Whats so good about baldurs gate ???
subterra
Member Posts: 49
I have never played a Baldurs Gate game before but am just as excited for the release of this game as the rest of you guys.
I can see the potential that this game has but at the same time i dont see what all the fuss is about, can you guys explain why u like this game so much... the details etc etc, what makes Baldurs Gate so incredible for you ?
Why should i get excited ??
Looking forward to the release date to find out.
I can see the potential that this game has but at the same time i dont see what all the fuss is about, can you guys explain why u like this game so much... the details etc etc, what makes Baldurs Gate so incredible for you ?
Why should i get excited ??
Looking forward to the release date to find out.
1
Comments
Seriously, I reckon the NPC's make this game. But then, on top of that you can min max uber parties with the multiplayer function, creating a team of 6 undefeatable warriors. You can then solo the game.
Basically, you can play this game in a huge variety of ways, as many people have over the years.
And even after people have done all of those variations to death, people still queue up to pre order and preload the game. Yes, it is good. Yes I find it hard to describe why you should be excited...but yes you should be excited
This allows you to have an unique experience almost every time you play through the game.
I also love the fact there is no dumb level-scaled enemies that most modern RPGs have. You can face a dragon at level 7 and get wiped clean, but if you raise your level to 20s you can literally kill a dragon in 3 seconds. I always hated level-scaling where your enemies grow as much as your characters grow. <- it makes early bandit fights as tough as the end boss fights in DA2.
On the other hand, BG2's non-scaled-enemies give you the most satisfaction from developing your characters. Since it's much harder to raise a level in BG compared to other games, I tend to develop much more affection towards my character.
I have only played BG2 so far, but, the same applies.
The gameplay is extremely good. It's all about tactical battles, where you place your characters in the best way possible, and use all their abilities (of which there are MANY) to defeat the opponents. At first it's very easy, but when you get spellcasters, immune monsters, traps on the floor and a fireball in the face, it starts to get quite difficult. There's a pause system that you can adjust to suit your playstyle. Once you get the hang of it, it's a very organic gamestyle.
The RPG - it uses Ad&D 2E, which I'm a fan of. Especially in this version of the game, or the original modded with BGTuTu, there are a lot of different classes, spells, kits and just oodles of abilities.
NPCs: There are tons of NPCs that are all very well-written, has awesome dialogues and they'll really grow on you.
Story: BG and BG2 has a very good story. There's always something going on in the story, both in the minor and the major sense. The dialogue is extremely detailed, and you can choose your own way far more than in any other game (Planescape: Torment excluded)
The art is very good, and very detailed. If you can abstrain from the fact that it isn't 3D, it is in fact very good: detailed, varied and just overall fantastic.
If you have played Dragon Age: Origins, a game that I sort-of liked, sort-of didn't, then you'll notice some similarities. One of the things that I didn't like about DAO was the sludgefest that combat soon evolved into. There were far too many battles, and most of them were just run-of-the-mill. Sure, BG has that too (more so that BG2), but I always felt that there were more purpose to the battles in BG. Dunno if this makes sense. Spells especially is a far bigger part of BG than DAO - there are more of them, and they take more knowledge to use well.
I hold BG and Fallout at the same level, where Fallout was more ambitious at world building and free-form gameplay, while BG succeeded in creating a truly epic game world infused with D&D with a more refined game engine.
Then play the game Baldurs Gate -
I promise you joy.
Seriously though, the fact that it is essentially a turn based rpg but manages to achieve this without slowing the action down is seriously cool. Plus Faerun post- time of troubles is a really fun setting.
While a lot of people see the Forgotten Realms as very generic (and they most likely are), they are just so well crafted that it doesn't actually matter. Baldur's Gate does not only take place there, it breathes this handcrafted atmosphere, and it feels consistent. To me, this is worth a lot.
The graphics, on the other hand, are not great in a technical sense. However, they are done with so much love and sport so many nice little features. For example, my excitement about the paperdoll actually showing what I put on my characters, and the avatars featuring it in-game is still as strong today as it was in 1999, when I first played. You feel that the designers really poured their hearts into the game. The graphics are detailed, but they are just missing the right amount of detail to allow your imagination to fill it out and actually make it come alive. To me, they are much more immersive and create more atmosphere than today's impressive first-person graphics. It's like playing a beautiful painting. Or like entering one of those Stephen Biesty books (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Biesty).
It doesn't hurt that the gameplay is very solid, the NPCs are fun and the story is quite engaging, either
If you prefer a mathematical point of view I can give you this formula (I have a proof of this but unfortunately it's too long to fit in this post)
Baldur's Gate : Assassins Creed (or pick more or less ANY game of the last 6-7 years) = L.V. Beethoven : Tokyo Hotel (or pick ANY other sucky teenage band).
..ofc that doesn't mean that if you multiply Beethoven * Assassins Creed and divide the result to Tokyo Hotel you get Baldur's gate :P ...
That's it. Hope I made my point.
You could do the main plot finding friends and foes along the way, or just stumble down the coastline dodging ogres, killing sirens, conversing with gnolls and hobgoblins and then slaughtering them to goo.
It was also the first game where the character I created felt like was mine. I made the choices from what he does for a living, to how strong he was, what type of weapons he prefers to what he sounds and looks like to if he was a he at all.
The story and its arc all the way to SoA was unbelievable full of twists, choices and of course adventure. The game was also very tactical and fighting was not just click on an enemy to attack it (or worse spam clicking). Thought had to be put into every move, from the timing of spells to the switching from ranged to melee.
This game reintroduced me to D&D and I was floored by it. It also introduced me to RPGs. IMO, without Baldur's Gate, you wouldn't of had games like Skyrim or even Red Dead Redemption. It changed gaming for the better.
I do hope you enjoy it.
With regards to video games being art, I wouldn't say BG is "hands off" the best example. For instance, I think Planescape:Torment would give BG a pretty good run for its money. Err, hate to break it to you, but there were certainly open-world RPGs before BG came along.
The graphics weren't so great, as people mentioned, but I never found myself minding all that much, because everything else made up for it and then some.
Maybe i'm just crazy?
Like others have mentioned the story and the world feels really amazing and unique as well.
Memorable NPCs.
A world that feels real, vast and dangerous. A world that existed long before you do, and where many more important things than you existed, exist and will continue to exist after you.
Consistently remarkable writing.
A fascinating and very complex spell system. BG2 brings this to truly epic proportions.
Crisp, beautiful environments and animations.
Memorable music and voice-acting.
A miniature giant space hamster.
Just the best overall role-playing game ever designed.
I hope that's reason enough to get excited about BGEE