My first play of Baldur's Gate II

[snakesonabattlefield]

I played Baldur's gate II at release back when I was a youngster... didn't know anything about dnd 2nd edition then, and I still don't, but that didn't stop me from liking it. I'd suggest focusing on the things which don't require you to understand the rules, such as the great story and interesting character interaction. Your understanding of the system will grow gradually.

As a sidenote, BGII is one of the very few games I still keep comming back to. Quite simply a masterpiece and worth a bit of patience!

 

[beholdmycape]

How can anyone not like BG2?
I've been playing games for twenty years and I'm not a massive RPG fan but Baldurs Gate 2 is the best game I've ever played.

I know, i thought i'd really like it based on how highly it's regarded, but it's probably just not to my tates. Or perhaps there are other external factors, most notably that of only playing the game for the first time a while after it's release.

Well, it is old sure but none of the things that make it good have become deprecated by age.
If the graphics seem a little twee and unimpressive remember that they weren't considered great even when it was first released. Personally I like the visual style but I accept that graphics are not it's strongest suit. It's an isometric top downer, only so much can be achieved graphics-wise within these constraints.

It is however one of those incredibly rare games that just screams 'This is a game made by a group of talented, creative people who genuinely tried to make every single part of it the best it could be'. It just oozes quality, subtlety and class. It's simply in a league all it's own and there hasn't yet been an RPG to come anywhere near it.

Of course you dont have to like it, But I would recommend giving it another shot as it sounds like you gave up on it fairly early and no doubt the game does take a little while to get into it's stride.

I didn't mean the graphics sry, they were fine. I just meant that maybe playing it so long after it's release might not give much of a feel for what the game did in it's time. But yeah, i'll give it another shot .

Hmmm, I see what you're saying. I only recently started playing Diablo 2 myself and fail to see what people enjoy about the game so much, though maybe if i'd played it when it first came out I would be having a lot more fun.
I hope you haven't missed the BG boat though!
Don't forget there is a ton of mods and additional content available to tailor the game to your prefrences, though apart from a patch or two for known bugs I'd avoid them for your first playthrough.
Unfortunately there are also a load of hilariously poorly written 'art, thee, thou, forsooth!' NPC and romance mods including one where you can romance your own sister.
I'm not sure what this says about the BG modding community but it isn't good.

 

[elitecrewer]

So what you're saying is that you don't know anything about RPGs.. or Dungeons and Dragons... and now you're surprised that you didn't like it?

Well, i guess i was ignorant enough to read the Gamespot reviews. But the impressions that were given was that it's the best RPG ever that everyone should play, rather than it's the best RPG game ever the real-life RPG and D&D fans should play. Had i known that it was focused more towards a particular audience, i probably would've avoided it. Then again, it probably serves me right for reading gamespot reviews.

I'm being overly harsh, but the thing is, I was giving you a way out -> it *is* the best RPG for everyone. It's pretty overwhelming in terms of size, scale, complexity (it's AD&D rules -> 'advanced' D&D) and un-user-friendly-ness (oh dear). A lot of people (*a lot*) love it for that -> personally I prefer a deep and inaccessible game to a shallow and easy to swallow one, but if you found it a bit much first time (and I don't blame you), then that's fine too. The fact that you're not all that into RPGs or D&D really just makes it more likely for you not to like it -> BG2 has more fans than D&D does, so it can't possibly be true to say that it only appeals to D&D fans.

 

[Doom Marine]

I my self never got in to BG2 my self..

i was more of a Fallout dude back in the days.

 

[More Fun To Compute]

You should have listened to the people who refuse to stop talking about Planescape: Torment instead.

 

[rosseloh]

I hate to be the only person against it, but I didn't like BG2. I never played the first BG, but I have lots of experience with NWN1 (the best RPG I've played so far). I sat down to play BG2, and just couldn't get into it. It was mostly the controls. They seemed rather counter intuitive for a ranged class (which is what I played). I was on a PS2 though, so perhaps it's easier when you can point and click.

The maps also seemed rather boring to me. I like a 3/4 camera view, but only if you can freely rotate and adjust the pitch, which I don't recall being able to do with BG2.

 

[beholdmycape]

I hate to be the only person against it, but I didn't like BG2. I never played the first BG, but I have lots of experience with NWN1 (the best RPG I've played so far). I sat down to play BG2, and just couldn't get into it. It was mostly the controls. They seemed rather counter intuitive for a ranged class (which is what I played). I was on a PS2 though, so perhaps it's easier when you can point and click.

The maps also seemed rather boring to me. I like a 3/4 camera view, but only if you can freely rotate and adjust the pitch, which I don't recall being able to do with BG2.

I think you might be talking about Baldurs Gate: Dark Alliance.
BG2 was only ever released on PC and though I haven't played it I've heard that DA is a pile of shit with little in common with the Bhaal trilogy.

 

[Zac_Dai]

Content and storywise its an amazing game.

But man is it complex and hard. I played it about 5 years back with no prior experience with D&D and these kind of RPGs in general.

But if you don't mind taking the time to learn it, its very rewarding. But that said don't feel you have to push yourself to enjoy it because others say so.

