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Baldur's Gate II is the best RPG ever (Appreciation thread)

T

Teknopathetic

Member
Fantastic gameplay? Check. Well written dialogue and story? Check. Great characters? Double check. Lots of content without backtracking, and other faux-length elements? Yes sir.

I haven't been too enthused with Bioware's work since Baldur's Gate II (KOTOR was alright at first. NWN was...*cries*), but I've still got hope for Dragon Ages.

People who disagree make Boo sad.
 
The remarkably free-form Chapter 2 is better than entire other RPG series combined. This game is the best thing on earth, really. RPGs don't get better.

Everything Bioware's made since has seemed like a train wreck in comparison. Really you can't go wrong with any of the Infinity Engine games, but this is the best one they've made (although Planescape's story is slightly better).
 
ff7_us.jpg
 
NWN wasn't that bad. I liked it.

Anyhow, I tried playing BG II, but at the time it was a very old game and I could stand the graphics. Oh well.
 
BG2 I guess could be called the greatest RPG in the strictest sense of the word but nothing can touch the Complete Ultima 7.

ultima7.jpg
 
Red Scarlet said:
You have poor tastes.
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Because it's not Japanese, right? Bleh.

BG2 is really really good, but I'd have to place Torment above it. Hopefully Bioware can get back on track with Dragon Age and realize their best work comes when they aren't catering to the console crowd.
 
Oni Jazar said:
BG2 I guess could be called the greatest RPG in the strictest sense of the word but nothing can touch the Complete Ultima 7.
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This is an acceptable response, although I think BGII is better. It's certainly a better game than FFVII.
 
IJoel said:
No, you do.
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siege said:
Because it's not Japanese, right? Bleh.

BG2 is really really good, but I'd have to place Torment above it. Hopefully Bioware can get back on track with Dragon Age and realize their best work comes when they aren't catering to the console crowd.
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Now now now, this is about Tre, not I. I'm just giving him some payback. I've never played Boulder's Gate before. :lol
 
Best RPG ever is arguable but BG2 is definitely one of the best and it's one of my favorite PC RPG's hands down. Bioware's crowning achievement in my mind.
 
Sadly, it doesn't look like Bioware is ever going to top Baldur's Gate II; KoToR, while a good game, indeed pales in comparison
 
I didn't care much for the plot of BG2(Irenicus is a dip), thankfully Throne of Bhaal got back on track and delivered the goods. I actually used to prefer IWD, but after ToB, I'd put BG2 far ahead. Combat is probably the best among Bioware's D&D enterprises, had a ripping good time crippling with my mage and sending that evil dwarf into the fray to hack up all. Chapter 2/3 of BG2 are definately the highlight, that town rocked.

Oh and it definately features the best interplay dialogue between party members than any other Bioware property.

NWN gets a bad rep, the expansions were pretty class.
 
I still have the install discs too, maybe I should give it another shot. It would be perfect to play on the road since its not a very demanding app.
 
siege said:
Because it's not Japanese, right? Bleh.

BG2 is really really good, but I'd have to place Torment above it. Hopefully Bioware can get back on track with Dragon Age and realize their best work comes when they aren't catering to the console crowd.
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You know, since when did Western RPGs have to follow a standard established in the East? Wasn't the modern RPG formula created in West through D&D?
 
nm lets keep this as a BG 2 appreciation thread. One thing I loved about BG2 was the insaine aomout of detail they give to each of the party characters. How they all have their own problems and desires. How you can help them out or kick them to the curb. I'll never forget leaving the good Paladin to go back with his family after a cool sideplot that involved a love affair and whatever. It felt sad to see him go but I wanted him to be happy with his wife. That's a very rare moment in gaming for me.
 
I absolutely loved the first Baldur's Gate, and then Bioware managed to surpass it with Baldur's Gate II. Unbelievable game - and some of the high-level magic battles near the end, and with the expansion pack, are just phenomenal.

Having said that, the suggestions for Planescape: Torment and Ultima VII are also very apt. Those are excellent games as well.
 
Torment and BG2 are both mindblowing. I'd love to see an epic single-player focused D&D game from BioWare that used 3rd edition rules.
 
The Ultima VII games will forever be my RPG apex... the BG games were good, but I had a lot more emotionally invested in the Avatar and his band of misfits, since I'd been playing Ultimas since IV...


Ultima VIII and IX were a slap in the face tho...
 
I hate deciding because I like different RPGs for different reasons, but BG2 is definetly in my top 5. Jon Irenicus was such an awesome bad guy, and the way the game made you care about the characters, the amount of cool loot, the TONS of sidequests... so good.
 
Dr_Cogent said:
NWN wasn't that bad. I liked it.

Anyhow, I tried playing BG II, but at the time it was a very old game and I could stand the graphics. Oh well.
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Are you saying you couldn't stand the graphics? As in, you thought they were ugly or outdated? Why, if I may ask (not a slam, I'm genuinely curious)? Is it because it's 2D? I reinstalled and replayed BGII a few months back, and I still think it's a beautiful game. Lots of great backgrounds, character and enemy sprites, spell effects, portraits, the still art used in cut scenes, etc. still all look very nice to me. I thought NWN was a bit of a step backwards, sure it's in 3D but the modeling is pretty low-poly so it loses the detail the IE games had. As for it being "old" what's so bad about that? The interface still works just fine, unlike some truly old PC games with incomprehensible interfaces.
 
