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This Is Simply The Greatest Roleplaying Game Ever Made!!!!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 10
Date: September 29, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Baldur's Gate 2 is not only the culmination of many hours of work put together by the current staff who developed the game but is the culmination of many years of hard work by a number of other companies and scores of other people. This is the game that was envisioned years ago when AD&D was originally introduced on the PC. What you have here is a true roleplaying game based upon AD&D the way it was supposed to be. It is so non-linear that it seems every choice you make will lead you in another direction. It seems that every alliance you form causes others to break. If your characters in your party don't like your actions they will let you know about it. Your characters have real backgrounds that affect the outcome of certain situations. There are numerous quests to pursue to improve your reputation. There are tons of magical weapons and such to purchase with your spoils of war. Some examples would include the scimitar and katana. The non-player-characters seem to have real goals in mind and throughout the first few chapters you seem just a pawn at their disposal performing various tasks. The villain is as sadistic as they come and the wonderful voice acting leads to a hatred of his evil ways. The icing on the cake is that you have access to numerous classes and races, as well as specialist classes like the wizard slayer and bounty hunter. You even have the opportunity to be the Lord of your own manor. For me, that is really a cool aspect. It is a really nice touch. The game plays smoothly at 800 * 600 resolution at 32 bit color and graphics are hardware accelerated at times with OpenGl compatible graphics cards. The sound is great in both music and sound effects. From the clash of steel to the scream of pain and the epic score you will be immersed in the world of Amn. Baldurs Gate 2 is what roleplaying should be and involves strategy. You need to have a balanced party and cannot hope to be victorious without a good balance of magic and steel at your disposal. Buy it now and good luck in completing the journey. If you create a new character, and can reduce his or her charisma to three, use the points left to bolster your other stats. Trust me, you can increase that charisma to 18 with an item that you find early in the game.

sort of.... dreary

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 20 / 41
Date: March 11, 2005
Author: Amazon User

It is difficult to stand against the onslaught of love and respect for this game. And I'm not saying don't try this game. Too many people loved it for me to expect you to go by my experience, but I do want to share with you my different perspective.

First off, looking back, I don't hate Baldur's gate. It has it's virtues. Its just that after 20 or so hours it began to weigh on me, leaving me with a feeling heavy, bleak, and insistent. In taking up computer games as a hobby a year ago it was one of the first games I played or really got into. Fascination rolled into addiction and addiction rolled into a kind of dread and tedium. Finally I realized I didn't actually have to play this game anymore. So I didn't. This may seem like an obvious solution to you, but then you don't actually know me so well.

Enough preamble. I like to rate games based on categories that I find important to me and so I will do that below on a scale of say 1 to 10. How's that?

Story: 4, I'll admit my predispositions here, and also that not actually getting more than a third of the way through this game limits me a little, but I do feel I got the main idea. My predisposition is that I long for a computer game that is story driven effectively and actually works as a good story. Story is always such a distant second to gameplay that you end up with these half hour stories built into 15 to 60 hour games. Generally they either make little sense, or fade into a weird sequel nothingness in the end (hello half life 2, beyond good and evil (good games both nevertheless)). I have tried so many, do actually like many games, but have been underwhelmed repeatedly as far as story. Baldur's had the advantage that I was new to gaming and so hadn't seen all it's conventions before, even if they were familiar. In this game you wake up in a prison cell and have a secret destiny. Yeah yeah yeah. It's actually not too bad though and the quality of some of the characters helps, but, and I think this might be the key problem, in order to create an open ended world, provide a variety of quests, and give the good/evil option as it were, the whole thing comes completely apart at the seams. The story falls apart into ridiculousness except the game pretends it hasn't and you're supposed to too. Just to start you spend hours struggling to break out of a dungeon you have no knowledge of even though a member of your party broke in to get you. Wouldn't she have some helpful information? How did she manage it in the first place? So much of this game is full of stuff like this. Its been awhile so I'm fuzzy, but could come up with quite a few more examples, like places where the sense of what is good and effective to do in the game defies the reality of your characters as actual people. In my opinion you can have a very linear game (problem is too few options as a player unless it's done perfectly), or a completely wide open, basically questless game (problem is it feels kind of pointless unless it's done perfectly and beautifully) or you can have a reality defying muddle in the middle of the two. Baldur's takes this last path I am afraid. Still, I would have sort of liked to see how it all turned out if I didn't have to slog through so very much stuff and time to get to it.