 

[rosseloh]

I hate to be the only person against it, but I didn't like BG2. I never played the first BG, but I have lots of experience with NWN1 (the best RPG I've played so far). I sat down to play BG2, and just couldn't get into it. It was mostly the controls. They seemed rather counter intuitive for a ranged class (which is what I played). I was on a PS2 though, so perhaps it's easier when you can point and click.

The maps also seemed rather boring to me. I like a 3/4 camera view, but only if you can freely rotate and adjust the pitch, which I don't recall being able to do with BG2.

I think you might be talking about Baldurs Gate: Dark Alliance.
BG2 was only ever released on PC and though I haven't played it I've heard that DA is a pile of shit with little in common with the Bhaal trilogy.

Possibly. I was shown it by a friend, and it was several years ago. My memory is a bit foggy.

 

[Bellvedere]

I was never into D&D and if it ever game to playing a proper game pen and paper game I would be absolutely clueless. Baldur's Gate can be a little hard to get the hang of (which annoying because that first dungeon can take so long, walking from one side to another - unless you start with haste) maybe reading a guide on 2nd Ed. AD&D rules will help.

I didn't play BG1 until after BG2 and BG2 is much better, and I don't think many people would have ended BG1 in a way that would make the beginning of BG2 make sense anyway.

Once you get the hang of it the complexity makes it so much more interesting. I tried to play Diablo after BG2, and was dissappointed at how simple it started out, and never played it beyond 10mintues. Boring I know but I played BG pretty much exclusively for about a year, with my best friend.

Also I loved the isometric - nothing conjures up nostagia in me like the good ol' infinity engine.

 

[Susurrus]

all mages are a massive pain

Firstly, I fixed this for you.

Secondly, whoever said BG2 is the best ever RPG is wrong, because that title evidently goes to Planescape:Torment. BG2 is second best, however, and I recommend everyone to play it BEFORE PS:T, because that other game is such a pain to get in to.


BGA was a pile of rubbish, and doesn't deserve to be associated with the game. AFAIK it is totally unrelated in terms of storyline, and basically a half-cocked spin-off. This is not a reasonable way to assess the BG games.


It is complicated, I agree, and fairly unintuitive, but there are really only 3 things you need to know to get started:
i) Mages are complicated, and picking their spells is going to involve a lot of reading. However, much of it is an exercise in practise and experimentation, and as long as you have about 50% direct damage spells of one type or another, your mage will always be useful. Just use the other 50% of your slots to experiment. Actually, you ought to be familiar with a lot of these spells if you played NWN1, so you ought to be fine in regards to this.

ii) How combat works. The two main, totally unintuitive points about combat are THAC0 and Armour Class.

Armour Class starts at 10, and can be decreased to -10 (-20 in the expansion). THE LOWER THE NUMBER THE BETTER. Random, I know, but that's the truth of it. 0 is pretty average, anything below that is starting to get quite good.

THAC0 is about the most unintuitive thing ever, but totally determines how you do in combat. Its an acronym for "To Hit Armour Class 0". What it means is that this is the lowest number you have to roll on a D20 (20-sided dice) to hit. So, if your THAC0 is 15, then you have to roll between 15 and 20 to hit someone whos armour class is 15. Your opponent's armour class modifies this. So, if my opponent has an AC of 5, and my THAC0 is 15, I don't need to roll a 15 to hit, because he doesn't have AC 0 (remember what THAC0 means..). What I actually have to roll is 10 or above, because his AC is 5 above AC 0, and thus I gain an advantageous modifier to hit equal to 5. The same is true but in reverse when he has an armour class lower than 0.

iii) You desperately need a balanced party. Always have at least 1: Fighter-type (Fighter, ranger, paladin), thief, cleric or druid, and a mage. Other choices are optional.


Also, using 3 lower resistances, followed by a greater malison, and finally a chromatic orb (once your caster is above lvl 14 (?)) to kill a dragon with a level 1 spell is awesome.

Finally: NWN1 is not a patch on NWN2, and NWN2 is not as good as its Mask of the Betrayer Expansion, which is on a par with BG2, and BG2 is not as good as PS:T. But the main thing to note about this is that NWN1 is on the bottom rung of decent RPGs. Not least because the story for the original sucked absolute drawers. :/

 

[tarquin biscuitbarrel]

op failed, but i still want to tell a little story about bg2.

i bought bg2 soon after it was released. never played any similar game before it.

i played for about 6 hours before deciding i totally hated it and stuck it on a shelf to gather dust.

6 years later i got especially bored, found bg2 while doing some cleaning, decided to give it a fair try...

after getting through the boring 'intro' dungeon bit, it's probably the best 'fantasy' rpg game ever.

 

[Jandau]

Secondly, whoever said BG2 is the best ever RPG is wrong, because that title evidently goes to Planescape:Torment. BG2 is second best, however, and I recommend everyone to play it BEFORE PS:T, because that other game is such a pain to get in to.

