Never Finished The First BG.

Cowboy22

When BG released in 1999, I bought it and enjoyed it (save for the incessant disc swapping) but admittedly never finished it. In fact, I didn't get very far into it at all. I was too caught up in Ultima Online at the time. Then BG2 released and the same thing happened. It sat on the shelf. Fast forward to 2009. I installed BG2, played it for around 140 hours, enjoying every single click of it. It quickly became my all-time favorite RPG. Still is. I'm not sure anything can surpass its brilliance. But I'm hearing and reading that the original may just be its rival.
I'm super excited to play this game next month. I'll be able to give it the attention it deserves and enjoy it in all its retooled glory.
What do you think? Will I like it as much as Shadows of Amn? I can't wait to find out.

Anduine

I cannot say if you will like it as much as Shadows of Amn. There are plenty of people that prefer sequel to prequel, and some that care purely about gameplay and ignore the storyline.

BG1 is an integral part of the Bhaalspawn story, and if you enjoy that, then you will very much enjoy BG1. Beyond that, BG1 has a great deal of exploration to do, even moreso than BG2.

Permidion_Stark

Cowboy22 said:

What do you think? Will I like it as much as Shadows of Amn? I can't wait to find out.

The impression I get from reading these boards is that people tend to prefer whichever game they got into first. That's certainly how it was with me. I loved BG but was slightly disappointed with BG 2.

However, since BG:EE will be expanding the original game to be more like the sequel you may find that you now enjoy it as much as you enjoyed SoA. I certainly hope so.

Dannen6272

BG always seemed to me to be a bit more open world then its sequel, it allowed you to explore a lot more areas most of which had at least one interesting encounter on the map. Both games are excellent though, and I'll admit that I've long since stopped thinking about them as even being separate games. The BGT mod has pretty much gotten me to the point where I think of BG+TOTSC+BG2+TOB as just one big game rather than a game and its expansions and sequels.

To answer your question, you'll probably love it just as much as I do. While I did start with BG, I prefer BG2 but really only by a small amount. Like I said though, I really don't think of them as separate games anymore, just one big amazing experience that I still love to go through at least once a year. (big props to gog.com from releasing the BG games after my old disks finally gave up on me)

Quartz

Completely depends on what you like!

They are both fantastic games. BG2 improved upon its predecessor by having a huge load of spells and abilities to experiment with, a more in-depth plot that gave you more answers, more detailed NPCs (including the romances of course), and very good battles with a lot of different tactics and ways to approach things.

BG1 on the other hand leaves things a little more open-ended, and you get less answers due to there just being not as thick of a plot. Where BG2 makes you feel like the center of attention, BG1 makes you feel a little more like "another adventurer," although obviously you become the heroes of the Sword Coast by the end of it. I would say that what BG1 has over BG2 is that there are FAR more NPC options, and the more open exploring was just awesome. Other than though, BG2 is probably a better game.

Still, I personally prefer BG1. But not by a huge amount. Both awesome games.

Djimmy

You will love it. I finished BG2 + ToB many times before starting(and finishing) BG1 + TotSC and I can say I enjoyed them both.

raywind

i personally prefer BG1 over BG2 for the reason that when you start BG1 the game feels just so brutal, everything can kill you with one hit and when you do gain a level it feels more like you are getting somewhere than in BG2 you start at higher lvl and its easier to begin with and the lvls dont matter as much as in BG1. Sorry for crappy english!

Lemernis

You should not be disappointed. The story is great. The characters are wonderful. It is much less linear and allows more freedom for exploration.

Especially since BG:EE will use the BG2 engine, you should enjoy it. The main complaints about vanilla BG1 that one commonly hears are that by comparison with BG2 it is lower resolution, lacks dual-wielding and kits, has less banters, and does not have romances. With BG:EE using the BG2 engine it will be same resolution and include dual-wielding and kits.

There will however be no dialog changes to the old joinable BG1 in BG:EE. But by the same token, the new NPCs will be romanceable.

BG1 is lower level play, but there's something a little grittier and more substantial feeling about that to many players.

Anyway, you're in for a treat, enjoy!

ajwz

I thought this was going to be about the progress cap- the point in bg where you can earn no more xp and obviously can't bring any items into bg, so you are playing for the sake of finishing the story.

However, If you have experience with the infinity engine (bg2 in this case) you are much more likely to enjoy and playthrough the game than people picking it up for the first time.

ajwz

I thought this was going to be about the progress cap- the point in bg where you can earn no more xp and obviously can't bring any items into bg, so you are playing for the sake of finishing the story.

However, If you have experience with the infinity engine (bg2 in this case) you are much more likely to enjoy and playthrough the game than people picking it up for the first time.

purebredcorn

I loved the original game. In fact I lost track of the number of hours I played it. When I was finally able to play the second game, I was kind of disappointed in it. Though I think the characters are better in the second game, I didn't really like how you couldn't really go wherever you wanted whenever you wanted, like you could in BG. I mean you couldn't really get into the city of Baldur's Gate until you had made a certain progression through the story, but you could pretty much go everyplace else in the game, and that gave the game a wide open feel that the second game seemed to lack.

limlite

It seems everyone is in agreement, the much more detailed and intricate story line of BG2 made it a bit more linear. That said, it was a good compromise for all the extras it brings (romance, banter, stronghold quests and whatnot) with 50 different joinable NPCs and free 'possibly story breaking' roaming it would have been impossible to manage to deliver in time for release. Plus the main storylines are so vaster and more varied that it really is a more polished experience. My personal opinion, though, is that being killed by a gibberling five minutes in is still the best gaming I had when first playing BG1. I was strolling casually, ohh beasties, let's go Imoen, release the dogs of war !!!!!......... dead, how can this be?!! Who's in charge of this video game, ME, dead??? I demand!!!....... oh no the hand of death..........ah reload, ok. I'll get you yet mighty gibberling!

Cowboy22

Sounds like it's going to be a great experience. Especially considering the BG2 kit/class upgrades and the improved multiplayer support. I'm going to play through with a couple of long-time BG fans as well as play alone. Should keep me company through the end of the year. Absolutely can't wait.

Centopar

The gameplay, balance, writing and characterisation are excellent in both. My only quibble (and it's a very small one) with BG1 in comparison with BG2 is the number of large, empty spaces with no interactions besides the odd mindless anheg/roving Talsoi in them (the map with the waterfall is one I remember as being particularly empty). It's still a great world to explore, though; the real world doesn't have plot points behind every bush, and I'm looking forward to getting back into yomping around Faerun!