16 people found this review helpful
Recommended
0.0 hrs last two weeks / 56.5 hrs on record (54.3 hrs at review time)
Posted: Apr 2, 2015 @ 10:48pm

Baldur's Gate II:EE is the combined pack of Shadows of Amn+Throne of Bhaal which continue and conclude the story of Gorion's ward and their ascension into Godhood. BGII is arguably one of the best roleplaying games of all time with an incredibly deep, intricately woven and dark story that plays host to one of the best game villains and a plethora of tangential side missions, stories and npcs that make the world of Faerun come to life.

Shadows of Amn's story begins shortly after the events of the original Baldur's Gate, the opening cinematic and cutscene opens with your character being the unwilling constituent in the antagonist's demented BDSM fantasies. Little is revealed initially other than his name, Irenicus and he has shown some interest in you, or more specifically your heritage. His experiments are quickly interrupted by a besieging rival guild and in the ensuing chaos you are able to escape and you begin your journey in pursuit of Irenicus and his ilk to seek out your revenge.

Your adventure will see you travel the city of coin, Athkatla and the surrounding countryside of Amn as you pursue Irenicus down the Sword Coast. Throughout your travels you'll slowly learn the motivations and misdeeds that drive Irenicus and your interactions with him reveal the true nature of your lineage. Irenicus is a solid and well written antagonist although he isn't as insidious or devious as Sarevok.

Defeating Irenicus will throw you into Throne of Bhaal which is the culmination of the Bhaalspawn saga which pits you against the other most powerful Bhaalspawn in a Highlander-esque showdown to become the reincarnation of Bhaal himself. 'There can be only one..'

The gameplay is essentially unchanged from the first Baldur's Gate, at least at its core, it's still very tactical realtime combat with the ability to pause. Overall though the 'meta' is very different with [arcane] spellcasters being very strong in BGII due to the increased level cap and access to higher level spells and the abundance of powerful items, where as BGI was much easier as a warrior. Generally though the combat feels more enjoyable with a wider array of tools at your disposal and a greater array of vastly differing enemies to fight makes many battles feel varied and memorable. The further you push through the story of SoA and into ToB the more action oriented the game and combat will become as enemies get tougher and your character grows stronger. The increase in action will help accomodate for the weaker story in ToB. Overall though the combat is still very slow comparatively with any Arpg as it is designed to take some level of strategy and meticulous planning to succeed in BGII.

Graphically the Baldur's Gate series is timelessly beautiful because of the development decision to use painted 2d backdrops. The spell effects still look amazing and vary greatly between spells. The character models on the otherhand have not aged well and look very bland, pixelated and blurry but is a minor grievance in the grand scheme of things.

Having completed this game several times now, both playing with a full player created party, solo and then picking up npcs along the way the game offers a lot of replayability whether it be from the particular challenges and different strategies required of each class during fights with certain enemies and bosses or from the story arcs and commentary provided by the npcs you choose. This is a thinking man's game so if you're looking for a game with which to turn your brain off and have some mindless fun you may wish to reconsider. Those looking for a challenge and a riveting story this is the game for you. On a personal note, this is one of my favourite games of all time and I recommend it wholeheartedly, especially to those that enjoy a good rpg.
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