Characters: 7 or 8, very good. Love the pictures. Voices excellent. Really nicely done, though after awhile hearing them say the same phrases hundreds of times was hard to take. Also the story caused them to do things completely out of character at times.

Gameplay: 5, I prefer less difficulty in games and would have appreciated a difficulty level system very much. There is a lot of fighting, managing your stuff and fighting some more and its that d and d dice rolling fighting that can look very strange (big guy with huge sword swings at weakened creature just standing there and misses wildly). It often left me feeling faintly like it wasn't working and that the game didn't do what was in the queues for my characters even though I suppose it really was.

Graphics: 6, nice general visual design and though its dated now its pretty powerful in the sense of mood it imparts (though see below). I mean it really did affect me in an almost dreamlike way for awhile. It was a bit of a letdown in terms of giving me a sense of wonder though.

Dreariness factor: 1, cold, chill and frequently joyless. That's how I found it. Some of the character humor helped a little, especially the nicer characters, but so much killing and grim characters and so little relief or oasis or real rewards or lightness in comparison. Plus I felt burdened by the way the quests could just sort of pile up on you and all be emergencies.

Technical issues: I always feel this is so subjective as you never know what will be a problem with your computer, but a few small or weird glitches were really awful for me. I couldn't get downstairs in one place, something crucial disappeared in another.

Learning factor: 4, had a tutorial level which maybe I wouldn't find too confusing with the experience I have now in games, but I really wish it had been more clear and specific.

Product materials: 5, a nice start, decent book, but really quite incomplete.

Chore factor: 2, well, you know, so many rooms of so many monster things to really get anywhere. I really did feel burdened.

Difficulty: 3, kind of already discussed but I'll add that everything seemed either kind of hard to kill or quite hard to kill, it would have been nice and even appropriate if some things had been very easy too. I will repeat I might have lasted longer with an easy or moderately easy setting, but it still would've gotten to me in the end.

Game saves: 7, a pretty good save anytime system only flawed by an inability to save in combat, which, if I recall, could sometimes sneak up on you and then it was too late.

Conclusion: I find when I write negative reviews of really popular and respected games (gta vice city is a good example) people tend to say its not helpful, and if I like them its very helpful, but sometimes I think they maybe already played the game and think it's some kind of contest these reviews (then of course, maybe they just think its not a very informative review). I'm just telling you my reaction here and my thoughts. A lot of people gave this classic game 5 stars. I really think this game could've been alot better.

Baldur's gate made me think maybe I don't like rpgs too much, but I am currently pretty far along in star wars knights of the old republic and very much like it.

great game, but...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 11
Date: September 25, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Although Interplay/Bioware/Black Isle has definitely produced the greatest D&D game EVER, my experience with BGII has not been stellar thus far. I've had a number of problems with the game, from not being able to install it, to random crashes within 15 minutes of starting to play. Historically, my system has been very stable, so I guess I'll have to wait for the patch. Too bad, because the game looks like a true phenomenon in the RPG genre.

A true Role Playing Game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: February 09, 2001
Author: Amazon User

When I first sat down with BG2 I wasn't all that impressed with the game. Months later it still has me addicted. The game world that the Black Isle team created here is immense. From the huge cities and impressive array of monsters down to the conversations you can have with the games NPC's, this game is enormous.

The graphics on BG2 are not absolute "knock your socks" off impressive, but this game wasn't designed to push video cards to new limits. However, the graphics do more than enough to convey trepidation when entering dungeons or awe when entering a temple. The characters and monsters are all incredibly well animated as well.

For those familiar with BG1, Torment, or Icewind Dale the interface will be immediately familiar. Given the sheer number of options available the interface is very nicely designed. There are major improvements over the old BG1 engine that simplify the gameplay and reduce the number of headaches caused in the game. For example, characters can be momentarily bumped out of the way instead of standing rigidly in place while another character needs to get by.

The battles can be played either in quasi-real time or turn based. I say "quasi" because playing without occasional pausing is impractical due to the number of potential ways you can deal with your enemies. You will fight all manner of creatures including drow elves, golems, dragons and much more. Given the amount of equipment available, different classes for your party, and variety of monsters, it's difficult to plan for every situation this game will throw you into. As a result, some of the battles will be incredibly challenging and offer a great sense of accomplishment when you are victorious.

