Is this worth buying over the original BG2 complete?

[TheWangHermit]

I ask this since you can get BG2 complete for $14 less at GoG, since I never got into the series and saw the original version (i know ;/), is this edition worth the money over the original?

[Sam]

I'd say yes, since you get widescreen and other more modern features...particularly if you also plan on getting BG1EE (there is a much more significant difference in BG1EE versus BG1 on GoG).

That said, you could wait for the Steam Summer sale and you could possibly get it for cheaper than the regular GoG price with the extra features as well.

[DnD Detective]

Its hard to say. Its been 6 months since the last patch and while they are working on another one they are also working on bringing BG2EE to android (and I haven't seen anything that says which they are prioritizing). Also its entirely possible that whenever they do get around to releasing a patch it will initially only be a beta patch exclusively accessible by Beamdog users. Considering that the latest BGEE beta patch testing (also known as the road to 1.3) has been going on for the last 3 months that could mean it could be quite a wait for steam users (or they could skip the beta and just release it I'm not certain what their plans are).

Anyways, the thing with the gog.com version is that if you install the fixpack its going to be much less buggy than the condition BG2EE is in right now. You'll still get 17 out of the 22 NPC's you get with BG2EE if you buy the game from gog.com and nothing plot related changes. Also more mods work with the gog.com version (including a widescreen mod) and gog.com generally does offer a discount on BG2 a few times a year. The last time was in february and before that it was in december. So I wouldn't be surprised if they also end up having a summer sale.

Personally I would say go ahead and buy the gog.com version. If you end up liking what you see and really want to try out the 5 new NPCs in BG2EE (as well as the new kits and the other new new content like the Black Pits 2) then you can always just buy BG2EE during a summer sale (and by then hopefully it will be patched).

[ÄmJii]

Originally posted by kamster99:

Anyways, the thing with the gog.com version is that if you install the fixpack its going to be much less buggy than the condition BG2EE is in right now. You'll still get 17 out of the 22 NPC's you get with BG2EE if you buy the game from gog.com and nothing plot related changes. Also more mods work with the gog.com version (including a widescreen mod) and gog.com generally does offer a discount on BG2 a few times a year.

I'll have to disagree with this. BG2EE has already incorporated the Fixpack & Widescreen components by default and the game engine has been optimized considerably. In vanilla-BG2 I ALWAYS got choppy framerate when there's few spells or a dragon on screen (and I've tested this with more than one computer), and when slightly modded (Fixpack and some cosmetic changes) I'd encounter few crashes here and there... and even some game file corruption, which forced me to reinstall the whole game (although this is quite rare).

I'd say if you're going in to Baldur's Gate series as completely new player, grab the EE versions instead.

Originally posted by kamster99:

Personally I would say go ahead and buy the gog.com version. If you end up liking what you see and really want to try out the 5 new NPCs in BG2EE (as well as the new kits and the other new new content like the Black Pits 2) then you can always just buy BG2EE during a summer sale (and by then hopefully it will be patched).

I'd wait for summer sales or browse other web stores for discount sales. But even at 20 bucks you're still getting your moneys worth of entertainment.

[Bonnot404]

play the originals with mods...

♥♥♥♥ this company, where they dont release any patches for 6 months, because of the android version

[fluffe]

I'd definetely buy the GOG one and use the widescreen mod off gibberlings3.
The new missions and NPC's are good but they are still quite a bit below the original ones dialogue and story wise, and since you havent played BG before you will have plenty of NPC's to choose from.

Short version: BG from GOG is better than BG:EE regardless of price

[Artur]

Originally posted by Error404:

play the originals with mods...

♥♥♥♥ this company, where they dont release any patches for 6 months, because of the android version

Seriously, whos brilliant idea was it to prioritize an android version over patches?

Nobody in his right mind would want to play Baldurs Gate on an android device on the go.

[Fazzan]

the EE versions are worth it simply for the added classes. But some of the new NPCs are good too. Mainly the bugs are about the new NPCs or old stuff NOT fixed by old mods.

Edit: Besides you're supporting BG3 when buying EE

[Zilkin]

Who in the hell would want to see BG3 made by Beamdog.

[hehehe]

Beamdog are horribly incompetent and I'd be reticent to financially reward that, but they did bring some value to BG that was impossible for modders without being able to change the binaries. It's worth mentioning that EE has widescreen that SCALES--people go 'you can play vanilla with a widescreen mod' but it's not the same as everything looks incredibly tiny unless you have a huge monitor.

Then again there was an attempt to reverse-engineer the infinity engine and it would run the BG files. I've not looked into it in several years but it was pretty sketchy at the time, anyone know how it performs now?

[Knight]

I'd say no.

There's still a lack of mod content. This is not enhanced so much as it is tweaked to run slightly better.

Many of the new characters have no appeal to me. I would actually be in favor of a mod to remove them.

You're better off getting the complete edition off GoG drm free for lower cost.

The only real reason to get this without a big steam sale is if loading times bother you and you have to play it in fullscreen or not at all.

[kaffekoppen]

Although I'm unhappy with their support following the game's release, I still think this version is worth the money. It's going to be a friendlier experience than having to mod the game yourself, and you'll also get the extra content. It's not THAT expensive either, people are just a bit hysterical about game prices these days.

I don't see why you'd remove the new characters. I like them and in any case, you can just leave them. It's not like they'll call you in the middle of the night, begging to join your party.

[Deo]

I'm a fan of the game. But I always put a value on items before I buy them. This game is definitely a great game, but it's still mid 90's game. For that I'm willing to pay $15. Also, as everyone else has said, the update times are very bad. If I'm going to pay over $20, I'd expect service from the developers. Right now by the sounds of it they are "spread too thin, like butter over too much bread". Thus they can't meet those demands for how much they charge for a very old (but great) game. I wont support them with my purchase until I see some changes.

I also agree with people that this game is definitely played better on the computer. However that is also a personal choice for people. I did buy the Ipad version, not too happy with the controls. They really shouldn't have even ventured into that area until they had things all fixed up with the PC version. Care about the customers you have when you have them. Don't go looking for more customers if it's going to cost your current ones, you're just a hampster on a tread wheel.

[TheWangHermit]

Hmm, so have the developers pretty much dropped from the PC version in support for the android version? Or are they kinda allover the place?

[ÄmJii]

Originally posted by Deo:

I'm a fan of the game. But I always put a value on items before I buy them. This game is definitely a great game, but it's still mid 90's game. For that I'm willing to pay $15.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baldur's_Gate_II:_Shadows_of_Amn

"Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn is a computer role-playing game developed by BioWare and published by Black Isle Studios. It is the sequel to Baldur's Gate, and was released for Microsoft Windows in September 2000."


September 2000 =/= mid 90's, just FYI.

[Deo]

Ahh my bad. Point still stands though.