30. Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn
This article makes me guilty and sad, because it makes Baldur’s Gate II sound completely wonderful. Guilty, because these games are among those I owned for about a decade and never quite got around to playing. Sad, because by the time I finally said, “Right, I should really give these a go,” the original Baldur’s Gate would no longer work on Mac. Wretched obsolescence!
Just to clear up a little confusion about the subscriber bonus books: They’re not meant for subscribers to GameSpite Quarterly, because there is no such thing as a subscription to GameSpite Quarterly. Nice as it would be to offer such a creature, it’s not really a feasible prospect due to the publication’s print-on-demand style; in order to manage subscriptions I would have to do the fulfillment work myself, which would destroy the last tatters of my free time and make me stab myself in the eyeballs in frustration, and then who would edit the magazine? No, the “subscription” refers to a PayPal monthly donation button I had in the site’s sidebar for a while. I took it down in favor of links to the books, because it seemed greedy to have that many “give us your money” links up there at once, and because the existing subscriber base — a handful of loyal, wonderful altruists — is sufficient to cover the site’s monthly server fees and biannual hosting charges for the time being. A few people have expressed interest in future bonus books, though, so I will see about reinstating that button. OK? OK.
7 thoughts on “GameSpite Quarterly 2, #30: Baldur’s Gate II”
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You might as well blame Black Isle.
You could try playing it with GemRB (http://linux.prinas.si/gemrb/doku.php). Not sure how well it would run on the current version, but it’d be worth a shot.
Baldur’s Gate II is Bioware at their creative best. I’ve played through it 4 times, and the number of ways you can approach it and the versatility of the game system is astonishing. It might be the best PCRPG made.
Yeah, I think Planescape: Torment is much better as far as concept (though it’s a little bit more cliched now than when it was released), but can’t match BGII as far as scope. There is a lot to be said for not playing in a generic fantasy setting, though.
Funny thing is that that’s the Jaheira portrait from BG1.
The first game was a lot steeper in terms of difficulty than the sequel. I actually beat /////bg2 and its expansion, Throne of Bhaal. Great experience.
Yeah, I think the first game is pretty rough around the edges and requires grinding at fairly random points in the adventure.
Yeah, this article does a wonderful job of summing up what makes Baldur’s Gate II so great. I still contend that the second chapter of the game is the best example of rollicking good D&D adventuring. It’s a shame that you missed it, Parish.
Also, a minor quibble: Baldur’s Gate II was released in 2000, not in 1998.