Perhaps the best thing about the game though, is the replayability. It isn't necessary to be have a character that is a super fighter and a perfect saint. The game is designed to allow you to experience the game with a characters that have lesser fighting abilities or allignments of pure evil. By allwoing people to play the game the way they want instead of the way the programmers wanted, the game truly stands out as being one of the best of all time. After all, it's much more fun to be able to go along with a sotry affecting the events rather than simply having them told to you.

Even Better Than the First!!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: October 10, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Baldur's Gate 2 was more then I hoped for. I loved playing Baldur's Gate and Tales of the Sword Coast, and couldn't wait for the sequel. Old characters from the first game return along with so many new ones to choose for your party. There is much more dialogue between characters in this game compared to the last. New items and spells make this game a must for anyone who is even slightly interested in playing a role-playing game. I love the new character kits, which make your characters unique and more specialized. The story line branches off from the main quest to give you more side quests and optional adventures. There's even a chance for your character to fall in love with another party member if you play your cards right. Overall this game has been so much fun and I hope they make a third!

Majestic RPG

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: March 28, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Well, since is third Infinity Engine game I've played (the other two being BG1 and Icewind Dale) one might assume I would plenty tired of it by now. One might also assume thathaving beaten about 4 or 5 RPG's right before this one (Diablo2, Darkstone, etc.) I would be plenty tired of another huge, lengthy RpG.

Not so. BG2 is simply the best RPG out there today, and the single most satisfying, engaging and amazing AD&D computer games in the past ten years, if not forever. It has you fight enemies you would only dream about in other RPG's. It has a mature enough storyline (not the best, I will admit; Torment is for those who really want a STORY) to interest and engage players; and it advances your puny, orc-bashing party into a bunch of demi-gods, one (or two) of whom are actually the children of Gods. And no nice, noble God either; the game is about facing up to the heritage of being the child of the God of Murder.

Not only is the plot more than passable, the game is simply huge, yet incredibly well developed. This is one of the biggest RPG's I have played (and I've played a lot of them). The city of Athkatla is amazing, with tons to do that isn't even required by the storyline. Liches lurk in houses, doors lead to alternate dimensions and Dragons walk among men, disguised. Its the sort of magical place that any RPGer would like to explore. The storyline itself takes about 50 to 60 hours; yet with all the additional subquests (none of which, thank God, are FedEx quests) the game swells to about 100 hours. Even miniquests will have interesting and surprising twists.

Finally, NPC interaction is finally up there to satisfy most RPGers. Your party members hav minds of their own, and WILL make their own decisions, quite often. They will get romantically involved with you or they may simply bash each other. Much of the dialogue is humurous and really funny (try having Edwin and Minsc in the same party; or watch the first time Jan tries stealing Boo from Minsc).

Combat has been the Infinity engine's strong point, and its just as good if not better. Facing up to a dragon with all the interface panels down and watching him in action is simply amazing. The 800x600 res also makes a big difference, and the architecture is simply amazing.

The only problems I have with the game is that alignment doesn't matter enough. I mean I would think evil characters would NOT be approached by a noble silver dragon to get back her eggs; whereas I highly doubt a Shadow Thief guildmaster would come to a lawful good character about breaking into a rival guild, and spying on them. A bit more differentiation would have been welcome.

That said, any RPG fan should go out and buy this game. Its probably the best AD&D game created yet, in terms of overall polish, storyline, combat, and sheer ability to engage the players interest and amaze him/her.

Believe me, its sweet!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: December 05, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Baldurs Gate 2: Shadows of Amn is not one of those normal games. This is the kind of game that takes over any social life you might have. You might as well file for divorce RIGHT NOW, because this game will dominate your life from the moment you hear the opening words..."Ah, the child of Bhaal has awoken."
This game is so amazingly huge! The almost endless amount of play (only rivaled by MMORPGs like Everquest and UO) make it a must-have for any RPG aficiando or newbie alike. Among all the RPGs i have played in my life, this one must have the most ebgaging, breathing...alive story ever.
You will feel your character's hate for Irenicus, the mad wizard responsible for the kidnapping of Imoen, your childhood friend. You will play this game like a double life, moonlighting as a stealthy assassin, a religious paladin (my personal fave) or a mysterious mage, among many others. With 20 NPCs to join your 6-man party, the number of combinations are endless. My last party consisted of: me (undead hunter); Keldorn (rock-hard inquisitor); Minsc (pet hamster-nuff said); Valygar (a lonesome stalker); Imoen (wicked theif and mage); and finally Aerie (a wingless avariel with surprising magical powers!)
This game will have you hooked with it's amazing tale of love, friendship, betrayel, greed and tragedy. And, if you know where to find it, theres a fair amount of humor dashed in there s well!
A brilliant game, up there with the best!

