Rating: 
Summary: One of the greatest games ever
Review: I bought Baldur's Gate II when it first came out so long ago now, and not only was it a great gaming experience back then it still amuses me today. This game has an enormous amount of depth. If you go through this game five times with a guide you still won't be able to find everything. It seems every little peasent walking by is actually a gateway to a quest. Half the fun of this game is creating a perfect party. You only create the main character in your party which you do by picking gender, then race, then class, (their are also kits which are classes within classes), you choose stats then skills and so on until you get a wonderful custom character which is quite unique. The you recruit characters from around the world, some from Baldur's Gate 1, some new. All of them are wonderfully done characters good, evil, naive, insane (yeah I'm looking at you Jan), all very well done and they do a great job of interacting with you your party members and situations around you. You'll find yourself playing through againg just to find out how Keldorn feels about you working for the shadow thieves. While the game does a good job of making sure you don't do anything to screw up the main quest (like killing someone important) you can do just about anything else. Though the main storyline is good you'll find yourself doing a lot of side quests which are usually fun and challanging (the game as a whole is very challanging). Fighting in this game is very intense. Even the largest battles are unlikely to last over 30 seconds. You can pause the battle at anytime by hitting the space button, which you will have to do because during any normal battle you will need: Your warriors attacking the correct enemy ready to pull back when their health falls to low, your mages launching spells trying not to nail your own guys with area of effect spells, and keeping their own magical shields up so they aren't archered down, your clerics need to heal your warriors without being hurt themselves, and you thieves weaving in and out of battle trying to cause as much anarchy as possible. For this reason the game really is really hard on beginners. Even an experienced player finds himself re-loading constantly when a demi-lich casts imprisonment on your main-character or a red dragon manages to get a breath attack off killing both your mages and cleric in one shot. I almost wouldn't recommend it for anyone without at least some RPG exp. because you'll get really frustrated fast. The dialog in this game is absolutely fantastic. You get to choose what you say and they give you enough dialog for pretty much everyone, and conversations can be loads of fun as you try and talk yourself out of all sorts of situations, and in the end fail and have to cut everyones head off. I must say this has one of the best storylines ever. My single favorite thing about this game however is the humor. This game is not a comedy by a long shot. In fact it can get quite serious, but their are some parts such as when Edwin turns himself into a girl on his quest for omnipotence or when Jan steals Minsc hamster, boo, (which Minsc believes to be a miniature giant space hamster) even the occasional witty banter had my sides aching with laughter. I spit several cans worth of pop on my keyboard too. Plus it was good that the creaters had a sense of humor about the game having several quests that would poke fun at the games limitations and the seriousness of the storyline. Overall I can say this was one of the greatest games I ever bought and probably one of the greatest games ever made.
Rating:
Summary: BG2 rocks, and the mods make it rule
Review: Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn is an excellent game--excellent enough after over a decade to unseat Wasteland as my favorite RPG of all time. The expansion, Throne of Bhaal, was a rush-job and the rough edges show. But it's the fan-made mods that make this game rule, and have made it even more of a joy to play than it was at its autumn 2000 release. If you pick up this collection, I urge you to do a little extracurricular search for mods, particularly of the character variety. Your money will go that much further.
Rating:
Summary: [The]cons are wrong
Review: Well, the only con they have incorrectly listed is the fact that the game is based on 2nd edition rules...while this is partially true (partially, because it is based on the skills and powers extension of 2nd edition rules), it is not a downside to the game. It is not only more fitting for the game, but it allows you to import characters from BG1. Also, the rule system is in many ways superior to the 3rd edition rule set. My friends and I still use 2nd edition (with skills and powers) in our pen-and-paper AD&D campaigns, which makes it harder to find rulebooks, but much more enjoyable.
Rating:
Summary: Great Collection
Review: This collection is definitely worth your time if you don't already have BG2 and ToB. For those that have played the original BG and TotSC, this will allow character imports, and adds many advanced rules from AD&D, such as character kits and fighting styles. Anyone who enjoys in-depth RPGs and/or AD&D 2nd edition should pick up this collection.
Rating:
Summary: Well worth the money and time.
Review: Buying a video game is like watching a movie, its not so much the cost of the game but whether it will be worth playing once you get it. This game is definitely worth the time and money. I spend most of my gaming hours playing everquest but Warcraft the Baldur's gate series are the only other PC games I play these days on a regular basis.
Rating:
Summary: Worth It For Anyone Who Hasn't Played BG Series
Review: Not quite sure what the other guy was talking about. Baldur's Gate series runs fine on Windows XP so long as the instructions are followed. Anyway, this does in fact contain the BG2 collection, again not sure what the other guy was talking about. BG2 and it's expansion ToB defined what it meant to be a CRPG. It's the game all CRPGs are compared to, and single handedly revitalized the CRPG genre. Any fans of CRPGs would be doing themselves a great disservice by ignoring the Baldur's Gate series.
Rating:
Summary: One of the most lauded RPG games ever.
