Baldur's Gate 2: The Collection

Rating:
Summary: Good, but find the original releases.
Review: Baldur's Gate II is the best RPG I've ever played. That being said, this is an awful release. The original box came with an excellent spiral-bound manual when you needed to look something up. Alt-tabbing back and forth between Adobe Acrobat is not fun, especially when the manual is 263 pages. I recommend buying a used copy of the original game off Amazon or eBay.

Rating:
Summary: Boring boring game
Review: I hate this crappy game. I hate because first of all the little characters on your screen are tiny. I like starcraft and stuff, but you got little guys that you control that are tiny. You can barely see them. Secondly you have to read these huge conversations that go on forever. My eyes feel like they are gonna die from reading all the crud. And the conversations are so boring and long. I hate the battles to because you can't even see the battle because the guys are so small. Plus the battles are so complicated. I hate it. If you want to sit down, relax, and play a super boring game, then you should get it. Otherwise get starcraft or warcraft.

Rating:
Summary: Good Lord!
Review: Is this a great game or a great game? well i can tell you its even beter it's one of the best games ever made. When you have start played it you will never play anything else ever again you will only play this game for the rest of your life. Well meby not but you will play it for some time i can tell you but to be honest its not that big that everyone say its is. ok its biger then most games but not that very big that you may think it is, it was smaller then i thougt it whuld be atleast. But whatever you dont whont it to end thats for sure. it is a litle old but that doesent mather much for sutch a great game its the story that is the great thing with it. All in all a must have game.

Rating:
Summary: Too many stats in the game play, great graphics.
Review: When we finally got this game to load, it was another waiting
period simply to build a character. We prefer RPGs like Revenant
and Doom and Quake series; and in all honesty expected something
like that in this game. However it runs more in line with Myst,
in that you have to hunt for items before moving awkwardly along
the same level. It also presents you with a dozen or more buttons
just to allow the player to move, fight, cast spells of alike. If
you are not willing to PRINT OUT THE MANUAL, you are going to
be lost until you figure out what the dozens of picture icons mean. The opponent characters will not be kind, lauching attacks
while your struggling to figure out what to do for your character
and several others you can control as your merry team tries to
advance past a wizard's dungeon.
Yes it has fine graphics and sound and interesting levels. But this PC game fell well short of our hopes. It gets a 3 for effort. If your a MYST fan, you'll probably like the novelty of
action.

Rating:
Summary: Several hundred hours of addictive play
Review: Its graphics may be a bit dated (they were even when the game came out) but if you can look beyond that, this is one seriously awesome collection. Baldur's Gate 2 has incredible RPG depth, a strong tactical aspect, and great replay value. The expansion is bigger than most, and adds significant epic-level capabilities for your characters.

The game picks up several years after the events in Baldur's Gate, and continues the plot. If you didn't play that first game (a shame- go get it) there are a few quick recaps of the key points. You can play in single play mode, in which case you make your one main character (or import from Baldur's Gate); multiplay with just you, in which you can make your whole party; or multiplay with friends, in which everyone can make and control one or more characters. In any case, your party has up to six people at a time, and you can dismiss or add characters at will.

Add to this a whole lot of classes, including special 'kits' that are akin to 3rd edition prestige classes (save that you can take them immediately) and you have a whole lot of room for party customization. There's a host of NPCs that can join your party, some better than others, but all very interesting and with unique (sometimes very extensive) side quests. You can have romantic relationships with some of these potential party members, and some will even have romances with other NPCs.

Almost all of the dialogue in the game is spoken, and although there's not much full motion video, when there is it's well done. The plot advances through chapters, and there are numerous side quests that take you to many varied game world locations. The rewards for some of these quests are awesome, and some of the monsters you'll run into are equally so. This is where the tactics come in- your party composition is crucial for winning these big fights. For example, dealing with that red dragon is going to be exceedingly difficult without some protection from fire and fear effects. There are also many ways to solve the various problems you run into. For example, a thief laying some traps in a doorway can turn a tough band of charging enemies into so much cannon fodder. Then again, if you don't have a thief or aren't a very subtle type, you can just fireball the lot of them and clean up what's left with a good old-fashioned sword charge.