Yes Yes! You are all a bunch of goody two-shoes..........

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: January 27, 2001
Author: Amazon User

You must find Edwin and go on the quest to find him the Nether Scroll. What follows is the most amusing plot line I have ever seen in a computer game. My favorite thing about this game is in fact the great NPC's. My only complaint is that you can only have 5 of the 16 with you at a time. I could never make up my mind which one I wanted. In the end I had each of them join me for at least one quest. But I would have to say that Minsc the Ranger who was hit one to many times on the head and his sidekick hamster Boo are awesome. As is Edwin even if he is evil. Oh sure you will want to smack Jahiera and Viconia upside the head when they give you attitude and Aerie and Anomen are a bit whiny but this just reminded me of my old days roll playing with my friends and all the fighting we did. <"What!? You want me to open that mysterious glowing black box!? Uh uh. YOU do it!"> The story lines are very enjoyable. The NPC's react to each other as well as you and some of the maps and scenery are just beautiful. My favorite is the Temple of Ilamater and the giant statue inside. There are some things that are annoying. Such as minor quests that send you on wild goose chases going from one area to another then back to the first area etc. etc. In between each area you have to wait for the game to load. When an NPC in the Dock district told me I had to go to the slums I felt like poking him with my 2-hand sword. But otherwise this is a very addictive enjoyable game.

I can't wait for Neverwinter Nights. I only hope they include Minsc and Boo!

Excellent overall, with just a few minor problems

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: November 19, 2000
Author: Amazon User

If you liked the first one, then you are sure to enjoy this sequel. The storyline is excellent, similar if not quite as deep as Torment. Additionally, you get to import your character from the original and modify with kits, etc. Some characters from BG1 were also added, blending a nice sence of history. Some other aspects which are enjoyable are seeing your characters progress to quite powerful levels as the game progresses, and also to visit some of the legendary sites mentioned in Forgotten Realms lore. The depth of character develpment is a great addition from BG1 and IWD, with the 3d edition weapon proficiencies and classes (the monk is cool) being a nice touch. A few detractors are on the software side. Alot of people complain about lags and glitches, but I have seen very few of these. I have a PII 266 with a vodoo3 and have very few crashes. Additonally, I have a full install of the game, and experience very little lag. If you don't have the space for a full install however, you might want to pass this by until you have a larger hard drive. Overall, an excellent RPG. I can't wait for NWN and BG3.

Busy people beware...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: May 09, 2002
Author: Amazon User

If you are someone with an active life, children who need attention, or an hour-intensive job, stop here. I, like so many other gamers, have found myself attached to this game like I have never been stuck to a game before. That's how powerful this game is. I haven't played the original game, but that did not stop me from enjoying the game to the fullest... I have heard the plot is quite different from the first game anyways. It's not especially difficult to learn either... the interface is easy and organized once you get to know it.
You start out with some dark, evil person casting painful spells on you over and over in a cage. Pleasant. Soon your friend Imoen enters and gets you out of the cage... and the adventure begins. On your journey, you meet many characters who you have the option to add to your team, all with differing personalities and voices. There's Aerie, the shy but good-hearted elf whose spell selection is unrivaled. You'll also meet Mazzy, the halfling warrior, Yoshimo the thief, and Viconia the evil drow cleric who, surprisingly, can also join your team. They all will help you fight (and talk) your way through the game to the very final match in... well, you'll just have to get there yourself. The graphics are excellent, and it is clear that a lot of time was spent on spell graphics, swords, axes, staves, and every other trinket in the game.
The point: This game will definitely not disappoint even the most picky of computer adventurers. Black Isle spent time and skill on this game! Take advantage of it!

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