This!

and This!

It tells you everything and nothing all at the same time.

January or February, 1999

You return back home with a freshly bought big box version of Baldur's Gate. You heard about it, you've read about it and now's the time to see if all that's been said about it is true.

With shaking hands you open the box, proceed with the installation in your fast Pentium III desktop computer and while waiting patiently, you take a peek at the manual.

Finally! Installation is over. Game's intro starts now: You see some knight in full armor on top of a terrace. What is he doing up there? Suddenly, a bigger knight arrives *oh wait he isn't a knight - he is evil!!!!*. After a short dialogue between them, the bad guy strangles the good guy and throws him on the street below.

*Shivers*

This was one of the best gaming intro's you saw. It was great!!

But who were these guys. The good guy spoke some nonsense. What was that? Why the big bad guy killed the good one? You think: "I must know. I should play the game now."

You don't need to. You figure out he's one of the dozens (scores?) of other Bhaalspawn. Exactly who he is is immaterial. The central and important figure in that intro is Sarevok.

Here is the modern version. Fixed for you.

ps: I'm having a major butthurt right now. I freaking hate when people talk shit about OLD games.

But here is where you are wrong. I like this game alot. I beaten it for crying out loud.

http://www.gog.com/forum/general_archive/hear_ye_my_fellow_gogers_for_i_sir_argronok_hath_conquered_baldurs_gate_1/page1

Nah.

I doubt it's the worst cinematic ever and obviously it hasn't aged well.
If an intro is supposed to get you 'pumped' for the game, this one does not work.
If it's supposed to tell you about the world and the game itself, it still doesn't work (for first time players).
It's a bit weird and clunky, but it's watchable and there must be intro's that are unwatchable.
If you look back at any 3D animated intro from around that era it's going to look pretty bad, look at the intro of Dungeon Keeper for example.

I love these old 3D animated cinematics. They have a charm.

IMO Warcraft 3 was the first 3D cinematics perfected. It still looks good today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfkiJXnSRM8

I think he is actually mentioned in Sarevok journal you find and maybe I am making things up, but I think someone mentions to you near Iron Throne headquarters that someone fell off it some time ago.

Well, to be honest, I didn't write this story with the intent to be sarcastic to Elmofongo. I just wanted to show how I saw the intro back at the time versus Elmofongo's view of it. And I guess he saw it only recently.

The movie may not have aged well enough but back then, it was very very good and one of the best I've seen. Clearly managed to pick my interest with all this "nonsense" the two characters said and the quote at the beginning set the mood quite well.

Its just I grew up with Blizzard's Cinematics:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRXP5td0ZrA

I agree on that, I couldn't believe my eyes when I first saw them. The picture quality was like nothing I've seen. A little before WIII (or after?), it was Haegemonia's intro that made my eyes happy. Especially during the scene where the spaceship leaves the planet.

Diablo 2 Lord of Destruction's intro looks good today (now in glorious 1080p)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xp20voR11gs

And Final Fantasy 9's cinematics looks beautiful:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dl-RzRxAebU

Can you give similar critical review of e.g. the Final Fantasy 8 intro, ie. what does it tell to the gamer about the game etc.? :)

"I'll be here... Why...? I'll be 'waiting'... here... For what? I'll be waiting... for you... so.... If you come here... You'll find me."

What? Someone will be waiting so that they are there so that someone will find them if they come there? What is that supposed to mean, is it some zen-like thing like "Wherever you go, there you are."?

And why is 'waiting' in apostrophes? They are not really waiting, but... 'waiting'? What happens in that intro anyway? Why are there feathers? Why is one lady wearing a red beak mask where she can't possibly see anything, and why does her black hair look like some kind of black strings flailing in the wind? And why are those two guys fighting, are they fighting for life, or merely practicing? If the latter, who is such an idiot that would practice using real swords without any protection, especially for a free-form fighting practice?


That said, I don't think the video parts were that important for Baldur's Gate anyway. The intro is mostly a generic medieval fantasy cliche I think, and the later videos in the game don't get any better IIRC. Unlike maybe some JPRGs, Baldur's Gate's main point never were those in-game movies. They are there just for little flavor, that's all. You could just as well skip them.

Also, I personally don't consider Baldur's Gate "legendary". It is a classic mostly because it came out at the right time when there weren't that many other high-profile CRPGs to play. I recall Might&Magic 6 enjoyed similar lack of competition when it came out, PC RPG gamers were so hungry for new games that they bought both in droves.

I felt BG was somewhat boring overall. I liked BG2 much better, and also Icewind Dale.