Agreed. Whenever I play any other RPG (particularly Bioware's games), I always ask myself why RPG ever comes close to this game. Excellent characters, plot, scenarios, loot, and combat. I only wish that they could have used third edition rules instead of the antiquated second edition rules.
 
agreed with the OP

BGII is the best. I played through the game so many times.

Chapter 2 the first time through could be overwhelming, but it also provides a great amount of flexibility.

Good party, neutral party, evil party, solo. Great everytime.

First time fighting the Red Dragon (Firekragg sp??) was an awesome experience.

Irenicus (sp??) great villian, i liked the voice acting on him.

and everyone loves Minsc.
 
Baldurs gate 2 was excellent.. its a shame we will never see anything like it again (from bioware or anybody else).

The party based systems just isn't "in" at the moment.
 
BG2 was the first steps in the wrong direction for Bioware. It's still good because it's based on BG but alas it wasn't a Forgotten Realms game anymore. They betrayed their fans and tried to please the Blizzard brainless audience, fuck them. NWN was a disaster, KotOR a PST rippoff, Jade Empire half of a game - it's still better than the japanese offering but the bar is set low. Obsidian is my only hope left for RPGs.
 
BG2 was Bioware's last great single player game. I loved it and all the Infinity engine games.

Now it's all simple, console stuff from them, but I hope they can redeem themselves with Dragon Age. *prays*
 
Baldur's Gate II was a masterpiece... Fuck, stop with the pandering to the console crowd. Stay true to the PC gamers taht got you you're fame!
 
If you can get the "Baldur's Gate Trilogy" user mod, it gets even better. You can play the first game with all (most?) of the engine enhancements (including high res!) of BG2. You can pay the entire series (BG, TotSC, BG2, ToB) start to end in one game, with the same character.
 
Im late and havnt read a thing but the title, with that said...

BGII is easily my favorite game of all time.
 
I must have finished BG 1 and 2 at least 4 times and its still so fresh!

I have also made many threads like this over the ages :)

Nice work
 
i never even finished bg2 and i STILL consider it in my top 3 or 4 rpg's. It was so fucking massive and so deep. The combat was spectacular.

The only games that are in the same league for me are the fallout games, maybe morrowind and the snes final fantasy... and thats probably because i spent more time with those games than i got a chance to with bg2. Looking at it objectivley it's probably the most complete rpg ever made. There isn't much to complain about and there isn't really anything missing.
 
fallout II was a LOT better. Baldur's Gate II bored me. Also, it was TOO open ended. At a certain point it became really annoying to be able to go almost anywhere even if you were ridiculously under powered.
 
bummyhead said:
fallout II was a LOT better. Baldur's Gate II bored me. Also, it was TOO open ended. At a certain point it became really annoying to be able to go almost anywhere even if you were ridiculously under powered.
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:D
 
BG2 is one of my favorite RPG's, but I (and it appears some others in the thread do as well) think Planescape: Torment is better.

In my opinion, Planescape: Torment had better music, atmosphere, storyline, and artwork.

BG2 had better graphics, and made better use of the D&D system, and was also very strong in all those above mentioned categories (storyline, atmosphere, etc), just not quite as good as Planescape.

Basically, both are fucking masterpieces that every RPG fan should experience.
 
What makes it so much more enjoyable than the first Baldur's Gate? I'm asking this seriously. I paid $50 for the original and found it to be so boring that I never gave the sequel a chance.
 
TOTALLY AGREE that baulders gate 2 was one of the best games i've ever played..

for me it is the best game i've ever played and no game has come close to the amount of atomoshphere that game created it was just pure fun to play..
 
I'm literally crying here.

BG2, Fallout, Ultima 7 and Torment appreciation on Console-Age Forums?

I must be dreaming.

BG2 is just epic. No other word desrcibes it better.
I love it, finished it three times (with ToB):

- one on normal difficulty
- one on hard
- one on normal with Gaider's patches, that make Demigorgon battle a bitch

Best battle in the whole series?

Yaga Shura battle from ToB. Nothing tops the music, atmosphere and total mayhem my party did there.
Giants, spellcasters, buffed enemy tanks, archers - it's all there.

Bow down, console bitches.
irenicus2.jpg


The king is here.
wallpaper2_medium.jpg
 
Seth C said:
What makes it so much more enjoyable than the first Baldur's Gate? I'm asking this seriously. I paid $50 for the original and found it to be so boring that I never gave the sequel a chance.
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Higher levels, which means cooler monsters and gear, for one.

The storyline is definitely more epic as well. BG1, by virtue of your character's higher level. The supporting cast is more colorful and the writing is better overall.

Pretty much everything else is improved too from graphics to interface to amount of content.

If you found BG1 to be "so boring", though, I doubt 2 would entirely convert you.
 
fallout II was a LOT better. Baldur's Gate II bored me. Also, it was TOO open ended. At a certain point it became really annoying to be able to go almost anywhere even if you were ridiculously under powered.
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FO2 is much more open-ended, BG2 is quest-a-thon that doesn't make any sense. The first time i played (on hard, since i finished BG+TOSC 8 times) i actually roleplayed, my only focus was to save Imoen, my best childhood friend. So i didn't take any optional quest and didn't level up my character like a Blizzard stat whore would do. After all, D&D Forgotten Realms at high levels isn't supposed to be about leveling. I ended up too soon in the Illithid's lair and i was too weak to beat them :|
 
So, here's a question.

What kind of time would you have to sink to finish Fallout 2, Baldur's Gate, Baldur's Gate II + Expansions, and Planescape: Torment?

Edit: and I guess Ultima 7.
 
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