Should I bother with Baldur's Gate?

[The Random Critic]

To be honest, both bg1/2 wasn't really that hard.. Once you get use to the combat and learn the "meta". (they are also spell penetration rules to memorize for bg2)

Still though, like any bioware games, I like some of the character, and the combat is really different. (could be a good or bad thing, depends on your taste)

Apparently, there is a meta in single player games

 

[The Madman]

I still hold Baldur's Gate 2 as the best rpg ever made so yeah, I'd recommend at least giving it a try. Especially if you liked Dragon Age: Origins, which was originally conceived as a spiritual successor to the old BG series.

What makes BG2 so good? While it might not be the 'best' at any one aspect, it does amazingly well as everything. It's got a great story with a fantastic cast of characters and a pair of memorable villains. It's got nicely appealing 2D artwork that's aged well due to it's high quality. It's got fun tactical turn-based combat that faithfully recreates 2nd Edition D&D. All this in a large semi-open world that's rife with well designed side-quests and a great variety of enemies and locations.

Planescape: Torment might have the better story, but it's got terrible gameplay.

Temple of Elemental Evil might have better combat, but it suffers from a boring story.

Mass Effect might be more cinematic, but it lacks BG's depth.

etc etc.

Baldur's Gate 2 just does everything right in my opinion, and I'm not the only one apparently. IGN has it ranked #3 of their best rpg of all time, making it their pick for best western rpg. It's the highest ranked PC rpg on Metacritic by metascore and second by user score. Gamerankings has it at #5 for rpgs, 4 if you discount a game before it being listed on two platforms. Even the grognard over at RPG codex have it as their 4th highest ranked rpg of all time.

Spoiler: references

For reference:

-#3 IGN's top rpg ever, highest rated for wrpg
-Highest rated Metacritic games on PC, BG2 is at 6, the highest rated rpg.
-4th highest rated rpg overall across all platforms
-Gamerankings website where it boasts a similar top spot
-RPG Codex article ranking it 4th best rpg

So if it's nostalgia making people like me love BG2, it's clearly not just the Escapist forums infected with it.

So yeah, amazing game. If you're willing to take the time to learn how it works and don't mind playing an older game, then you're in for one hell of a treat when you play it.

As for BG1, it's also quite good. Is it as good as BG2? Not really. It's more open-ended and allows for more exploration, but also suffers a bit story-wise as a result. The characters aren't nearly as compelling, the visuals aren't as sharp, and the low-level combat can make for a frustrating experience to those not prepared for it.

With all that said it's still Baldur's Gate dammit, and I contend that bringing a character all the way from the start of BG1 to the very end of BG2's Throne of Bhall is the best rpg experience out there (You can import your character from BG1 to 2).

Go for it, and if you have any questions or need any help go ahead and ask me. If this post doesn't make it obvious enough, I'm a pretty big fan of the series and I'm always happy to help a newcomer into the series either by giving helpfull gameplay hints or suggestions and instructions for what mods to try out.

 

[SonicWaffle]

Dragon Age: Origins is one of my favorite games of all time. Looking for another game similar to it, I discovered that it's the spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate, and now I'm curious about it. I was wondering, do you think I'd like Baldur's Gate if I liked Dragon Age? I've also heard that the second game is considerably better than the first. Should I even play the first, or just skip to the second?

EDIT: Also, if anybody knows of any other games similar to Dragon Age, feel free to list them.

EDIT: Thanks for all the responses and recommendations. I've decided to try a few games, as they're all quite cheap right now. I've gotten Neverwinter Nights 2, and both Baldur's Gates (I'm currently installing the Tutu mod).

I tried both BG1 and the original NWN and never got too far into them, honestly. The difficulty of BG1 can be unforgiving (ugh, dat first miniboss outside the inn and the random ogre in the wilderness...) but I imagine it's good if you have the patience. The original NWN was just a bit too hacky/slashy. Neither game holds your hand much.

If you liked the story aspect of DA:O, I would agree with what others and said and recommend Planescape: Torment. Fuck, I'd recommend that game to anyone. It's a masterpiece.

If you enjoyed the combat aspect more then have a look at Dragon's Dogma. Not an amazing game - like BG1, it can be harsh and unforgiving - but it plays similarly to DA:O at times.