Review: After earning several Best (RP) Game awards in the past, this particular RPG series is still doing relatively well. At least it may be considered a big classic in the genre of fantasy CRPG. I don't need to rehash what others have said in greater detail concerning the quality of game play (not merely dungeon-hacking), but I will point out that ALL of the Baldur's Gate games (Baldur's Gate, Baldur's Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast, Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn, Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal) work in Windows XP. Due to the complexity of the software (e.g. the original Baldur's Gate is 6 cd-roms, if I recall correctly), a number of other factors may render the game unplayable. I have all the BG games installed on my Windows XP machine just fine. Recommended: Patch the XP OS (SP1a minimum), make sure you have the latest game patches, check your DirectX, and so forth.
Rating: 
Summary: Shadows of Amn -- NOT any better than the first
Review: I read a review of B.G. II sometime ago, which led me to believe this was a much-improved version of the first B.G. That is not the case --judging from game-play I've experienced thus far. I don't think even the character interface is much improved over the earlier B.G...just a little different in interface and graphics (but not any better, in my opinion). At least I have not seen much improvement in the starting-dungeon. Perhaps this was by design...perhaps it's like the beginning (in black and white as opposed to the later techni-color) of the Wizard of Oz? I sincerely hope so, for my money's sake. One would think they might have, at least, improved the interface, but I guess Black Isle figured why mess with something that worked? Oh sure, it's a little different...but the basic interface is the same! And it's not even aesthetically more pleasing! I haven't explored farther than the first 'act' of this game, but have yet to find anything different from the original B.G. I hope to find something better/different later. So far, nothing. Save your money; if you liked the original Baldur's Gate, great...but don't expect anything different, or improved, in Black Isle's latest...B.G. II. Actually, I guess Neverwinter Nights (and its expansion(s)) are the most recent things from Black Isle...but I don't care for them any more than Baldur's Gate II. I guess I'm missing out on group game-play? The solo game-play is good, but nothing better than the original Baldur's Gate. In fact, the reason I liked BG1 was the capability to play multiplayer while soloing. I mean, you got to play a party of 6, with one main character...in NWN, you only get one player, at least as far as I've played it solo. Baldur's Gate was a fun game, but it seldom deviated from the 'find monster, kill monster...save game lest you be killed and must start over at some earlier point.' I guess that was part of its appeal. Unfortunately, Black Isle, apparently, doesn't know where to go from there. There's not really any strategy involved. You just get used to playing ever-increasingly-more-difficult monsters...and pausing more, or you have to start over for some pointless repetitive play. I loved the first Baldur's Gate. The jury is still out, for me, on Neverwinter Nights -- I don't like solo play in it at all, but the multiplayer capability may prove it a more fun game. I haven't experimented with that aspect of it. With respect to the B.G. series, it seems to me that Black Isle became satisfied with its status quo in Baldur's Gate I, and so did not improve on the game in BGII. They just went for what they thought would sell based on the original -- not original at all, but it sells!
Rating:
Summary: Simply Incredible
Review: I did not care much for this game the first two or three times I played it, but for some reason I stuck with it. For a while I could still have taken or left it, although I enjoyed the dialogue- until I got to Spellhold. The plot twist at that point of the game pulled me in, and from that point on I loved it. The excellence of the plot and the script far surpasses any other game I have ever played; by turns philosophical, frightening, humorous, tender, savage, or dreamy. Once I was in love with the plot, I began to like the gameplay more as well; it does an excellent job of putting you in control of multiple characters, and unlike many RPGs there is a great deal of strategy involved. The D and D rules provide a broad enough range of outcomes that it comes off seeming very real indeed; tiny turns of chance can affect the outcome of a battle, and you find yourself depending on your luck, just waiting for the tide to swing your way. The dealings with other characters are also very strategic and realistic; characters are motivated by personal ideals and can be manipulated, lied to, dealt fairly with, or double- and triple-crossed depending on the player. Since you can do quests in any order and your previous actions leave various and not-always-predictable impacts on any and everything, it is also non-linear in other ways. Added to all this is the fact that the game is absolutely huge, with characters beyond count, dozens of expansive locations, and over a hundred hours of play time if you do all the quests. While it has frequent frustratingly difficult battles and quite a few small annoying quirks, it is deeply addictive and fascinatingly complex, and overall a must have for any intelligent gamer.
Note: To avoid the irritation of incessantly changing CDs, do the full install.
Note: Some of the annoying parts, in case that worries you, include characters who will often rush foolishly into battle or balk at your orders; rather frequent (though mercifully quick on a decent machine)loadscreens; the inability to save or change armor in combat; and frequent inhibitions to saving or resting if there happen to be monsters nearbye. The shortcomings of your characters are maddening at times, especially in battle with spellcasting foes. However, there are fairly few bugs and the system requirements are a good deal less demanding than some other games.
I've warned you, but I still highly recommend this game!
Rating:
Summary: This game is NOT for windows XP!
Review: Like a lot of other deceptions, this game is NOT for Windows XP. Baldur's Gate couldn't be programed by official company or fansite(as with Ultima) to run on XP. It is not possible. The same could be said for Ultima Collecton which stated it was for windows 95 RIGHT ON THE BOX and doesn't run on that os. Please put the correct OS for this game.
Deception #2: This game only contains what BG Saga contained, Baldur's Gate. It is not an "Ultimate" Collection, so don't expect BG II or ToB. It is just another name for the same thing(and for bux) bottom line, if you have BG, stick with it and play it on your old windows 98 system that your so fortunate to own, don't mess with this! If you don't have BG(by now) then your too young to appreciate it!
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