What makes Baldur's Gate 2 such a fine game?

Remove all ads!

I was just wondering... I mean, we all played this game. But, from what I read on the posts there are yet many persons that are still playing and enjoing BG2. They 've never tired of finishing on and on and doing the same quests. Most of you guys, I bet, know most of the dialogue lines and you know already what equipment weares any NPC found in the game, the rewards from all the quest (even all the stronghold class-spefic things). What is so marvelous about this game, that after years of playing you still aren't bored?
There is also another reason why I post this topic: what's enough it's enough! It is a brilliant game, but I just cannot play it again. I know most of the things, and 'til it will not pass enough time for me to entirely forget all things related to it, I will not start another game. I admire you guys, and I don't know how you mange to do it, but this is where I stop. I never played another AD&D game, and probably I won't intend to very soon. So I ask the site moderator, on this ocasion, to delete my SP account. I would do it myself, but I don't know how. I just play games! Have fun, everyone!

 

It's a pity you are leaving these fine boards Hyperion...

But, to answer your question...as far as I am concerned, Baldurs Gate 2 was the game which got me hooked to AD&D...in my country, pen and paper DnD was unheard of, and BG2 is what hooked me onto this wonderful fantasy gaming genre.

Secondly, Baldurs Gate...is Baldurs Gate. Now that you put it so plainly, I must say that I'm hard pressed to come up with reasons...but its just a feeling of playing the game over and over again which gets a bit compulsive.

First you play through as, say...a Kensai. You have a great time doing it, then you think of playing through as an Assassin. Then as a Sorcerer...each time, your experience through the game is totally different. You end up having different parties, solving different quests (out of the standard pool of the hundreds of quests in the game)and as such, BG2 has the best replay value of any game I have ever played.

True...it gets old, technically speaking, but at the same time, because its BG, it DOESN'T get old. I hope I don't sound like I'm off my rocker here, but its really hard to put into words.

Anyway, that was my two cents...

 

Sorry to see you go, but you'll be back! I've tried to let BG go and play other games, and it works...for a while. After some time I always come back to this great game. Not only is this game superbly made but it has a great fan-base, who make terrific (and less terrific) MODs keeping the game fresh.

 

Sorry to see you go too. There are many other great games on SP worth hanging around for. IWD and IWD2, both add a different slant to this style of game - more of a dungeon crawl. or what about NWN - a fantastic game for 3rd-Ed rules and a great engine and atmosphere. Try PlanseScape:Torment for a completely different experience into D&D and the infinity engine.

Occassionally, I will disappear from the board for a few weeks, to months, and play DiabloII for the sheer pace of the game.

But, I always come back. I find the BG Trilogy of games very immersive. You have a character, which you can try to role-play (I mean, how many games allow you to play good or evil?) and interract with interesting NPCS, plus different classes and party formations give a different feel to the game.

I find it's not so much about knowing everything, it's about the experience doing it. I have played loads of other games (like TR and Alice) and once you complete them thats it they're over, but not this it's just seems to get better each time.

I also find that this great board helps make the game more enjoyable. You can chat to fellow gamers, give advise, ask for advise and just throw about different ideas and concepts for playing the game.

I am just amazed how involved this whole series of games are. It's almost a way of life!!

Anyway, good luck in whatever you decide to do.

As Arnie might say ... "You'll be back!"

 

What's so great about BG2?

You get to pork a hot drow.

Duh.

 

@DR: LOL! well that might be part of it.

@Hyperion: I said the exact same thing myself after playig it some 5-6 times, and left it alone for about 1-2 years, but obviously it caught up with me since I've been back again for around 8 months now and I've just finished it for my 20th+ time.

Remember no matter where you go, what you do, or what other games you play, chances are that the temptation will catch up with you and you'll be back with a vengeance

 

It's such a great game, because you can almost do everything you want, you can be evil or good, and it has hundreds of fantasy creatures, and it so big, that it gives you a good gaming-experience.

 

i agree that once a year bg2 starts haunting you. i played lots of pc games, including all games supported by sorcerers.net and none rivaled the atmosphere of bg. some 3d shooters (halflife, avp2) have much atmosphere, but its always about terror and tension. the bg atmospere evolves as you play.

next thing i like is the size of the game. all the brand new pc games have a playtime of 10-15 hours. just great graphics with little substance. when i play bg, it means part 1 & 2 + expansions with all quests solved so its about 300 hours of gameplay. again, no other game rivals that.