 

[iseko]

I still play it on a yearly basis. It is one of the best games ever. I wish they would make more games like this . I would say: try it. It hasn't aged as well as baldurs gate 2 mind you. And sometimes it can seem a little strange as to what you are supposed to do (thy journal is thy friend). But you just got to love the story! And the character are very well done.

 

[sXeth]

Dragon Age: Origins is one of my favorite games of all time. Looking for another game similar to it, I discovered that it's the spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate, and now I'm curious about it. I was wondering, do you think I'd like Baldur's Gate if I liked Dragon Age? I've also heard that the second game is considerably better than the first. Should I even play the first, or just skip to the second?

EDIT: Also, if anybody knows of any other games similar to Dragon Age, feel free to list them.

You're better off with Neverwinter Nights 2. Baldur's Gate was awesome for its time, but NWN2 is more modern and in a way has a better story.
If you've played NWN2 already, though, you should definitely play Baldur's Gate or Baldur's Gate 2.

Do not play Neverwinter Nights 1 until you've already played all of the other games I mentioned above. Because NWN1 is more of a hack and slash than a deep rpg.

Source: I own and played all of these games.

Yeah, I played Neverwinter Nights for almost 12 years straight. That said.
All the singleplayer campaigns were horrible. The "Premium Mods", which were essentially DLC before the term became popular, are alright, but I don't know if they're available or work properly anymore (they also had early DRM). There's still some pretty good multiplayer community around, but if you dig the tactical party controls, you'll be very disappointed. If you poke around on NWVault they do have some decent story-based user mods though.

The second one improved on the SP though, and brought back full party control. (And kind of sucked for MP, in contrast)

 

[Gankytim]

Eh, it really depends. Like, REALLY REALLY depends.

Do you like stats, Dungeons and Dragons, and micromanaging your characters stats to the finest detail so you don't end up in an imposssible situation where your character is too underleveled to progresss?

If yes, then go for it.

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

Thank you for the detailed recommendation, I appreciate it. As for the TuTu mod, where can I find it, and how easy is it to install? (I have minimal experience installing mods) Also, can these mods be installed on a Mac? I mainly use my Windows desktop for gaming, but I'd like to be able to mod my Mac installs as well, in case I want to transfer my save files for when I'm away from home, and only have access to my laptop.

This link here is for a guide to Mac EasyTuTu [http://www.usoutpost31.com/easytutu/mac/]. I've not played it on a Mac, but in general the steps are about the same. You install BG, you install BG2, patch them (not required with GoG versions which are already patched), then you run EasyTuTu and select both folders. It will create a TuTu install automatically, with any optional extras you choose during the process (quality of life mods, NPC mods, etc). The advantages are that it lets the games work at modern resolutions, brings BG into the BG2 engine (better FX, same UI across entire trilogy, classes and kits from BG2 available from the start, etc) and integrates both games and expansions into one seamless whole. It's very polished and works great.

It may look complex but it really isn't. If you prefer to avoid the faff, the Enhanced Ed. will eliminate the need for it tho TuTu is easy to use and quite comprehensive. You're in for a treat and I think it's worth spending the time at the beginning getting it set up for you.

 

[llubtoille]

Gave the first one a shot after years of hearing my friend call it his favorite game,
he later clarified that he was referring to BG2, as the first one proved rather dull.

 

[william12123]

I highly reccomend baldur's gate, baldur's gate 2, and planescape torment (which is in the same system). I played them all quite recently, and they where a blast.

 

[Skull Bearer]

BG1 is in many ways an early sandbox game. You can follow the plot and play through the game quickly, or you can wander off in entirely the wrong direction, solve plots that have nothing to do with the original story, meet whacky NPCs and generally explore a number of interesting, unique and entirely irrelevant areas.

If that sounds like fun, BG1 is a blast.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

I always thought of Baldur's Gate as Diablo by any other name.

 

[The Madman]

I always thought of Baldur's Gate as Diablo by any other name.

You might be thinking of the old Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance games that were on consoles. Those were pretty hack & slashey, kinda like Diablo. The Baldur's Gate series on PC however are nothing like Diablo (Or the Dark Alliance games even) save perhaps for being isometric and 2D, beyond that there really aren't any valid comparisons to be made.

The single player campaign of NWN2 is my favorite rpg campaign.

