Baldurs Gate II, a console tards shocking discovery

[Jhereg42]

I haven't played any of the PC Baldur's Gate games, but if they're anything like the PS2 ones, I'll stay clear. I had posted a review of Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance not too long ago and recently gave the second game in the series a try and was dead in less time than it takes for the game to boot up. Why? Because I stood in a fire? Why? Because everything was so brown I could not tell I was standing in fire until it was too late. Christ, I haven't see that much brown since Jeff Easley was an official TSR artist. What a crappy game.

No, DA was kind of a Diabloesque clone. It was done by Snowblind rather than Bioware.

Baldur's gate and Baldur's gate 2 pretty much gave the PC RPG a new life. Bioware's engine was so well received at the time that it spawned two other titles that were produced by their publisher Black Isle, and they produced what is arguably one of the best PC RPGs of all time in Torment. The console versions by Snowblind were inferior because they sought to bring the series to the "less sophisticated" console market. (Keep in mind, at the time that was the attitude amongst developers.)

 

[Eyclonus]

I think blizzard has a lot to answer for...

I played both BGs, not back to back, but halfway through the first I was starting the second.
The problem with the BG series is you do need to READ things first, I never read the manual for the first Baldur's Gate, but the tutorial and spell descriptions helped, along with a hotkeyed quicksave. In the second I was more than willing to read the massive tome included.
Diablo, while an enjoyable game, seems like the pre-MMORPG lacks the strategic depth you have in BG type RPGs.
If you do some planning in Diablo you can make a Sorcerous fight like a Paladdin, the only difference between classes is the abilities and class-specific items. While class abilities and items are also present in BG, they define the classes, rather than acting as choice of what kind of sauce you want on your horde-slaying sandwich of a character.

Games like Diablo and WoW are not role playing games, they're just glorified Matrices, as in that pre-computer method of calculation. All people do is just up numbers.

However I will agree that 2nd edition AD&D was nothing like the D20 System descendent, and in reference to that previous argument, D20 and D&D are the same systems, like the way John Smith's daughter Sarah is also a Smith.

Also TheNecroswanson, could you please just post in a form of Grammar that is compatible with English

 

[sammyfreak]

This might be the most posted in review thread ever, I am honored. Eat lead Gigantor, my reviews are more popular then yours.

 

[Gigantor]

It certainly helps to use the words "consoletard" and "Baldur's Gate 2" in the title. Bound to get the emotions flowing. It is indeed an impressively popular thread: I doff my cap to you.

 

[Fire Daemon]

This might be the most posted in review thread ever, I am honored. Eat lead Gigantor, my reviews are more popular then yours.

I don't mean to insult you but MGG=REVIEWS GAMES FOR WINDOWS got 6 pages in before it was locked, truly he is the reviewing king.

 

[GothmogII]

I?d understand if you?d call stuff like KOTOR, Jade Empire, Neverwinter Nights (2), many JRPGs (say Final Fantasy), Planescape, Arcanum, The Witcher, Gothic, Fable, Vampire: Bloodlines, Fallout, Albion or any of the Ultima Parts? heck even Mass Effect as your favorite RPGs but you have a seriously distorted vision of what a RPG actually is xD

-_^ Planescape: Torment... Arcanum... not... RPG's... *twitch*

So...what is an RPG then? : A game whereby the player creates an avatar for one's self and explores and follows a story within a particular setting. Often included is a system by which the player characters and possibly their allies becoming stronger as the game progresses i.e. leveling up. This often involves a system of statistics or stats. May contain extensive dialogue with which the the player is enabled to pick and choose their responses to determine the outcome of an NPC conversation or other action. Right?
Granted, some games such as Planescape, don't allow you much freedom with you main character, however, is it any less an RPG because of that?


And...regarding World of Warcraft, it's not an RPG...until you head to an RP server and do some RP, people don't play WoW because they think it's an RPG, but those who want it so, must make the Roleplay for themselves, if that makes sense.

 

[sammyfreak]

This might be the most posted in review thread ever, I am honored. Eat lead Gigantor, my reviews are more popular then yours.

