Can somebody explain to me why Baldur's Gate is such a revered classic?

[Smooth Operator]

Well you youngsters will find this quite odd but back in the day unbeatable odds and possibility of failure were not yet lost to the casual wars.
Sometimes you just had to run the fuck away, and not just push crouch and wait for insta heal, no you had figure out the opponent and fight smart to run away.

I can't even count the number of times I went up against a dragon and my seemingly overpowerd squad would get squashed like a grape, yet if you put the abilities together just right you could get through it without a single death.

 

[PureChaos]

Not a clue, never played them. The Dark Alliance games, however, have acquired many days of my life.

Dark Alliance was a great game but i've not played the second one. the first had a great ending but which set up the second one really well but it wasn't released on GC. SO annoying

 

[teebeeohh]

i would also like to mention that if at all possible you should use the mods that crams all of Baldurs gate into one game, that's pretty neat

 

[Xaio30]

How do people like this piece of shit? Even Fallout wasn't this bastardly in it's opening hour.

As far as I remember, people only mention the sequel, Baldurs Gate II: The Shadows of Amn, when they praise the series. It improved the first game in pretty much every aspect with its way of releasing you into the vast city of Athkatla with a single goal: Gain 20000 Gold in any way possible (With a pretty compelling reason).

Or you could just go about adventuring as you want, forging mythical weapons and armor while solving riddles in dungeons of lost gods, druids or dragons. Exposing smugglers, get a class specific stronghold or just break into people's houses and steal their shinies.

 

[lionsprey]

Well BG1 is simply just damn hard. Especially if someone is used to modern games and also has little understanding of the old D&D system then I could well imagine that the game is nearly impossible to begin with.

I'd advise new people to start with BG2 (which to me is the better of the two games anyway). You start BG2 at level 7 meaning you don't die as easily as you do in BG1. The game will still smack you around if you're not careful, but a new player could play as a mage of a thief and not get killed by a single blow.

Regardless if you start with BG1 and on to BG2, or just BG2, then game really is an epic (one of the few games that the word really applies to). The story of the bhaalspawn is to me of the best stories in all of gaming, wouldn't want to say any more as it should be experienced not told. Add to that the fantastic characters, both good and evil, and the BG games are a must for any RPG player.

The problem with starting with BG2 is that it's a lot harder to get a handle on a high (well higher) level character when you start playing especially if you're not familiar with ADnD

 

[CptRichards]

You guys think these BG games are challenging ? Try playing some of the old d&d Gold Box, Wizardry, Bards Tale and Realms of Arkania games.

The original Might and Magic games. Those are hard, unforgiving RPG's. lol Baldur's Gate is child's play compared to M&M.

 

[Launcelot111]

I just started this game a couple weeks ago, and if we're talking about the same assassin guy (the one who comes up and is like "who might you be and where did you come from?", right?), then I tore him apart without any trouble with my druid plus imoen, xzor, and the other guy at level one. He might have hit me once, and I really fail to see how this could ever really become a world famous challenge of any sort

Way, way easier than that first deathclaw in the Hub, if you want to make the Fallout comparison

 

[endtherapture]

BG1 is an impossible game, I've only completed it once. It's kinda linear at the start too but you have to explore the right areas in order to be the right level to complete the game. However if you go into the wrong area youll get turned to stone by a Basillisk.

It's one of the only games I actually recommend using a guide for because it's very dense and rich and full of stuff. However the plot is epic, the chracters and good, and the exploring is great and really fun, every area is packed full of little sub plots and ruins and dungeons and side quests it's so good.

BG2 is a lot easier but perhaps even more dense, although less vast. You also get epic high level weapons and abilities and generally it's a lot funner, I played it first then went to BG1 and got a massive shock.

 

[RagTagBand]

How do people like this piece of shit? Even Fallout wasn't this bastardly in it's opening hour.

Good luck getting any "Classic" RPG elitist to admit that their favoured Deity is anything less than perfect.

