Baldur's Gate struggles to get the love of it's later brethren and the CRPGs that surround it, but that's not for lack of quality. Baldur's Gate doesn't have an action packed story or deep C&C or nuanced companions. Instead Baldur's Gate seeks to be an open ended adventure where you are lost in the wilderness and caught in a dangerous conspiracy. It achieves this perfectly by plopping you in the middle of nowhere as a level 1 character and forcing you to claw your way to success bit by bit. Learning the games systems and maps mirrors the journey your character takes as they learn to be an adventurer; and the games story lacks in gravitas but makes up for it with a meditative ambience and a perfect execution of the conspiracy plot.