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Baldur's Gate 2: Ultimate Collection (Shadows of Amn and Throne of Bhaal) Review (continued)
More User Submitted Baldur's Gate 2: Ultimate Collection (Shadows of Amn and Throne of Bhaal) Reviews
Date: 2006-07-17
Yeah, its that good.
Baldur's Gate II and its expansion pack may collectively form the best game that was ever created. Sure, the graphics are not the greatest. Sure, antiquated 2nd edition rules are used. Sure, some of the puzzles are corny. Sure, there are some annoying bugs. The game is not flawless, but it is infinitely replayable and almost as addicting. I don't know what it was in this game, but the moment that I beat it the first time around, I was immediately tempted to start another game with a radically different party and with radically different objectives in mind. Through this review I will try to identify what it is in the game that makes it so... um... good!
The story line is good. Now, many a gamer will say that story matters in gaming just about as much as accordions matter while hunting. I will say that those unfortunate souls are wrong as a good story is often the most important aspect of the game. For example, look to Icewind Dale II. The storyline was lame and so was the game. The story follows shortly after the first Baldur's Gate game, in which you as a child of the Lord of Murder must choose which path to pursue. Ok, it might not sound that great from here, but you're a freaking God in this game, thus you can do a lot of things that are pretty great. The expansion pack focuses even more on your divine powers.
The game is hard (especially if you play on insane mode, and downloaded various tweaks that made the game more difficult, as I did), but not too hard. Some battles will have you stuck for a little bit, but fret not. You can always go and do something else and gain enough experience to make short work of a formerly impossible battle. This is probably the greatest aspect of the game. You don't have to do most things in order and can do them whenever you feel up to the task. You do not have to follow the straight and narrow path, but can instead follow any path which will get you to where you want to go. And if you don't want to go into an entire area, then often you will not even have to do this.
Now, I already spoke of this game's addictive properties, but let me stress the intensity of the addiction. Every night when I went to sleep at 4 AM (playing this game of course, in this way, the game is a lot like cocaine because time just stops mattering), I would think about when I would wake up to play the game again (typically around 8 AM). When my friends would come over to hang out I would be angry that I would have to open the doors to let them in. Many of them threatened to format my harddrive and remove the game. But, the most dangerous element of the game is this. This game was not even on my computer, but rather on the computer of my brother who lives in a different state than I do. I would be addicted to it for a few weeks, then would return and face terrible withdrawal in my own state.
Yeah, its that good. If you are the type who thinks that graphics are more important than game play and everything else that makes computer games good, then I am sure that there is something better for you out there, but for the rest, I suggest playing this game.
Date: 2006-05-11
One of the best games I've played
I've been a big fan of ADnD as my cousins, friends, and I have played it numerous times. I've wanted to play an ADnD computer game so my cousin recommended Baldu'rs Gate 2. At first, I had to get used to the functions and how to control things, but once I got the hang of it, it became very addiciting. Since, then, I've become a big fan of other ADnD comp games such as Neverwinter Nights and Icewind Dale. Great game, lots of fun, great story. Wish I played Baldur's Gate 1 before, but I'll play it sooner or later.
Date: 2006-04-30
Baldur's Gate II Shadows of Amn
If you liked the old Ultima games you will really enjoy this game. While not as good as Ultima, the game is still excellent. My only complaint is not with the game but with Amazon.com. The game came without any manual or instructions. The game continually refers to the manual. The game is simply not complete without this manual. I will not buy another game from Amazon.com
Date: 2006-04-24
one of the best role-playing games ever
I bought the Baldur's Gate 2 Ultimate Collection from Amazon for Christmas of 2005, and I've been nothing but pleased with the game itself. It certainly lived up to my expectations, having played the original Baldur's Gate many times since 2001. If you're interested in an engaging, party-based Dungeons and Dragons experience that will probably chew up at least 60 hours to go through once, I would highly recommend it.
Gameplay: Excellent. The only drawback I can mention is the opening sequence, which gets a little old after a few replays. The game is, of course, from 2000, so don't buy it expecting advanced 3-D graphics or fully-voiced dialogue. BG2 instead has beautifully rendered 2-D artwork, which in my opinion is the best of its class (and seldom seen in later games), and the majority of dialogue is purely textual. What voice acting there is, however, is quite good and often very funny.
The interpersonal dialogue among party members, including possible romantic relationships for the player, is one of the best parts of this game. How you act throughout the game, and what members you keep in your party, may affect how the other members act; some may even get fed up and leave forever if they do not like how things are going. The AI isn't perfect, of course, but for a game of this era it's solid and a definite improvement over the original Baldur's Gate.
Technical Issues: None, so far. I installed it on my old Compaq, running on a 350 mHz processor with 96 MB of RAM; the install went smoothly. The game runs fine on this system, which uses Wndows 98 Second Edition.
Packaging: The only reason I gave it 4 instead of 5 stars was the utter lack of hard copy documentation for the game. Inside the box were six compact discs in paper slip cases: four for Baldur's Gate 2, one for the expansion game Throne of Bhaal, and one "bonus CD" with such things as conceptual artwork, item descriptions, and audio files. That was it; no manual, no reference card, not even installation instructions. There is a game manual and reference card on disc 1, both in PDF format. This was disappointing, especially after having purchased two separate copies of the original Baldur's Gate (one in 2001, one in 2003) each of which included thorough and helpful paperback manuals. I know that using on-disc documentation saves space and weight, but I just think it's somewhat inconvenient for the user. The lack of hard copy installation instructions was especially glaring; if you're not an experience computer user, you may not know where to start after purchasing this game.
All in all, though, I am very glad I purchased The Ultimate Collection, and I would definitely recommend it.
Date: 2006-04-07
Couldnt play it
I just bought this game, the reviews here made it sound great. I am a huge never winter nights fan and after playing that game for a very long time I just couldn't get past the graphics. They are awful. I am sorry but if you are used the graphics of today's games then this game isn't for you. I can't tell you if the game itself is fun to play, I haven't played it. I just couldn't get past the graphics. Sorry bad review from me.
Baldur's Gate 2: Ultimate Collection (Shadows of Amn and Throne of Bhaal) Reviews Page: 8 of 10 Prev<< 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next>>
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