TBH you've just encountered a thankfully dead old gaming trope - Unfair gameplay. Nowadays "Unfair" means you're at a disadvantage if you're not sufficiently skilled, but 15 years ago "Unfair" meant progressing required both copious amounts of luck (thanks to moronic dice rolling) or replaying the same section over and over until you'd memorized what was going to happen. Cheap, lazy developing and would you believe that it's looked back at fondly as if it were a golden age...

 

[Blunderboy]

So because you did badly it's the game that's at fault?
As people have said, BG makes you earn your victories rather than handing them to you on a platter. And I love it for it.

 

[Imbechile]

snip

Oh look! Another escapist member goes into an older RPG, gets stuck in the first third of the game, then goes on the escapist saying the game is a piece of shit DESPITE playing 2-3 hours of a 30+ hour game and asking members what do they see.

Some people just like the challange. Why are you suprised?

I have a counter-question: Can somebody explain to me why do people keep making these idiotic kind of threads?

PS: I'm speaking as someone who is not a fan of Baldur's game.

 

[RagTagBand]

How do people like this piece of shit? Even Fallout wasn't this bastardly in it's opening hour.

Good luck getting any "Classic" RPG elitist to admit that their favoured Deity is anything less than perfect.

TBH you've just encountered a thankfully dead old gaming trope - Unfair gameplay. Nowadays "Unfair" means you're at a disadvantage if you're not sufficiently skilled, but 15 years ago "Unfair" meant progressing required both copious amounts of luck (thanks to moronic dice rolling) or replaying the same section over and over until you'd memorized what was going to happen. Cheap, lazy developing and would you believe that it's looked back at fondly as if it were a golden age...

Moronic dice rolling ? We're talking about RPGs FFS, not shitty ARPGs. Don't you have some buttons to be mashing ? / Your hand to be held ?

Oh god how could I be so simple as to want SKILL to be the main factor in whether I win a fight or not, rather than a random number generator winning the game for me with the power of maths? It's also amazing how you define RPG's as needing to have digital dice rolls to be counted as part of the Glorious RPG master race, Here's me thinking that the important factor would be things like "Playing a role" rather than an archaic, uninvolved, convoluted, luck-based combat system.

Way to counter the "Elitist" accusation though, by throwing elitist, semi-insults my way; I'm not actually so fucking pathetic that what gameplay system I prefer is a point of pride. Clearly you do, however, and It's pretty sad to think you're sitting there thinking you're superior than people because you like Dice.

Bravo, Round of applause for this guy.

 

[Neonit]

Oh god how could I be so simple as to want SKILL to be the main factor in whether I win a fight or not, rather than a random number generator winning the game for me with the power of maths?

accounting for random chance in your strategy is a kind of skill. you should win your fights before they even begin

bg isnt really newbie friendly, what you want is bg2. new games tend to be easier, seeing as gaming has become more mainstream nowadays. it is really rewarding however, beating a game that is considered to be hard.

as to why its a "revered classic".... well, i think because it was pretty much golden era of pc rpg.... they were complex enough to keep "hardcore" crowd happy, and accessible enough for new players to enjoy. bg2 that is.

ps no need to get to excited one way or another people.... keep it civil

pps because of this thread im re-installing bg. thanks

 

[endtherapture]

How do people like this piece of shit? Even Fallout wasn't this bastardly in it's opening hour.

Good luck getting any "Classic" RPG elitist to admit that their favoured Deity is anything less than perfect.

TBH you've just encountered a thankfully dead old gaming trope - Unfair gameplay. Nowadays "Unfair" means you're at a disadvantage if you're not sufficiently skilled, but 15 years ago "Unfair" meant progressing required both copious amounts of luck (thanks to moronic dice rolling) or replaying the same section over and over until you'd memorized what was going to happen. Cheap, lazy developing and would you believe that it's looked back at fondly as if it were a golden age...

Moronic dice rolling ? We're talking about RPGs FFS, not shitty ARPGs. Don't you have some buttons to be mashing ? / Your hand to be held ?

