thelovebat: You choose not to address my points as to why I think it's worth playing the Enhanced Edition even for someone new to the series. Is it because you can't address them or because you don't want to?
Hickory: I already stated that I stopped reading, and I meant it.
So you didn't get to the part then where I point out a few things I wish the Enhanced Edition would have addressed. My post wasn't just a bunch of things I felt give the game merit for newcomers to play, I see things from both sides. If you want me to respect your opinion at least take the time to consider the things I mentioned or brought up. I don't mind debate or counterpoints. If you disagree with anything I said feel feel free to back up your reasoning.
My first Baldur's Gate game was Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance on the PS2 and that didn't effect my enjoyment of playing the original years later when GOG began selling it. And even after playing the original Baldur's Gate first that doesn't mean that I couldn't get more enjoyment out of the Enhanced Edition. I'm not saying someone like the OP has to go with what I recommend, just saying he should listen to both sides and decide for themselves since it's not like we're talking about George Lucas and Star Wars edits. No actual content was removed any more than any of the mods would have done.
You also have to understand that game balance is going to be different due to how proficiencies and classes now work, it was just inevitable that a few things would be different but that also doesn't mean anything is overpowered necessarily. Changes were made which makes different characters more specialized in how you may utilize them but doesn't change the core of how the NPCs are built. I mean for one you can no longer dual class into a specialist mage, something you used to be able to do with Imoen in the original. Strength requirements for some different equipment mean you have to worry more than just about weight limits like in the original. Some weapons which were more scarce but still viable at times in the original because of shared proficiencies had to be adjusted for the enhanced edition (like scimitars). The enhanced edition makes things more clear with how Bards and their bard song is handled and fixing the effects they have, and the kits make Bards much more appealing to play (otherwise you could just as easily get yourself a Bard NPC instead). The devs also added in a suit of armor fit especially for Bards to use that isn't overpowered and can't be obtained until around Chapter 5 or so. Essentially this armor provides an alternative for Bards since in the enhanced edition you can no longer switch out armor during combat like in the original. So now if you're a Bard and want the possibility of casting spells while wearing something (since Bards don't get to wear robes), at least now there's an alternative for those characters. Haste is now a viable spell that doesn't age your characters to oblivion (instead it just fatigues them faster, so now high constiution can pay off more than just hitpoints). I mean there were plenty of necessary changes, some Baldur's Gate specific and some others due to some of the shortcomings of 2nd Edition D&D. Heck, if they could make a Baldur's Gate game with 5th Edition D&D that would be great IMO since it seems better than the min/maxing style of 2nd Edition (at least for Baldur's Gate). A lot of stats in the original Baldur's Gate you didn't really get much benefit from until they were around 15. So anything you didn't plan on having that high was really a dump stat if you wanted. At least for the Enhanced Edition though now you have actual strength requirements, and making some things more clear with character creation (it's a lot easier for me to understand stuff like dual classing and multiclassing from the enhanced edition). Some things in relation to Mages and spellcasting are also made more clear.
You don't have to read my posts if you don't want to, but don't blow off my arguments and points as being invalid if you're not even going to bother reading them or addressing them. I mean heck Spears seem just an underpowered as they ever were in the original, so there's that. Some of the NPCs you can't get till later in the game are still gimped by the time you can get them. I don't see how things are overpowered, you'll still die just as much as in the original and saving often is still the way to go. And just like in the original, you'll eventually reach that point with your party when things start to snowball more in your favor and things are less frustrating for combat and progressing through areas. Some classes/kits seem much less useful than some others, like the Cleric/Thief still being a bad combination. Some classes/kits are more viable in the first game but maybe not quite as much in the 2nd game, and vice versa. It's definitely still Baldur's Gate, and someone who worked on the originals with Bioware back in the day is a part of the Beamdog/Overhaul staff and was fine with how they did things for the enhanced edition. My opinion is that the experience I've had with the enhanced edition is better than my experience with the aspects of the original, and it's simply more fun to play (and has more replayability with character creation).
I mean, let's look at another game. Lunar The Silver Star (and its sequel, Lunar Eternal Blue) were original released on the Sega CD. That, as one would have it, is the original experience. And no one doubts that these games were and are good. However, considering the improvements and things done on the PS1 re-releases of these games, would you still recommend people play the originals first? Not taking into account price and availability to play the originals.