I'm going to have to argue this point a bit. BG2 is the better game here. PS:T does indeed sport the best storyline in any RPG and it is told in an interesting way. I also features some of the best characters ever. However, BG2 beats it sqarely in the gameplay, combat and other such fields, while not falling far behind in the story and characters, making for an overall better experience. Therefore, due to its flaws, PS:T gets knocked down to 2nd best RPG ever

Also, I'd argue that PS:T is easier to get into, since all the joinable characters develop their stats in a fairly linear fashion with little room for alterations, their gear choices are quite limited and the only tricky thing is developing The Nameless One. However, you can't go wrong with a Fighter and if someone tells you Wisdom is the most important stat in the game, the rest is easy

 

[TheArma]

As others have said BG2 is tough to get into, but very much worth it. Frankly, to get into it you need one of two things - a semi-decent knowledge of D&D rules/spells stc. or a knowledgable person sitting over your shoulder for character creation and the first hour or two of gameplay. Yeah, if a game today required that there would be uproar - but hey, it's an old game from a different era.

My girlfriend just started in BG2 after having touched on BG1 years ago and having sworn never to go back to it - but with my guidance on character creation (Not forcing her into any specific role/choice, but telling her what that class/stat/spell *really* does) and a helping hand in the first few hours of gameplay she's up and running and loving it - on the difficulty level it is meant to played at.

A good start is the most important thing for a good life wandering Faerun! If you'd like any hint/tips just pop me a PM and I will be more than happy to offer some advice.

 

[Baby Tea]

I guess even after the tutorial and first mission i found it slightly overwhealming.

Let me just say, that I felt the exact same way with Fallout 1 when it was first released. I got it, installed it, played for about 15 or 20 minutes, and got rid of it. I didn't get it, or really understand what was going on.

Then I went to a friend's house and he was playing it. He showed me everything. The combat, the movement, the 'feel' of the game mechanics in general. I reinstalled it that night, and it's one of my favourite RPGs ever.

Now, the Baldur's Gate Saga is my favourite RPG series, and I think that, if you enjoy RPGs, you'd be doing yourself a disservice to just stop playing because you don't quite get it. I'd say find a friend (Either here on the Escapist or elsewhere) who knows the game well, and get them to explain anything to you that you aren't sure of.

 

[Altorin]

So what you're saying is that you don't know anything about RPGs.. or Dungeons and Dragons... and now you're surprised that you didn't like it?

Well, i guess i was ignorant enough to read the Gamespot reviews. But the impressions that were given was that it's the best RPG ever that everyone should play, rather than it's the best RPG game ever the real-life RPG and D&D fans should play. Had i known that it was focused more towards a particular audience, i probably would've avoided it. Then again, it probably serves me right for reading gamespot reviews.

I'm being overly harsh, but the thing is, I was giving you a way out -> it *is* the best RPG for everyone. It's pretty overwhelming in terms of size, scale, complexity (it's AD&D rules -> 'advanced' D&D) and un-user-friendly-ness (oh dear). A lot of people (*a lot*) love it for that -> personally I prefer a deep and inaccessible game to a shallow and easy to swallow one, but if you found it a bit much first time (and I don't blame you), then that's fine too. The fact that you're not all that into RPGs or D&D really just makes it more likely for you not to like it -> BG2 has more fans than D&D does, so it can't possibly be true to say that it only appeals to D&D fans.

ADVANCE THIS!! *arm pump*

hehehe... Although I do think that D&D probably has more fans then Baldur's Gate 2..

It's a great game, but I totally see where the OP is coming from.. I only had any real fun with the game when I played it with a couple friends online.. I didn't care for the NPC characters that you got, and considering that's the meat of the game - the characters and their interations with eachother and the NPCs you encounter - I missed a good portion of the games charm.

But from a gameplay standpoint, I loved it.. just preferred it multiplayer with human generated characters.

As for Baldur's Gate 1... I really felt thrown to the wolves in that one.. you start at level 1.. and if you don't go just the way you're supposed to.. bam, you'll die.

The only Infinity Engine RPG I played from start to finish was Icewind Dale... that game I loved... probably because the game wasn't character driven.. I didn't have to hire crappy characters to not care about.

ALL OF THE ABOVE BEING SAID

Minsc rocks. He's the one and only exception to my "Hating the NPCs" rule.

 

[psijac]

The ending really turned me off. An all powerful Elf Magi commits high treason, bordering on sacrilege. The Solution? Tear out his soul and set him lose without direction on the unsuspecting world in hopes he can redeem himself without said soul. Problem SOLVED!

 

[Phototoxin]

You don't actually need to understand the mechanics in depth but it does help.

 

[Axeli]

I can't say I have gotten far into a BG game but my main complaint is: It plays like a MMO despite being single player game.

Too darn slow, clumsy and chaotic. I don't mind if a game doesn't open up right away, but bloody hell if just walking through a town is that painfully slow and tedious progress.
Fallout's somewhat similar flaws I could at least stand thanks to the unique setting, but BG doesn't even have that going for it. Sorry, got tired of Tolkien rip-offs at the age of 14. Mind reading some other novels than LotR and Dragon Lance before writing... well, anything?