I mentioned earlier that the graphics are dated. This is true, but it doesn't really detract from the play. The area backgrounds are actually very nice, though also largely static. Spell effects look decent, if less flashy than newer games like Neverwinter Nights. The music and voice acting are also top-notch, and don't get old even after many times through the game (which is likely to happen once you get hooked). The latter in particular really lends character to the people you meet. It's a testament to the developer's success in this regard that you'll have strongly varied feelings toward nearly all of the NPCs- just as you would expect of real people.

As for the story, it is superb. The scope is truly epic, and the side quests actually interesting. This is more than can be said about much of Neverwinter Nights, for all of the polish and vaunted expandability of that title. Though generally linear, the campaign doesn't seem to be linear. When replaying, though you'll be going to the same places and doing the same things, the different characters you have along will make it seem like a different game. There's also a ton of secrets and hidden areas- you might just find something you didn't see before.

That said, it's worth mentioning that although there are no official tools for editing the game, there are unofficial ones. These have been put to good effect, and there's a host of mods and add-ons available for free download. There's even a mod that converts the interface to Icewind Dale's more attractive look (though you must have that game for it to work) and thus significantly improves the graphics and changes the somewhat clunky 2nd edition rules to 3rd edition.

I think the value of this title can be summed up by the fact that I played it through at least 5 times, which is something I've only done for two or three other games (the original Baldur's Gate being one of them). Even if you're not into D&D, don't particularly care for RPGs, and don't give a hoot about Forgotten Realms, this game comes highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: The best pc OR video game I have ever played.
Review: What more can I add beyond my title? If you're a graphics snob, you're not going to be reading reviews on games more than 12 months old anyway. This, along with Planescape: Torment, are the only two games that have TOTALLY absorbed me from start to finish. The other positive reviews describe all you need to know about the game. Since, I have tried Temple of Elemental Evil, the Diablos, Divine Divinity, Neverwinter Nights...none of them compare, even remotely, to the level of detail and straight satisfaction I derived from BGII.

Rating:
Summary: 5 stars for SoA, and 3 for ToB
Review: BG2:SoA was one of the best RPG's I've ever played. There's a tremendous amount of story, and so many characters to choose from. The plot's great, and I like the lack of linearity with the side quests. BioWare's Infinity Engine is by far one of the most fun interfaces I've used for any RPG.

BG:ToB, on the other hand... well, this one wasn't so hot. There is an abrupt change in pace, and the story seems kind of thrown together (especially if you import directly from SoA). The characters are still great (Sarevok is absolutely necessary for ANY party!) and the battles are a bit more interesting. Unfortunately the story isn't.

Rating:
Summary: Good game - but beware
Review: Overall, this is an excellent sequel to the original Baldur's Gate series. But beware, if you have a wireless mouse, especially itouch, you won't be able to play the game at a level that you would like. Apparently, there is a bug with the software which the programmers have not, nor will not, fix. Spells will not cast, characters will not follow your directions, etc. Some people have had success by disconnecting their wireless equipment and hard-plugging another into their computer.

Rating:
Summary: Hands Down, This Is The Best RPG Ever
Review: This is the game the transformed me into from a once-in-a-while-gamer into a hardcore gamer.

Why is BG2 so great?
BG2 has the ultimate non-linear story line. You can play it loads of different ways, all with different outcomes, because the decisions that you make will impact how the story line unfolds. This is the only game I ever played where I'd take a break from it and go into the kitchen for something to eat, and spend a long time wondering what decision I should make in the game, and what effect that would have in the game and on my NPC's.

The NPC's are fantastic. There are many to choose from who will join you - up to 6 can join you at a time. In most games, NPC's are merely an extra fighter to help you out. In this game, they talk to you while you are walking along, they argue with you when they don't agree with your decisions, and they even tease and argue with each other. Plus you can have a romance with one of them. So while you are traveling from one part of the game to another, these NPC's entertain you. And with certain decisions you make, some NPC's will leave you. There is no other game out there that has put so much effort into developing all aspects of NPC's. I wish there was. To me, it's what really makes BG2 the greatest RPG ever.

Last, the story line really immerses you and this is the only game that when I finished it the first time, I cried. I was that involved.