You mean the original campaign for NWN2? The one with Sand and Neeshka and all that?

Huh, well I guess it had to be someones favourite campaign. Mask of the Betrayer I could understand, loving NWN2 for its fan campaigns I could understand, but loving the game for its OC leaves me scratching my head. I mean it wasn't terrible, I've definitely played and even enjoyed worse, but there was just so much filler and the ending was just so bad...

 

[deathmothon]

I finally started Baldur's Gate 1 this month. I'm really enjoying it. It took a couple of attempts to get into and finish BG2 when I played it a few years ago. Definitely be prepared to learn AD&D rules.

 

[Unspoken_Request]

Dragon Age: Origins is one of my favorite games of all time. Looking for another game similar to it, I discovered that it's the spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate, and now I'm curious about it. I was wondering, do you think I'd like Baldur's Gate if I liked Dragon Age? I've also heard that the second game is considerably better than the first. Should I even play the first, or just skip to the second?

EDIT: Also, if anybody knows of any other games similar to Dragon Age, feel free to list them.

EDIT: Thanks for all the responses and recommendations. I've decided to try a few games, as they're all quite cheap right now. I've gotten Neverwinter Nights 2, and both Baldur's Gates (I'm currently installing the Tutu mod).

Glad you decided to get both BG1 & 2 + tutu. It is the best way to go through this epic story, as you get the chance to keep your character from BG1 and import it to BG2. I can assure you that by the end of the saga, you are very much attached to your little isometric guy and to his band of friends (of which many are also returning characters from BG1). I was pretty young, but I remember almost tearing up at the end.

Let me also add that BG1 has a pretty good mystery going on and finding out about it (and about your character in the process) is much better than being told about it at the beginning of BG2.

Also, depending on who you choose to have in your party in BG1, the beginning of BG2 can be pretty emotional for some of your friends. Good stuff.

I am not sure you want to go there (and you certainly do not need to, as there are many fun choices of party members and discovering them yourself is part of the fun), but, from a narrative point of view, there is more or less a "canon party" for BG1 that makes for an optimal narrative transition to BG2. You can google it if you want to. They are pretty easy to find if you play a good guy. In my first playthrough, I ended up with all of them naturally as I found that they provided a very balanced party (with my fighter/mage).

 

[Jolly Co-operator]

Dragon Age: Origins is one of my favorite games of all time. Looking for another game similar to it, I discovered that it's the spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate, and now I'm curious about it. I was wondering, do you think I'd like Baldur's Gate if I liked Dragon Age? I've also heard that the second game is considerably better than the first. Should I even play the first, or just skip to the second?

EDIT: Also, if anybody knows of any other games similar to Dragon Age, feel free to list them.

EDIT: Thanks for all the responses and recommendations. I've decided to try a few games, as they're all quite cheap right now. I've gotten Neverwinter Nights 2, and both Baldur's Gates (I'm currently installing the Tutu mod).

Glad you decided to get both BG1 & 2 + tutu. It is the best way to go through this epic story, as you get the chance to keep your character from BG1 and import it to BG2. I can assure you that by the end of the saga, you are very much attached to your little isometric guy and to his band of friends (of which many are also returning characters from BG1). I was pretty young, but I remember almost tearing up at the end.

Let me also add that BG1 has a pretty good mystery going on and finding out about it (and about your character in the process) is much better than being told about it at the beginning of BG2.

Also, depending on who you choose to have in your party in BG1, the beginning of BG2 can be pretty emotional for some of your friends. Good stuff.

I am not sure you want to go there (and you certainly do not need to, as there are many fun choices of party members and discovering them yourself is part of the fun), but, from a narrative point of view, there is more or less a "canon party" for BG1 that makes for an optimal narrative transition to BG2. You can google it if you want to. They are pretty easy to find if you play a good guy. In my first playthrough, I ended up with all of them naturally as I found that they provided a very balanced party (with my fighter/mage).

Coincidentally, I'm also a fighter / mage (multi-class) and my alignment is Neutral Good. As for my party members, is it possible to find members I denied entrance into my party the first time I met them? Just in case I want to change my party later. I ask because I recently met Garruk, but didn't really want him in my party, and I have no idea if he's even still available to me.

 

[Ihrgoth]

there is a Baldur's Gate 1 remake mod that makes it in NWN2's engine I would do that.