I don't mean to insult you but MGG=REVIEWS GAMES FOR WINDOWS got 6 pages in before it was locked, truly he is the reviewing king.

Rain on my parade will ya? I shall have my revenge and make my review more popular then ever. Title it with "Fallout 2, a really bad game" and write that there are to many characterisation choices.

 

[Gigantor]

This might be the most posted in review thread ever, I am honored. Eat lead Gigantor, my reviews are more popular then yours.

I don't mean to insult you but MGG=REVIEWS GAMES FOR WINDOWS got 6 pages in before it was locked, truly he is the reviewing king.

Not many of those were praising his perfect prose, though. Receiving the most outright mockery for something isn't quite the kind of accolade you want chiseled into your headstone.

Other suggestions for popular thread titles:

Fascism, and why I'm all for it.
MGG reviews American foreign policy.

 

[Fire Daemon]

Rain on my parade will ya? I shall have my revenge and make my review more popular then ever. Title it with "Fallout 2, a really bad game" and write that there are to many characterisation choices.

Oh..dems are fighting words dem are. Prehaps if you really want to anger people you could write a review "System Shock 2, Why the low graphics ruined this game" or prehaps "Half Life 2, Why it sucks sooooooo much".

They would tear you apart.

At Gigantor: I could only imagine how MGG would review the American foreign policy. I'm sure the word "retarded" would come up far too much.

 

[sammyfreak]

This might be the most posted in review thread ever, I am honored. Eat lead Gigantor, my reviews are more popular then yours.

I don't mean to insult you but MGG=REVIEWS GAMES FOR WINDOWS got 6 pages in before it was locked, truly he is the reviewing king.

Not many of those were praising his perfect prose, though. Receiving the most outright mockery for something isn't quite the kind of accolade you want chiseled into your headstone.

Other suggestions for popular thread titles:

Fascism, and why I'm all for it.
MGG reviews American foreign policy.

Some days I seriously consider writing just that. Choice is overrated.

 

[MJ12 Commando]

Can't say I don't agree with you. I for one loath d20 games almost exclusively. When I try and play those based on the Infinity Engine I suffer from convulsions. Not that I am a complete RPG ignorant and user-friendliness junkie, no. I beat Fallout 2 several times, played through System Shock 2 on Hard and Deus Ex on Realistic and genuinely enjoyed The Witcher. The only Black Isle game I managed to force myself through was Planescape: Torment but thats thanks to the simplified character design, less combat and an absolutely enthralling story.

 

[Easykill]

Some days I seriously consider writing just that. Choice is overrated.

I hope you're joking... But I remember someone said they were afraid of anarchists in the "What are you afraid of" thread, and I think it might be you. If so, may you explain our reasoning to me?

Also, BOO!(I meant like halloween Boo, I wasn't insulting your review) I value personal freedom over safety, and it seems like the only escape from bad government is no government at all.

 

[Archaeology Hat]

The "game" in Baldur's gate isn't all that good. I played the "game" more like I played a tactical strategy with leveling up than an RPG, it's the story and the dialogue that makes it for me. It remains one of the few games ever to have made me laugh hysterically out loud; with it rather than at it(FFX is an example of the opposite, a game that made me laugh at it not with it). 2 may be a continuation of the story of BG 1 but that in no way bothered me, to have it otherwise would have annoyed me a bit, would have been a little like MGS-2's thing with changing the player-character. To have you not start on 8 could have worked... but the game would have some explaining to do.

 

[sammyfreak]

Some days I seriously consider writing just that. Choice is overrated.

I hope you're joking... But I remember someone said they were afraid of anarchists in the "What are you afraid of" thread, and I think it might be you. If so, may you explain our reasoning to me?

Also, BOO! I value personal freedom over safety, and it seems like the only escape from bad government is no government at all.

That definately was me yes, but since this is the internet and people here generaly don't grasp ideas like compliance I doubt a inteligent discussion will arise.

 

[Easykill]

Crap, you quoted the pre-edit version.

But I really am curious, I'm not trying to spit on your beliefs or anything, you're simply the only person I've met with that opinion and I'm curious what the reasoning is. I understand not wanting to talk about it though, so I'll back off.