This is truly one of the most legendary CRPG titles ever created.
Characters, plot, quests, details, sound (even game mechanics in its maddening complexity) all of it is masterfully executed. And we are talking about year 2000.
There are so many things written about the game that I wont waste time with general info and skip to other not so much mentioned stuff. Since 2000 it seems the quality bar has been lowered year by year. Funny that it is BG3 that created another spike which seems to stir hunger for quality among the major gaming population. Job well done!

2-3 years ago I bought BG3 in early access. At that time it was too much like DD: Original sin 1,2 so I dropped it till they finish it some more. Now in order to better compare souls of old and new and with fresh memory, I told myself I will once again after so many years experience this old legacy.
So I finished BG1 and now also BG2. I forgot about so many fine delicate things. Mainly from story and dialogues. Some plot twists seemed better in my memory and sometimes I was pleasantly surprised about something I forgot. I really enjoyed myself. Wanna have some fun? Put together a group of unlikely companions (with certain restrictions) and create a bond of true love thru ring that sets your Ch to 18 (obtained really early). That way you will be able to calm them down after hearing so many nice conversations and quarrels.
There were also some bitter parts like the game mechanics with all spells. It can be mind bending like paintings from Salvador Dali. One can lose him/herself in the rabbit hole, that is how deep it allows you to go. Let me just give you an example: wizard spell 5lvl Breach has a nice long list of things it does dispel. But does it ever mention somewhere that it may not work? No. It creates the impression it will always work. But there are a few spells that defend against it and you will only waste your Breach without knowing it. Then you notice, start reading and learn. And you opened one door that leads to a corridor with other doors. Just a metaphor to show there are so many things like this you would like to research that it makes your head spin. It could have been done better. But we are talking about game from 2000. (If you start digging around how it was created you could be surprised that it was not easy to code and some other funny things hehehe.) At least the internet started to be usable at that time. I recall how we talked with friends about the game for so many hours back then. "How would you beat a red dragon, mindflayers?" "How do you progress in that quest?" etc… Now you can type it in search engine and all is within reach.

My humble opinion is that Shadows of Amn is more balanced then Throne of Bhaal. ToB is excelent datadisk. Usually datadisks were of lower quality. With higher spells it starts to be a madhouse. It starts to be more difficult to create meaningful balanced challenge. At the end I started to feel what was said about the engine and its limits in terms of lvl. Now after all that I can say that I enjoyed the game and was glad that it is over at the same time. I can put it on the shelf and have romantical memories about it. Some quests and adventures will forever accompany me and make my mind richer.

If someone is into CRPG it means it is not for the love of the best graphic. It means deep characters and conversations. It often involves a lot of reading and the need to understand at least some game mechanics. And this game is one of the best there is.
Or let me put it in another way. If you are into CRPG then you MUST play BG2. And if you did, how did you like it?

Just like I remember it...

Timeless apparently, even after playing 3.

For goode ole D&D players, areal good buy.
Rich in story, customization, and goode ole sazzyness.

It's Baldur's Gate 2 but better. What's not to love?

Played the original back in the day and even though to me it wasn't as memorable as the first it's still a great game.

:)

good game :)