intact!), loaded up with as many arrows as I could carry and started again at Level 3. That meant Imoen was Level 4 when we met, and we could start kicking some butt.

I still haven't finished (have finished Chapter 6 and off to Durlag's Tower next) but I'm still challenged. And for all those lamenting about the loss of turn-based combat - did they never find the PAUSE key (spacebar) which allows you to simulate it? The AI only really works with very weak opponents or to alert you to enemies while trekking through the beautifully rendered scenery. Luckily, I have a big enough hard disk to load the entire game, because the CD shuffle got really annoying very quickly.

Looking at the (many) BG sites, it seems this game has obsessed people to the point where they have played it over and over with characters of different races, classes, alignments, etc. I will be glad when I get to the end, and even though I love it, I can't imagine why I'd want to play it again - after all, when you know how it ends, why bother. And there are so many other games to play. Already can't wait for BG2.

Best Game, ever

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 11
Date: March 24, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I bought BG about 6 or 7 years ago, I loved it. Now (2006) I started again playing... even if the graphics isn't as good as the later games, it's still an incredible game, and I believe it's even better than BG2 and all those other ones like Icewind Dale or Neverwinter Nights...
Baldur's Gate (1 & 2) have a LONG Gameplay (I read it was about 400 hours) but you will never get tired of them!
I can assure you that, if you like fantasy, D&D and stuff like that, you must have this game; and even if you don't REALLY LOVE fantasy, you will like it.

By the way, it works fine on Window$ XP without having to use comatibility...

Enjoy!!!

'... the stuff of legends!'

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 11 / 13
Date: December 28, 1999
Author: Amazon User

RPGs have been my favourite type of game ever since the days of the Commodore 64, so naturally I was very exited when I first heard about Baldurs Gate. The one thing I have never liked about most computer RPGs is turned-based fighting which in addition to not being very realistic, also disrupts the gameflow. BG has found a near-perfect way of dealing with combat though; its all real-time, but you get the option to pause the game to issue your orders. It also adds a way of 'programming' your characters so how they react (or if they react at all) when specific situations arise, is entirely up to the player.

As for the game itself, one of the things I found very appealing is that BG has hundreds of quests, but its up to the player wether or not he/she wishes to complete most of these. There are some you will have to complete to finish the game, but most of them can be done or left alone depending on how you feel about it. It's possible to finish this game without having seen a lot of the locations and having met a lot of the characters, but this will of course also mean missing out on a lot of the fun. Oh and the characters you meet along the way (NPCs) are a chapter of their own. They all have their own unique personality and for the party to function as well as it should, you should pay some attention to which personalities you bring along with you in your quests. NPCs will also interact with you and the other characters by offering advice or telling you just how they like (or don't like usually) a situation or action. The atmosphere of the game is one of the best reasons for why I (and many others) keep coming back to this game. The graphics are great and full of details and the sound is absolutly stunning. I hardly every play games with the game-music turned on, but with Baldurs Gate I make an exception. This game has some of the best scores I have ever heard in a game, and the kind of music varies depending on your location and situation. My favourite is 'Streets of the city' (not sure if that's the official name btw), which plays while you're walking through some of the towns. It is a wonderfully melodious tune which is almost reason enough to buy the game in itself.

If you enjoy RPGs I can almost promise you you'll love Baldurs Gate. If you're new to RPGs, then BG is the perfect place to start with a friendly interface and a a first level which can be played almost like a tutorial with friendly monks telling you how to do this and that. And if you don't like RPGs... well, BG might change all of that :) But you'll probably want to try it somewhere before buying it if that's the case.

Review Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next 

Actions