I should preface this by explaining that I am a latecomer to this franchise. I picked a copy of the first game with the Tales of the Sword Coast expansion included up in 2006 or so, but I never really played it because the disc I had gotten had a scratch, so my first experience with Baldur's Gate has been with the Enhanced Editions. I started a game about three years ago on my laptop at work (graveyard shift at a hotel), and very recently finished it off and decided I'd follow the road by including this, even though many seem to dislike it.

Coming from Baldur's Gate 1, Siege of Dragonspear feels like a really high quality continuation with a lot of setpieces and moments of charming writing, which wasn't at all what I expected from all of the backlash I've seen. It isn't perfect by any means, but it's a really fun time, and I don't regret having played it whatsoever. I don't have the experience of Baldur's Gate 2 to compare it to, either.

So, that leads me to say that anyone who is coming to the franchise completely fresh: you probably won't hate this. It's a worthy pit stop in your Baldur's Gate journey. Now, onward to 2!