There are two games I can directly credit from turning from a kid who played games, into a GAMER. They are without a doubt Final Fantasy 7 and Baldur's Gate 2. Both were hugely long Role Playing Games that told epic stories with excellent characters I got tremendously wrapped up in, as well as deep combat systems I came nowhere close to mastering hahaha. Of the two however I do believe that Baldur's Gate holds a more special place in my heart - I basically raised my love of Fantasy on the altar of the DnD 2E books I was given when I was younger, so that connection to Dungeons and Dragons Baldur's Gate has makes it all the more special. Also the ending of that game fuuuuucked me up - but we'll get to that!
So I spent a while in the previous paragraph talking about the sequel to the game I've just finished, and in fact I have a very odd history with this particular game in contrast to the sequel I love so dearly. Despite the two of them being very much a continuation of the same character and storyline (a featuer that BioWare would turn into their Magnum Opus Mass Effect, see games number 1 through 3 this year, lolol!) I did not have Baldur's Gate 1 until I believe I was in my very late teens/early 20's. My father bought me BG2 because he read the very high reviews + knew I was a fan of DnD. And thankfully he did as I do believe BG2 is the superioer game - but I spent many years replaying only THAT game (and not even its concluding expansion until several years later...) and not the first, so I had a very distinct feeling on how the game SHOULD be in my head before I actually tried it. And honestly I believe this is only my third or fourth time completing BG1... Contrasting BG2, which should be at least 7 or 8?
Anyway, BG1 was initially a pretty massive disappointment to me for a few reasons - the quests, barring a few odd exceptions, are pretty one note and straightfoward. Sarevok is a DECENT enough villain but he gets not enough screentime for like... 80% of the game basically so he's a bit weak in that regard. There are also like half dozen lackeys you have to mow through to get to him, who all have no personality. Much of the gameplay is more straightforward due to being low level DND - you have very little to actually DO for the first 5 hours or so other than wander around and shoot shit with your ranged weapons.. BG2 just has so much more going on!
But - in my later years I have certainly turned around on Baldur's Gate 1. It captures the FEEL of dnd very well - wandering around in the wilderness, doing easy enough quests and killing bad guys, with an overarching plot looming in the background of the whole thing. There's a few solid dungeon crawls, some gnolls to kick around, magic items to find... It is a bit rote, but damn if it isn't satisfying all the same. Also the music is just super.
For this review I am including the expansion Tales of the Sword Coast, but will be excluding the new Siege of Dragonspear for a couple reasons - 1. I didn't actually do everything from TotSC because Durlag's Tower is great and the werewolf island is boring - 2. Dragonspear is super-duper long and feels more like a proper minisequel like Throne of Bhaal does - 3. It lets me mark it as another complete game for my 52 game challenge!!
So anyway Durlag's Tower - SUCH an awesome dungeon. It isn't just the frequent use of clever puzzles and dastardly traps - it is the way it spins all of it together with an interesting variety of enemies for you to beat on and feels like a genuine test of your abilities up to that point in the game in a way NONE of the rest of the game does. Even the very end section of BG1 - the Undercroft maze - feels very plain in comparison as does the fight with Sarevok. Basically he's a fuckin' beast and you throw everything you got at him til' he dies. Durlag's Tower though is just full of great shit but I DID feel that the controls of the Switch version hampered me just a tad, and it dragged a bit near the end, but I was kinda ready to move on.
So in this playthrough I was Flint, a Dwarven Fighter/Cleric who is Neutral Good, and ended at a 20 rep. Not that it is particularly difficult to get to max rep, he is generally a great dude who tries to look out for the little guy! He tried to be merciful to the many douchebags on the sword coast, but it rarely worked out because his companions always blasted them 1000% so they ended up dying anyway haha... He is pretty freaked out by his heritage of Bhaal and his developing powers - he assumed that his connection with his god was giving him more powers but finding out it was an evil deity of murder doing it deeply unsettles him, and he worries deeply about his future. He hung tight with Imoen and Neera the whole game, and developed something of a romance with the latter. Flint led a pretty strict life growing up in Candlekeep under Gorion's tutelage and her 'wildness' was very intriguing to him. He partied with Khalid and Jaheria for a time but just wanted to strike out more on his own and found the pair a bit annoying... A few people fell along the way - Ajantis and Branwen and Yeslick! Yeslick sadly met his fate at the bottom of Durlag's Tower defeating a powerful demon.. which I was sad about but also a bit gleeful since he was my exact same race/class combo haha.. Anyway after conquering the tower we moved on to defeat Sarevok quickly hoping to put an end to Bhaal's plan before any more could be harmed. Flint attempted to talk Sarevok down, saying they could team up and fight the dead god together but alas it was not meant to be.. Sarevok deafeated, Flint hoped things would calm down for a time.. He was very wrong!