Oh god how could I be so simple as to want SKILL to be the main factor in whether I win a fight or not, rather than a random number generator winning the game for me with the power of maths? It's also amazing how you define RPG's as needing to have digital dice rolls to be counted as part of the Glorious RPG master race, Here's me thinking that the important factor would be things like "Playing a role" rather than an archaic, uninvolved, convoluted, luck-based combat system.

Way to counter the "Elitist" accusation though, by throwing elitist, semi-insults my way; I'm not actually so fucking pathetic that what gameplay system I prefer is a point of pride. Clearly you do, however, and It's pretty sad to think you're sitting there thinking you're superior than people because you like Dice.

Bravo, Round of applause for this guy.

BG is based on 2nd Edition D&D. It's pretty much a giant D&D campaign put into videogame form. Pure unadulterated D&D. If you know anything, you know that D&D is based on dice rolls. That's the thing, so complaining about D&D being hard cos of dice rolls is silly.

The dice represent things eg. slipping on a wet stone and missing your blow, an arrow going straight into the eye of a goblin and killing him, a blow being deflected by a well placed shield slot.

Baldur's Gate isn't luck though, it's skill. If you're bumbling through the game, you'll die because your characters aren't skilled for equipped enough to survive the various dice rolls. However using the right buffs and equipment and stuff will make it so you do survive. You make your own luck in the game.

And don't forget luck goes either way. If you're unlucky you'll die quickly, but if you're lucky you'll get a string of critical hits and just gib the enemy.

If you're bad at BG it's your fault for not playing the game right, using the right tactics and stuff, not the games fault.

 

[Keava]

Because back in our days games weren't afraid of killing the player. Normal difficulty was what many games these day sell as "hard" or "hardcore". You made mistakes - You died, You went into wrong place - You died, You messed up Your maths at character building - You died.

It was game based on pen and paper system, what You expect? In tabletop D&D You die as easily (if not more, depending on GM) because a low level character is just that. You want to survive You have to play smart and take it slow, one enemy at a time.
You don't start as a hero, You start as a guy with some basic training, knowing just enough to recognize the pointy edge of the weapon.

As to why BG is revered as classic? Because it was. Because it was first of the kind, mixing the isometric approach of Diablo and story telling of traditional RPG. It was all iteration of the concept that started with games like Rogue (and rogue-likes), Zork, Ultima and dungeon crawlers (Might and Magic/Eye of Beholder).
It was the next big step in cRPG design coupled with good story telling, using a popular setting.

 

[s0p0g]

RTFM (does this even still work today, as there usually aren't any manuals anymore?) and use your head

as others stated before, you'll need to understand the mechanics at work in this big fucking game, and once you've done that you can easily deduce from certain failures at certain situation what need to be done to counter that; yes, this game is so old you'll have to use your brain, not just quickscope your way through it, and it is so old that if you REALLY screw up (during level-up, equip-wise, team setup, tactical approach on (certain) fights, etc pp...) you will BE screwed - and (possibly) have to start over, or at least go back quite a number of saves
yes, there once was a time when game-overs were quite possible... and games were not rated down for not being "using-friendly" - yes, gamers didn't always need arrows on the minimap and question-marks floating over heads, and long, straight corridors disguised as "levels"... and many other things, but i digress ^^

or long story short: you'll have to put a certain of dedication into this, especially when unfamiliar with ad&d 2 rules; but, as others already said, the reward is a huge adventure for your character (if you play the entire series) and thus yourself, and the warm and cozy feeling of beating a game because having figured it out (and not because it took you by the hand and led you to the end-credits)

just a random lurker passing through. but... what is that censored part? i can't figure it out for the life of me. o.o;;

Ca... sual?
would be my guess ^^

 

[lRookiel]

Snip.

Hahahaha! Sorry but this is funny. You completely missed out on getting 2 other companions on the way to this guy that makes it easy to defeat him.

Their names are Xzar who is a human necromancer and Montaron who is a halfling rogue and you meet them in the woodland area before the inn. they carry potions and scrolls aswell as enough hits to kill the bastard without mishap.