Baldur's Gate Enhanced Edition Review
- Thread starter Andy Chalk
- Start date
Maybe that's the point. Officially, D&D has moved on to newer editions, but it doesn't mean that there aren't people still using it, either in PnP or video games.Jandau said:
OT: It doesn't sound like the game is worth $20 for someone who already has the original game. I can get higher resolutions and class kits in BG1 by installing BG TUTU, which means that it basically adds 3 new kits, 3 new characters that use these kits, and an arena. Sounds more like a cash-grab, than an enhanced edition.
I hate to quote the OP, but there's one piece of information missing from the reviews I've read so far. Multiplayer - how's it working? My friend and I have a four-year old co-op run on hold because we can't get any version of the game to play over the net. I was hoping that BG:EE would enable us to jump back in, or at least start over again and plow through the whole saga together.Andy Chalk said:
So MP is one info I've been waiting for and no reviewer has addressed it. And without it, I'd rather stick to BG Tutu...
Low-level BG strategy is "everybody gets a ranged weapon". Fucking everybody. Imoen? Get her a bow. You rolled a paladin? Hope you didn't pick a cavalier, because here's your bow. Xzar and Montaron? Bow and sling.PedroSteckecilo said:
Bows and slings and shit all up in that *****.
My understanding is that two-person multiplayer is fine, but 3+ is bugged to hell.RyQ_TMC said:
Buyer beware.
Biggest problem of the game thus far: at low levels (which, in D&D terms, is most of the game), you can go several rounds at a time, with 10 combatants on the field, without any hits connecting.
Also, Wild Magic seems slightly broken, in that it works as intended but the Wild Surge announced in the log doesn't seem to always match the Wild Surge that actually happens. Also, Surging into a Gate is a bad time at level 4
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Also, Wild Magic seems slightly broken, in that it works as intended but the Wild Surge announced in the log doesn't seem to always match the Wild Surge that actually happens. Also, Surging into a Gate is a bad time at level 4
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I do admit I'm more of a fan of the second game (I've finished baldur's gate 2 + throne of baal, and just baldur's gate 2 on it's own, but never the first one), but even then I've played quite a lot of the first one, and...I honestly don't get what the people who talk about dying in the early game are talking about.
Seriously, you can even deal with the random ghasts out in the woods with just your first level character and Imoen. It's hard and annoying to do, yes, but you can do it. The game starts getting hard at higher levels, when it stops pulling it's punches and just throws shit at you until you break.
Seriously, you can even deal with the random ghasts out in the woods with just your first level character and Imoen. It's hard and annoying to do, yes, but you can do it. The game starts getting hard at higher levels, when it stops pulling it's punches and just throws shit at you until you break.
I think part of it is just experience on the player's part; those of us who've already played the game to death know how to compensate for weak characters at the start, while newcomers don't realize how weak starting characters are and might not think to grab bows/slings for characters at the first opportunity.Jenx said:
OT: While I love that a new generation of gamers is getting a fresh look at the game, I don't see any reason why I should drop $20 on it when I've already got all of the meaningful updates through BGTuTu.
Bugs will be(and in some cases already have been) patched. And the original pre-patched release was less polished than you remember. As for modding the game... well 20 minutes is a very optimistic estimation there, and the modding tips at GOG are woefully inadequate. And no crashes? You speaking for everyone on that? I wouldn't. Don't get me wrong; a properly configured BWP or even just BGT install can be great, but it's a nontrivial process to pick the right mods, install them in the right order(and with the right components), and avoid the ones that will fuck up your game if you don't know exactly what you are doing.Rzepik said:
Also? Once the modding community moves beyond updating mods to be compatible with the new release, you will start seeing mods that take advantage of the new capabilities the overhauled engine provides. These will not be compatible with the GOG versions(due to hardcoded limitations of the old engine), which means that advising people to buy the GOG versions now(let's be honest: most of the intended audience for BGEE already has them) on the strength of mods is short sighted at best.
In all fairness, there are some people who should hold off on buying the game. If your PC has Intel integrated graphics, know that the overhauled engine uses OpenGL and that Intel's driver support for OpenGL is horrid. Beamdog is working on the issue, but right now playing the game with Intel graphics is problematic for some people(but not all... it seems to depend on what chipset it is, what version of driver you have, and how much the gods favor you at any given time). Keep an eye on the official forums for updates. This is unfortunate, but the choice of OpenGL was necessary for multiple platform support(since DirectX is pretty much a Windows thing).