So I spent a while in the previous paragraph talking about the sequel to the game I've just finished, and in fact I have a very odd history with this particular game in contrast to the sequel I love so dearly. Despite the two of them being very much a continuation of the same character and storyline (a featuer that BioWare would turn into their Magnum Opus Mass Effect, see games number 1 through 3 this year, lolol!) I did not have Baldur's Gate 1 until I believe I was in my very late teens/early 20's. My father bought me BG2 because he read the very high reviews + knew I was a fan of DnD. And thankfully he did as I do believe BG2 is the superioer game - but I spent many years replaying only THAT game (and not even its concluding expansion until several years later...) and not the first, so I had a very distinct feeling on how the game SHOULD be in my head before I actually tried it. And honestly I believe this is only my third or fourth time completing BG1... Contrasting BG2, which should be at least 7 or 8?
Anyway, BG1 was initially a pretty massive disappointment to me for a few reasons - the quests, barring a few odd exceptions, are pretty one note and straightfoward. Sarevok is a DECENT enough villain but he gets not enough screentime for like... 80% of the game basically so he's a bit weak in that regard. There are also like half dozen lackeys you have to mow through to get to him, who all have no personality. Much of the gameplay is more straightforward due to being low level DND - you have very little to actually DO for the first 5 hours or so other than wander around and shoot shit with your ranged weapons.. BG2 just has so much more going on!
But - in my later years I have certainly turned around on Baldur's Gate 1. It captures the FEEL of dnd very well - wandering around in the wilderness, doing easy enough quests and killing bad guys, with an overarching plot looming in the background of the whole thing. There's a few solid dungeon crawls, some gnolls to kick around, magic items to find... It is a bit rote, but damn if it isn't satisfying all the same. Also the music is just super.
For this review I am including the expansion Tales of the Sword Coast, but will be excluding the new Siege of Dragonspear for a couple reasons - 1. I didn't actually do everything from TotSC because Durlag's Tower is great and the werewolf island is boring - 2. Dragonspear is super-duper long and feels more like a proper minisequel like Throne of Bhaal does - 3. It lets me mark it as another complete game for my 52 game challenge!!
So anyway Durlag's Tower - SUCH an awesome dungeon. It isn't just the frequent use of clever puzzles and dastardly traps - it is the way it spins all of it together with an interesting variety of enemies for you to beat on and feels like a genuine test of your abilities up to that point in the game in a way NONE of the rest of the game does. Even the very end section of BG1 - the Undercroft maze - feels very plain in comparison as does the fight with Sarevok. Basically he's a fuckin' beast and you throw everything you got at him til' he dies. Durlag's Tower though is just full of great shit but I DID feel that the controls of the Switch version hampered me just a tad, and it dragged a bit near the end, but I was kinda ready to move on.
So in this playthrough I was Flint, a Dwarven Fighter/Cleric who is Neutral Good, and ended at a 20 rep. Not that it is particularly difficult to get to max rep, he is generally a great dude who tries to look out for the little guy! He tried to be merciful to the many douchebags on the sword coast, but it rarely worked out because his companions always blasted them 1000% so they ended up dying anyway haha... He is pretty freaked out by his heritage of Bhaal and his developing powers - he assumed that his connection with his god was giving him more powers but finding out it was an evil deity of murder doing it deeply unsettles him, and he worries deeply about his future. He hung tight with Imoen and Neera the whole game, and developed something of a romance with the latter. Flint led a pretty strict life growing up in Candlekeep under Gorion's tutelage and her 'wildness' was very intriguing to him. He partied with Khalid and Jaheria for a time but just wanted to strike out more on his own and found the pair a bit annoying... A few people fell along the way - Ajantis and Branwen and Yeslick! Yeslick sadly met his fate at the bottom of Durlag's Tower defeating a powerful demon.. which I was sad about but also a bit gleeful since he was my exact same race/class combo haha.. Anyway after conquering the tower we moved on to defeat Sarevok quickly hoping to put an end to Bhaal's plan before any more could be harmed. Flint attempted to talk Sarevok down, saying they could team up and fight the dead god together but alas it was not meant to be.. Sarevok deafeated, Flint hoped things would calm down for a time.. He was very wrong!