I said early on when details started to come out, that this was a cashgrab operation off of the great name of Baldur's Gate. Everything that has happened since has only confirmed that view. Now people can't even buy the original and superior games any more, which is utterly despicable.

I'm a little older as well, and am glad I have learnt a thing or two over the years. That means I didn't waste money on any of the Beamturd games, or Mass Effect 2 or 3, or Dragon Age: Holy shit this blows chunks!

If the remakes had been well-made, it would have been a good addition, like for instance Settlers 2: 10th anniversary edition. But like this...? No, absolutely not, and you do not get my money. Just glad I already have the original games, otherwise I may have had to resort to "alternative means".

Good thing I was able to buy both Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale duologies years ago before the merging happened. I still bought the Enhanced Editions to gauge if they were worth for the sale price instead of buying it at full.

This is especially bad now that the Siege of Dragonspear update has rendered the original BG2 EE a useless pile of shit (even without SoD installed). I don't recall exactly what SoD added and what was already there, but my list of complaints include:

- Journal ruined by turning it into an mmorpg-style laundry list.

- Spellbook changed for the worse. Crucial information is now tiny and relocated to the bottom of the screen.

- Opening the map now causes a dizzying zoom effect.

- Character models are weirdly cel-shaded for some reason.

- Game turns blurry when you zoom in.

- Character models are tiny when you zoom out.

- The obnoxious weapon icons obfuscating the portraits and max HP numbers still cannot be disabled.

- God knows what else would await me if I had kept playing. Fortunately I own the originals and won't have to find out.

This is like hearing an echo of my own thoughts about these EnCrapped Editions from months ago...

Which means, it's not just a case of rose-colored glasses, after all. The classic games are still FAR superior, and Beamdog still sucks.

Anyone know if it's possible to get the original versions some way? From what I see here the Enhanced editions really take a crap on my beloved BG series.

Beamdog has seen to it that you can't get them on digital platforms like GOG or Steam, there are alternatives, though.

That stinks :/ Got to do it the old fashioned way then. Suppose that's how these games are meant to be played!

The Enhanced Editions each come with a key for the corresponding original "classic" version. You can either use the code yourself or give it to someone else who wants the original version.

(Strictly speaking, these "original" versions are actually the fully patched versions that Hasbro released (expansions included), not the games as they were when they first came out.)

You sound like an idiot.

I'm not at all happy with GOG selling us a far inferior version of BG for twice the money. This is not an ethical business practice.

I had previously bought two different CD versions (the original CD version and the DVD version that came with other Forgotten Realms games). Both now either have missing CDs or are damaged, so I want to buy a digital version. After I lost my physical copies, the original version is no longer available on GOG.

GOG has been very, very fair with us in the past. They don't allow publishers to put DRM on the games they host. They ensure that the games they sell work on modern computers. They provide lots of goodies with the games if available at no extra cost. I still remember when they gave us the awesome Tropico soundtrack, that is worth $10 on its own for free along with the game.

I want GOG to use their negotiating power to come to an arrangement with BeamDog to sell the original version separately for the original price of $10. As a matter of principle, I refuse to to pay extra even if it includes the superior original version as a "bonus". I want the original separately for the original cost of $10.

The EE versions are available at discounts every now and then. Just wait for it to be discounted to a price you'd be willing to pay for the originals. Then buy it and just redeem the code for the original version without ever downloading the EE version. It may be a little bit of a hassle but that way you get what you want for the price you're willing to pay for it.

It's an insult to the original designers that the only way to get the original and superior versions of the BG games, is to pay those shysters at Beamdog. New gamers may get the impression that the games were designed by Beamdog, when what Beamdog sells amounts to little more than patches.

These are not even "patches." They butcher the game making it substantially less enjoyable.

But what really pisses me off that Beamdog makes it sound as it is them who produced these great classics. They put their logo everywhere and took away Black Isle logo from the intro. Not to mention all the shenanigans they employed following the uproar on gog about bundling classics and EE. Despicable company/individuals.

I think the revenue goes to BeamDog for either version, since they own the IP now. I don't have an issue with them getting the revenue. I don't have anything against them, even though their version is obviously a huge downgrade.

What I find very unethical, however, is for BeamDog to force us to pay double for their downgrade of the older version.

Why do we have to buy the new downgraded version to get the older version in the bundle? And, to add insult to injury, how dare they charge us double on top of that?

I wish GOG would stand up for us and make BeamDog give us a choice of which version to buy, or show BeamDog the door.