Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic
Review: I've never been an RPG fan, but I was drawn to this game by all the hype on the internet. It's every bit as good as I heard! The graphics are beautiful, the interface is easy to use, and it's fun from start to finish (although I got frustrated by the end battles and almost gave up, though I had a stroke of luck and won eventually). I can hardly wait to get Planescape: Torment; it sounds even better than BG. I also hear that BG2's in the works. Sheesh...I'm gonna have to drop out of school and play games full time!
Rating:
Summary: A great game, and a must have for all AD&D fans
Review: This is a quality product by anyones standards. First lets review the good things. 1. A great portrayal of the original AD&D rule set complete with intiative and you can even turn on the dice roles to see exactly what the roles you are getting are. 2. A good story with numerous plot twists and an overall addictive game. 3. An amazing amount of detail and subplots was put in especially in the city of Baldur's Gate which is huge, and by far the biggest city I have ever seen in a PC AD&D game. 4. The amount of diversity of race and class make for a very attractice replayability. Let's Look at the bad. 1. A terrible multi-play engine that is virtually unplayable. 2. You walk to slow on the normal game screen and tends to draw out game play a little to much, which I think they have fixed in the upcoming Baldur's Gate II. 3. A very anoying experience cap is set at 89,000 for the game and 160,000 or so for the expansion. Over all I think the game was a big success, and to date the best AD&D game made for the PC console. I wait in anticipation of Baldurs Gate II.
Rating: 
Summary: A Review for those Non-AD & D folks
Review: I'll state from the outset that my background in RPGs is limited. Sure, I had friends who would gather together on Friday or Saturday nights to play pen and paper D&D, but I was never among them. Occasionally, however, I did enjoy playing computer-based Role-playing games (the three Bard's Tale adventures).I say all this in an effort to convince non-AD&D people or non-RPG players out there to give Baldur's Gate a chance. Yes, AD&D rules are numerous and complicated (I have no idea, for instance, what 6D+4 means), but don't worry too much because the computer takes care of all this for you. Essentially, you'll encounter enemies, you'll push your spacebar (to pause the action) and point and click, directing your party members how and whom to attack. The computer calculates all the die-rolling stuff. You just sit back and watch the blood fly. This is not to say, however, that BG is a brainless game. In fact, you'll learn quickly that "Fools Rush In" if you don't think about battle strategy. Put simply, Baldur's Gate achieves a perfect balance: it both satisfies hardcore D&D folk who have long clamored for an accurate PC RPG experience while also not scaring away newbies. This is not to say that BG doesn't take some learning. The manual is thick and at times confusing (particularly in how to memorize spells). There are lots of options in BG, so you'll have to become familiar with the game interface and inventory system. Be prepared to spend several hours just getting comfortable with how the game operates. Also be prepared to die a lot in the beginning. Once you've mastered the controls, this game gets addictive, and fast! BG is now an older title, and with BGII having been out now for over half a year, the original is currently a bargain bin purchase. I bought my copy through an online auction for eight bucks. Those eight dollars provided me with six weeks of constant gameplaying. Most action games can be completed in less than a week, but BG was vast and involving. The world is huge and sprawling, side quests are seemingly infinite, and replay value is a bonus. So why four stars? Well, like many people, I have my subjective, nit-picky problems. First, the pathfinding is pretty weak. It's mostly okay when you're out in the open, but in dungeons, the pathfinding is flat-out horrible. I barely escaped the Firewine dungeon alive because whenever I'd get into a battle and order my commands, my party members would then stupidly go off in six separate and unexpected directions. Second, although the world is huge, it does get tedious trudging across the BG map. At times, the game can feel like a chore to explore that unnamed wilderness section that's located leagues away from where you truly need to go only because, well, you feel there might be something interesting there. Third, going up levels takes a long time. Don't get me wrong, I realize that going up levels shouldn't be too easy to accomplish, but it's kind of disheartening to only be a level seven fighter at the end of the game (because there's an experience point cap of 89,000) with thirty-odd hit points. Either raise the cap or make level limits a bit lower. Lastly, although hardcore gamers may love the myriad spells, weapons, and potions, I felt there were too many. Your party members don't have many slots for carrying items, and all those items you find during your travels (potions in particular) become annoying (should I use such-and-such potion immediately? should I save it for a big battle? should I sell it and make money? should I simply leave it behind). Still, despite the quirks, I've never been so deeply involved in a PC game, and I'm looking forward to my next purchases: Icewind Dale and BGII.
Rating:
Summary: After 6 Years It Remains One of The Best
Review: I unearthed this gem among my collection of old games after a recent move, and I promply popped it in to play out of nostalgia after experiencing a string of disappointing RPG's on the PC. 2 Weeks later I emerged to write the review this wonderful game deserves.
The game is set in Faerun, of the Dungeons and Dragons fame. Don't worry though you will not need to know basically anything about Faerun at first to enjoy the land and it's people, which is why this game is so wonderful. Once you are in the game and playing you will not feel out of place at all. If you are looking for a unique and seamless fantasy setting then you have found it. This is a beautiful world teeming with life and unique characters and once you finish Baldur's Gate, I know you will read up more on this "Faerun." It is that immersive.
Soundwise, this game was a breakthrough in video game entertainment. Bioware outdid itself with its ambient environmental effects. Enter a forest area and you can hear birds and natural wildlife along with trees swaying and wind blowing. When rain comes, it comes with excellent audio. I'm telling you, crank up your fancy speakers and listen! You will become immersed. The towns are constantly alive with sounds of commotion and people shouting. Masterful. The combat sounds such as spell effects and weapons hitting flesh along with the music is commendable as well.