 

Man... I still have my SP account!
First of all... This is a marvelous forum! It is the only one I've ever used. And it is the first (and only) place where I search for info related to AD&D stuff. Great site!
@Bard: Yes, I know that AD&D it is not limited to Baldur's Gate, and I tried to play other games (like Neverwinter Nights and Icewind Dale), but whatever I try, I can't stop from comparing them to BG2. The artwork, the plot, everything makes me throw away that game even before I really start playing it. Baldur's Gate is just too great. That's why I don't play other AD&D CRPGs. I think BG is a lifetime experience (at least for me, a passionate RPG player).
Well... About my question: "What makes Baldur's Gate 2 such a fine game?"... for me it was the spellcasting system. I enjoy roleplaying wizards every time I have the chance (fantasy RPGs are my favorites), but I never encountered such a pleasant experience like the one from BG2. BTW, Sorcerer rules!
@Ancient Galatan: The possibility of choices makes a real RPG, that's my opinion. But there are a lot of other games that give you this opportunity. You should try the Fallout series (my favorite!) or Morrowind (I just started playing it; looks good... speaking of size and hours of gameplay... you should take this game into consideration!).
Well, I may come back, who knows? But it will take some time... Best regards!

 

@Hyperion: Personally, I don't like the spell system much. 3rd-ed is better, but when I want to cast spells I tend to have a break from BG2 and play DiabloII for a while. I so wish AD&D had of made the magic system more like that

 

probably everyone has their own opinion about what makes a game great...but for me BGII creates a great a atmosphere, a large world where you interact with many characters, monsters, and items, a very strong and epic story, a very easy-to-use interface, plus the attention to detail to many aspects of the game is just superb, and of course a good modding community (without it I don't think I would playing it as much)....granted though there are lots of things that I would just love to able to change/add

nevertheless it is now what I use to compare when playing other games and anything that falls short of it seems to me like a disappointment...

 

First and foremost: story. Even though it's the regular "hunt-me-down bad-guy", they have spiced it up with a bit darker elements and good side-stories. If there weren't those, BG2 would be like more detailed IWD2 -which is just rubbish hack'n'slash.

Close second comes romances and dialogs; they're pretty good (still) and another, good spice to the gameplay. It's just a shame that there isn't more of it...

Somewhere third is the AD&D system that actually works, when the AI isn't cheating. Different strategies == Good.

 

I had never heard of D&D until BG 1, and I never played many rpg's, cept for fallout series untill BG came out!
Then came Baldurs Gate 2!
I have been playing this wonderfully imersive giant of a game since it was released way back when! And then I tried to go on to Never WInter Nights (Which I found really bad because I love Wizards which didnt do too well in it) and ToE, but the way Baldurs Gate plays just cant be beaten, which keeps me coming back!
Now my finale note is this:
Remember the first time you played IWD 2, and after playing it for a while you thought to yourselves (DOnt say you never), "Imagine Baldurs Gate on that engine with the 3rd editon rules" and now it might come through...... hopefully, IceWInd Gate, then BG will have new life like never before.......... FEATS and all the good stuff!
Well thats my 2 cents

 

1. Near-infinite replayability, especially with all the mods that are now available. Even the same character type is different when you change the gender, alignment or party around them. And that's before we get to soloing.

2. All the additional party interactions and sub-quests. I almost fell off my chair laughing when Edwin turned himself into a woman and Jaheira, Minsc and Haer'Dalis got stuck into him. I loved the Harper quests and how it tied into the Jaheira romance script. Frustrating though it was, Minsc and Edwin going toe-to-toe made a hell of a lot of sense.

3. Realistic fantasy. Okay, not often those two words go together, but inevitably you will make enemies, friends, fall in love, go through trying circumstances and be tested in body, mind and soul. BG2 is only one step beyond reality in that sense (as for the magic and monsters and soul-stealing... different story).

4. Everyone in it is tragic in some way or another. Everyone in the party is a misfit of sorts and I find it both sad and heartwarming at the same time. Especially true for romances - no matter what, it's two characters with troubled pasts finding solace in someone equally damaged/flawed/tragic. Call me a sap, but I think there's beauty in that.

5. Humour. If you don't find Minsc, Jan, Imoen, Haer'Dalis or Edwin funny, well, then I guess we have different senses of humour. Even after a year of playing, they can still crack me up at times. After all this time, my favourite line is still Minsc's berserking dialogue (rarely used).

Oh hell, I'm over-analysing again...