If you don't pick up Monty and Xzar right off the bat and follow the game's instructions straight to the FAI, the assassin waiting there is going to make quick work of you unless you get lucky and/or have an unusually powerful PC. That's true for new players in particular, but experienced players as well. It seems like bad design that a scripted encounter happens extremely early in the game in such a way that the player usually can't possibly prepare themselves for.Jenx said:
It's actually an improvement on the PnP game. In tabletop AD&D, low level characters die often too, only instead of reloading, you make new characters and start the adventure over. Kind of like hardcore mode with dice.Yojoo said:
Nah, you can easily run around with Imoen and level up in the countryside before going to the FAI @ around level 3-4, hell I went straight there with Imoen and I still kicked that guys ass. XP is shared across the party, so its a fairly viable strat to solo or duo the first couple levels. I missed Monty and Xzar on this playthrough, completely forgot about them.Yojoo said:
I'm aware that there are ways to power up before entering the FAI for the first time, my point is that they wouldn't occur to someone who hasn't played the game before. The player just had his father-figure killed by a group of extremely powerful enemies looking for him, and he's suddenly in the middle of the wilderness with some barely-armed and totally unarmored thief.Shinkicker444 said:
I know that there's no actual time limit and it's not like Sarevok will randomly gank you if you hang around in the woods, but it makes no sense storyline-wise to do anything but head straight for the Friendly Arm. Thus, the only direction given to you at the start of the game delivers you straight into a trap by a combatant that you are almost certainly not prepared for.
Maybe this is true to the PnP tradition, but it doesn't work in terms of modern video game design. I don't see how deliberately leading the player into a scenario that they'll almost certainly die in is good design.
I actually had a much easier time with the Friendly Arm assassin this time around than I did in the original. Took him out the first try. But then I ran into the guy at the Red Sheaf in Beregost, and he just absolutely rocked me, repeatedly. Such is the nature of AD&D.
As for bugs, I didn't run into any aside from the occasional glitchiness with the journal and a spot or two of text misalignment. It's a huge game so I may well have missed something, but I actually came away impressed that the addition of new content and video options to such an old game didn't make a real mess of it.
As for bugs, I didn't run into any aside from the occasional glitchiness with the journal and a spot or two of text misalignment. It's a huge game so I may well have missed something, but I actually came away impressed that the addition of new content and video options to such an old game didn't make a real mess of it.
Again, welcome to AD&D. Heck, the Friendly Arm Inn fight would be considered downright lightweight in Gygax era D&D. You say it isn't good design, but that scenario will almost certainly make the player more wary throughout the rest of the game, which is good since it's not like the game suddenly goes easy on you after that fight. Not every game needs to scale to your level and post big warning signs and quest arrows.Yojoo said:
Frankly, modern game design coddles the player in its no-child-left-behind quest not to exclude any possible paying customers from its experience, however watered down it might be. I'm not saying that developer's are necessarily wrong to broaden appeal, but it's nice to see games that have other goals besides maximizing profit.
People complaining about the assassin fight outside of the Friendly Arm - really? It's not difficult at all, he is a level 3 mage. You can quite easily hit him before he casts mirror image and then, you've won. It's that simple. He has no armour class and even just with the PC and Imoen at level 1 it's not a difficult fight. Quicksave as you enter the Inn courtyard and if you get unlucky a couple of times, so what?
Much, much worse than Tarnesh awaits you down the road, if you can't handle one low-level mage, then maybe you should go back to Dragon Age and other hand-holding RPGs.
Much, much worse than Tarnesh awaits you down the road, if you can't handle one low-level mage, then maybe you should go back to Dragon Age and other hand-holding RPGs.
My first time with BG, I got ganked repeatedly at FAI too. But once you get the trick, it's simple. Imoen has a Wand of Missiles. It has 0 casting time and always hits. Just pause as soon as you enter combat (or set auto-pause) and ram a magic missile up the mage's butt. That will fizzle his Mirror Image and make him WAY easier to hit. He's short work once you interrupt his spellcasting. If you're still having problems, watch the guard movements, they will help you once the fight starts - gotta be reasonably close to get into melee range in time though.Yojoo said:
And general tip regarding wands - don't save them for later. It's never worth it, and they prove quite handy in a fight due to their insta-cast.
About leading into that scenario? Well, if you stick to the road, you'll have a 4-strong party with a spellcaster (Xzar), a ranged attacker (Imoen) and a melee attacker (Montaron), regardless of your PC's class. And sticking to the road is sensible - that's where you'll likely to meet other travellers and you're further away from the bears and wolves that roam the woods. So storyline-wise, it makes sense to follow the road, where you'll be able to recruit Xzar and Monty, and a Level 2 mage shouldn't be too much of a problem.