You all play CRPG's for the story right? Even as a couple of Diablo fanboys scamper out I'm going to tell you that the Baldur's Gate saga is one of the great storytelling achievements not just in videogames but literature as well. Call me crazy but I enjoyed the story that much! Oh and don't read the crap novels based on this game the author did it no justice. Baldur's Gate follows the player character as he/she sets out from his warm, cozy lifestyle in the fortress-library of Candlekeep and takes off into the unforgiving land of Faerun. This comes on the heels of your foster father Gorion's urgent warnings. You are sent out into the world fresh for adventure, and there are many twists and turns along the way including one at the start, which will hook you for the rest of the game. Even in Candlekeep things aren't what they seem and without spoiling anything I can tell you that the story blossoms as you advance. You will never feel like saying "What the hell am I actually doing here?"
The gameplay is simple and intuitive. Party navigation is a breeze, and over 15 NPC's can be recruited into your party of 6 as you progress and their unique "banter" amongst themselves really never leaves you bored with your party. Combat is simple and the weapons are fun. Character development is one of the richest ever found in an CRPG. As for all this anger about the rules of D&D and how they "suck" in a CRPG, I can safely say that you should not worry one bit if you are looking for a rich roleplaying experience. I never bothered with 2nd edition 3rd edition and all that crap, the rules are fine and everything is calculated "behind-the-scenes" for you so it never takes away from the experience. Everything is seamlessly done and for a person looking to immerse themselves in a wonderful world the rules should never come up and detract from your game. You DO NOT have to be a Dungeons of Dragons fanatic to pick up this game and enjoy adventuring. It really is quite a masterpiece by itself.
With a lot of areas to cover and hundreds of quests and mini quests (I'm not kidding) you are looking at least 30 hours of gameplay, 20 if you "powergame" and rush through. That's real value for the 10$ max you're paying.
Graphically the old game is showing its age, I must admit. The 640x480 resolution and low-bit sprites are all here, but strangely enough it did not detract from the overall experience one bit. For all you "What are you crazy, 640x480? This ain't the stone age!" people who might pass up on this game because the graphics are dated, do no despair! There is a great mod/upgrade for Baldur's Gate called BGtutu which converts the engine to the newer Baldur's Gate II engine, with dramatic effect.
There's no reason to doubt me and countless other gamers out there that consider this the Holy Grail of CRPG's, there is a reason for that. The reason is that Baldur's Gate is one of those special games that you will be proud to own and look back on it in another 20 years as the "genre-reviving","genre-breaking" masterpiece that it truly is.
There's not much left to say, except that if you are a person that is reading this review right now, in front of your computer, and searching for that different RPG, that is not just hack and slash then end your search my friend. You have found your gem and it is called Baldur's Gate. Give it a go, and when you're done and well on your way to installing it's sequel do what I did and recommend it to someone.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome! says mom of 2
Review: Love the game! Bought this three years ago and still enjoy. Lots of Strategy involved (ie not just a fighting game, ergo women can enjoy too). Thought the fact that my players couldn't advance beyond a certain point was a flaw until reading another review - thank you!. Great way to lose yourself at the end of the day (can consume great amounts of time but easy to leave off and start again). Great adventure!
Rating:
Summary: a well example of pc gaming...
Review: Well...I must say that this game is just that: it's not the best game ever, but it is really fun and you'll play it a lot supposing you like D&D/AD&D or RPG's. That being said, allow me to get to the nitpicky stuff. One major gripe with this game that I have is teh experience system. It divides up the experience rather then give each party member an exact copy of the amount recieved. Another problem is the amount of "Cosmetic" strikes and how you miss a lot. I guess that is for "realism" but it just annoys me. Also, sometimes the game is REALLY non-linear so you have to get a guide or talk to EVERYONE in a place to see where you need to go.
Other than that, this game is really good and will keep you playing it forever. The story is really good and the rest of the game is good, I will not spill details, although most of you have already gotten the game and beaten it. Well i must go, hope you enjoyed the review...
Rating:
Summary: Well done game, but not perfect.
Review: I bought Baldur's Gate after 2 friends kept telling me how great it was. I'm not a big RPG player, however I did find this to be a truly great game.
Positive features of the game: Visually, the game is quite well done, especially the scenary and spell effects. The atmosphere can get quite spooky in underground caverns and during thunderstorms. There is a lot of flexibility when it comes to character creation, and one is even allowed to double-class and choose their character's appearance. The NPCs can be quite engaging, and party members (you can have up to 6) actually interact with each other verbally in often humorous dialogue. The storyline is interesting and generally linear, though there are many sub-quests that one can choose to pursue.
Regarding the down side of the game: By the time the game got to chapter 6 (there are 7), I was ready for it to end. And the ending itself is a bit anticlimactic. My party got up to only 7th level, and thus had rather limited abilities. Comparing this game to Morrowind (which I am now playing), BG could have been a bit more open-ended and expansive in size, which would have enhanced its replayability. After 12 intense days of playing to the end, I promptly auctioned it on Ebay.
For those interested in a well-told, gorgeously rendered D&D-style adventure, with a well-defined main plot and credible monsters and NPCs, BG is a good buy.
Rating: 4.5 stars
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