Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition

I tried playing this game when it first came out. My wife and I had loved BG1, but there was something ominous about the game system in this one. Not the AD&D part, but rather what they had done with the AD&D rules to facilitate high-level play. I loaded it up a couple times, but the ultimate deal-breaker ovver the years was the non-sequitur beginning. If you played BG1 with a heroic party, then odds are one of your characters starts the game plot dead, never to return. Coupled with the fact that all your gear from the first game is also gone, I just couldn't make myself care about the new story. Two decades later, Hordes of Dragonspear created the perfect bridge between BG1 and BG2. No longer a non-sequitur, all those elements that I hated became part of the story. They became motivation both in-player and in-character. I moved straight from BG1 through HoD and right into BG2...and from there straight into Throne of Bhaal. This game does take liberties with the AD&D rules, but mostly in the name of fun. If you like the story of Baldur's Gate, especially as it travels through Hordes of Dragonspear, then this is the ultimate and fitting finale. I enjoyed it immensely; the storyline, the game play, the turn-based combat, even the dated art and interface. Throne of Bhaal shifts tone following the resolution of Shadows of Amn, but I'm reluctant to call it "tacked on." It's a conclusion. It follows the story that started in BG1 and led into HoD before ending in Shadows of Amn, but it has few direct links aside from some key NPCs and references to your character's many accomplishments. If you loved the story, the way I did, Throne of Bhaal feels very combat intensive, like the DM who forgets to challenge his high-level PCs' minds and instead keeps throwing bigger and badder monsters to fight. But the resolution that comes resolves the entire Baldur's Gate saga, not just the expansion. This game packs a LOT, and in the end I felt like it was well worth the journey.

I was excited to find this game on sale but I couldn't get it to work on Linux Mint 21 Vanessa Cinnamon. A libssl.so.1 library was not found and there is no way to install it. A quick web search didn't provide any simple solution so I requested a refund which was processed quickly and I'm grateful for that. It was sad being unable to play this game on Linux, since it was the main reason I wanted this game.

If you buy the EE you get the classic edition (more->serial key and there is your key.) The original game is 5 star.

My favorite cRPG of all time: Pros: - Very interesting story - Very interesting antagonist - Interesting party members (Yeah I know Minsc is fun but he's not the only one) - A lot of unique quests (Don't feel like a chore) - Beautiful environments - Meet Drizzt Do'Urden - Visit the Underdark - Lilarcor the talking sword Cons: - If you are used to fast walking in PoE you'll have to get used to a slower walking pace :)

BG2 is fairly entertaining. At the same time, it is plagued by a number of annoying things. One of those, which is also used in BGSOD, is not allowing you to control how your party approaches a number of key battles (including the final battle in Throne of Bhaal, the second installment of the game). In those battles, you're just thrust into stupid, compromising positions that don't often allow you to draw upon the strengths you have developed throughout the game. What this does is make me have to annoyingly begin the game all over again in an attempt to gain enough power the next time to get through it. Disclaimer: My favorite two secondary party members from the first game are dead at the beginning of this one, so I was a bit annoyed at this sequel in the first place.