Pros: fun npcs, graphics, game play, *high* replay value, easy to learn, great interface
Cons: unengaging plot, buggy, CD switchin' is irritating & leads to scratchin', enemies are chumps
The Bottom Line: A game well suited for children between 12 and 18. I played it through at 21 and had fun, but it's aimed a tad lower. Worth the money.
After playing through [and enjoying] Fallout and Fallout 2, I had great faith in Interplay and Black Isle. So when Baldur's Gate came out a couple years ago I eagerly snapped it up, thinking to supplement my post-nuclear fare with some old-school AD&D-style RPGin'. Sad to say, I was a tad disappointed with their product.
Let me set this straight--Baldur's Gate is a fine game, and I enjoyed playing it. I remember how little things jumped out at me the first time through, keeping me in a constant state of amazement at how far computer games had come from "King's Quest"; little things like the NPC's personalities, the lively atmosphere, how vibrent the game felt, how people interacted with one another and the great dialogue options afforded your character. Following the story was entertaining in a mind-occupying sort of way; there were few surprises on that front, it's not terribly complex, though overly convoluted for its straightforward subject matter.
You begin the game in Castlekeep, a young orphan under the tutolage of Gorian, a wizard of substantial power. Apparantly, something or some*one* [did I get that construction right? Shoot!] wants you dead, so Gorian spirits you away in the dead of the night. You're ambushed, Gorian tells you to run and is killed by a hellish beast named "Sarevok," and you find yourself alone with instructions to meet up with two Harpers at a nearby inn. A promising enough intro: who are you? Who were your parents? Who killed Gorian, your foster-father, and why? Where does the killer live, so that you might avenge Gorian's death? These questions (crucial to any would-be epic) are answered satisfactorally; the haphazard manner in which they're tied together with plot is less satisfying by far.
This stems in part from the game's structure. A wide range of NPCs offer numerous side quests, but because you have the option to take or not take certain characters at any given point during the game, or to listen to them, or to help them on their quests as promised, it's no surprise when the plot bogs down or gets lost in trivialities. Necessary trivialities if you want the right characters with you at the right experience levels... Nevertheless, the plot winds through a series of poorly-connected, circumstantial tasks to the final, climactic fight. Which is good, and pretty tough, which was a pleasant change from all the gullible enemies you slaughter beforehand. But here's where the plot rigidity comes in: *nothing* you do or say has any consequence during your confrontation with Sarevok [save what experience you got wacking monsters, or what NPC allies you decided to bring, or the magic items you looted--superficial things]. Your alignment, no matter the deeds, remains constant. Your reputation does nothing. Interactions with special NPCs along the way, releasing or not releasing a certain minion? Don't mean sqat. Woulda been nice if it had.
I liked that one had the ability to create one's own character rather than relying on a preset system like that offered by "Planescape: Torment" or either "Fallout" title. Which are, by the way, some of the best RPGs ever made, 10 stars on a 5 star chart. But I digress! I spent, because I'm crazy, about an hour rolling and rerolling my stats until I came up with a veritable juggernaut--an elven thief with 18str, 19dex, 16con, 14int, 15wis, and 18chr. I kid you not. And get this--there are special books ["manuals"] in the game that allow you to raise certain stats by a point. My character got better. I was rather disappointed, however, when I reached a certain amount of experience [89k] and was not allowed to progress any further. This was an annoyance I ironed out with a cheat, then expurgated through Baldur's Gate II, which rocked my world.
Two last complaints. Firstly, switching disks all the time was a major buzz kill, dude. I installed the whole furshluggener thing on my dad's computer which made everything easier [Fallout 2! I love you!], though I still [as I recall] needed the disks. There were 5 of them. Where chapters overlapped, you'd get in Disk2/Disk3/Disk2/Disk3 fetch-and-kill-and-tell-and-fetch loops which were, to say the least, angering. Major turn-off. Secondly, although the character AI was good, and preprogrammed baddie wizard/priest spell sequences sometimes made life difficult, it was too, too easy to trick enemies with area effect spells, or swarm them with monster summons. Sorta took the challenge out of things, as did the ability to pause the game with the space bar.
All that said, it's a fun, easy game that you'll want to play all the way through at least once. Replay isn't great, though you might want to save at crucial moments and see what happens with different dialogue actions, different decisions. A good beginner's game, a good way to figure out how to play rpgs, see the tactical elements crucial to beating any game, even those more challenging.
BALDURS GATE 4 IN 1 COLLECTION PC XP/VISTA DVD-ROM BRAND NEW FACTORY SEALED DVD CASE Publisher: Interplay Platform: Windows xp/vista ESRB/Age: (T) Mat...More at eBay
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