Anyone else having same problems?

Remove all ads!

Baldur's Gate 2 is a very non-linear game, meaning, that you can take on the quests anytime you like and in what order you like. All the time people tend to praise this, but I found out that this really makes my gaming experience very difficult. Let me explain: I'm always under a lot of pressure, trying to complete all the quest in an efficient manner and I find this "tyranny or choice" rather irritating. I become hectic, stressed out and rather unhappy while playing and I tend to ''fly'' through quests, just so I can complete all of them in an area. At the end, I don't feel really satisfied. I remember when playing Icewind Dale 1, a rather linear game, I felt really relaxed and chilled out. The way that game handled quests was much more to my liking. Anyone else feeling that pressure too?

Well, at least I got to the spellhold isle and I am beginning to feel a bit more relaxed, since the game is becoming more linear. Thank god

 

Strange, I have the opposite feeling. I've always found that BG 1 was better than BG2 because it wasn't so linear. Apart from the part in Candlekeep and the Mines you could do pretty much what you wanted in BG1. In BG2 Spellhold is always taxing to me because it puts you on a railroad. IMO BG2 is rather linear, less so than both Icewind Dale games which are as linear as they get. Still, compared to BG1, BG2 is more linear. Have you played Morrowind or Oblivion? Or old games like Might and Magic VI and VII?

IMO the best game in that respect is still Fallout 1 because there is no linearity whatsoever and you still get a great story and some incentive to progress in the main quest.

In most games it's all about moving from point A to point Z and if you're lucky you don't have to move between these points in sequence going through A, then B and C afterwards. The Witcher is a very linear game whereas Dragon Age offers more leeway just like BG2 but it's still rather linear.

So I'm suffering from the exact opposite "condition" as I feel frustrated when I have to play through an entire sequence and I already know that it's going to be very straightforward and turn into a routine and that I won't be able to skip it or find another way or just move away from an area that I haven't cleared out yet. Still, IMO it's easier to find linear games than non linear ones and I could go on and on about how linearity kills replayability. I find your post very interesting though because I've never quite considered things in this light and it helps put things into perspective and that being said BG2 is certainly a game that mixes linear parts and choices very well (the same could be said about Dragon Age by the way).

 

I also didn't like the non-linearity of BG2, especially the fact that you miss half the game if you roleplay. So you're forced to go sightseeing although Imoen is in danger or you're dying if you don't get back fast what Irenicus stole from you.
Non-linearity is a nice marketing argument, but in the end you end up playing half the game you payed for since it's too boring playing the main quests again.

 

Sometimes I play my games based on efficiency, sometimes I don't. Nobody ever said that the most efficient way to finish the quests was the best one. As far as I'm concerned even if it allows you to finish the game in the least amount of time possible with every item in tow, if it doesn't include AoE Wish spells or killing Elminster (or his clones at least) 3 or so times then it's not for me.

I guess it's because I've been actively trying to make sure playing BG2 doesn't end up as something I should be doing mechanically. But like I said, sometimes I do take the efficiency route. And yeah, I'm familiar with the "pressured, hectic" feeling... but at least it's BG2 and not one of the older games Caradhas mentioned.

Depends on how you roleplay. When your character is smart enough to realize that you're probably gonna end up fighting some of the most powerful spellcasters in the region as a result of your attempt to rescue Imoen, then you'd probably take your time as well. The scenario is like you suddenly find yourself in foreign environs, and a corrupt CIA/KGB-type organization comes and takes your friend and a very dangerous person away. Would you really just save enough money to buy faked papers and then go blindly off in an attempt to rescue him?
Given this perspective doing several of the sidequests will suddenly become more of a priority - Nalia claims to be a noble, and you could benefit from her connections. Firkraag seems to be the lord of a prosperous land. Finding favor with Tolgerias seems to be a good thing. Learning more about the Shadow Thieves, the organization which claims to want to help you, means working for Renal Bloodscalp...

Anyway further inquiry into the nature of the Cowled Wizards should also give the assurance that Imoen should be safe (for a time, at least). So it's not about the number of quests and where they take you, but how long you plan to leave Imoen and Irenicus with the Cowled Wizards.

 

I always liked the fact you could do it the hard way, with minimum sidequests, just going for the main plot and the easy way by exploring everything.

Every time I play a Final Fantasy game or any other console RPG for that matter, this is something that really bugs me. So few sidequests and only one direction to head to at any given time, doesn`t make for a role playing experience in my opinion.

Most other RPG`s follow a movie scheme with you just pressing a few buttons to progress the endless dialogues and cutscenes. That doesn`t make for a bad game, so don`t get me wrong but putting them in the roleplaying genre, just because you level up and follow turn based combat doesn`t exactly feel right.

 

I think the game was meant to feel hectic.

You've escaped capture and are stranded in a strange location, your sister has been taken from you and you need help - but who is going to help you? The people you travel with demand you help them, the people who can arrange transport need a ridiculous amount of coin and everywhere you turn there are the calls of people demanding your help.

You are a child of murder and good at what you do, what you want is nothing but a bargaining tool those who want to exploit your talents. How many people are truly grateful? How many people just utilised you as an efficient tool for the job?

 

Although I am aware of the conditions mentioned, I just don't let them get in the way of me doing what I should be doing.
It came from learning how to deal with the non-linearity of older games I guess. At some point you learn not to overindulge in the "freedom" you're supposed to have. Following the same old boring quest sequence can be just as bad tho.

 

Umex, it sounds t me like the problem isn't the linearity, but the false sense of urgency. You're life-long friend and companion has just been kidnapped by a madman bent on torturing her, and everyone is pressing you to hurry to her rescue, but you can't really do that. The thing to remember is that it's a false sense of urgency, and most of the other quests have a similar issue. Nalia will bug you until you go to her Keep, but you've actually got quite a while. Aerie and her family quest are likewise, as are many others.