To say the least! I have to wonder what they were thinking... "Y' know, who needs sharp, crisp detail in their character graphics when you could have blobby sprites with heavy outlines, instead?" Yeah, I played up to just past the fight with Tarnesh and decided I'd seen enough: downgraded graphics, obnoxious journal entry alerts, equally obnoxious character sheet screens, acres of dead space around every map, etc, etc...

Here's the best part: I got to test drive the Android version on my friend's tablet and directly compare it side-by-side with the PC port, and the *tablet* version is actually *good*! Virtually every issue I had with the PC version was not to be found in the mobile version, and on top of that, it's HALF the price! A LOT better, for a LOT cheaper! So bizarre... I can only assume different people worked on/were in charge of the two different platforms. Either way, the PC version comes off as a VERY sloppy port.

It seems to me, if Beamdog thought their product could stand on its own two feet, they wouldn't be pulling these shenanigans now. As a man named Joe once said: MEDIOCRE.

Well, I'm glad you're not part of THE AGENDA, then. :) Admittedly, tfo47 came off a bit harsh, but "we people", lol, are getting a little tired (understatement) of being called bigot and worse if the phrases we use aren't "correct" or we don't agree with *everything* some group says, believes, whatever (like Amber Scott and her fans have done - I'm not talking about a character in a game, but the fact that if there's *anything* you don't like about the game, it's because you're a bigot, etc).

I wouldn't care about that character, except that I've seen reviews from gays and transgenders that also think it's written poorly and bothers even them. Not to mention that it was Beamdog and Amber Scott that highlighted that as being the only/main problem (easier to use that as the arguing point than that the game may simply be bad, lol), started calling names, alienating people and generally made people hate that scene more because of the association with the devs'/writer's attitude than the actual character/scene, itself.

Anyway, I'm a purist. I used to *love* the Star Wars movies, then GL decided they needed a makeover and that no one should see the originals again (he gave in a little on the DVDs with a poor LD transfer), then the Prequels (I don't call them Star Wars), then more "upgrades" on the classics (neverending), now the start of the Sequels.

There were things I like and didn't like about the new character sheets but the other problems you mentioned, yeah, they bugged me somewhat too. There is a big one that bothers me though and that's the absence of cut scenes (I'm only refering to BG1:EE here). For instance, when you get to the Friendly Arm Inn in the classic version, you'll get a cut scene that pans around the building before looking up at the building. In the EE version, the cutscene is replaced by a picture of the Friendly Arm Inn and all that happens is the game zooms in slightly on the picture.

IMO, the bandit camp "cut scene" was one of the worst. The classic version had orcs and gnolls standing around while a gnoll was pushing a captive to the left. The "enhanced" version replaced this cut scene with a still picture and the game zooms in slightly on the captive. To say the cut scenes are fucking bullshit would be an understatement.

And Neera needs to cast a perm silence spell on herself. I booted her from my party just for this reason and picked up Xan instead. I would rather gargle a jug of molten diarrhea than listen to Neera say "EAT FLAMING - or... possibly frosty - DEATH!" one more time. Yeah, I know I can turn off battle cries in the options menu but I don't see why my other party members have to suffer.

IIRC, the reason Beamderp wanted to do the "enchanced" versions was to bring these games to mobile platforms so it's not surprising to hear you say the tablet versions are good. Truth be told, I still like some things about the EE version but they are mostly superficial. The zooming map, higher ammo and potion stacks, containers, the new weapons (new classes, not so much), the more detailed character sheet (some parts anyways) and maybe a few others. Glad I didn't pay full price when it came out as this game it isn't even close to being worth that much but I was actually okay with spending $3 to try this version out.

IWD: EE on the other hand........I sometimes get crashes which lock up my laptop and the only way I can get out of it is by turning the power off. Not impressed by this at all. BG1:EE hasn't crashed on me once yet.

Thanks to YouTube, I know exactly what you mean. Another reason the tablet version is clearly superior: the atrocious new NPCs are completely *optional*. They're paid DLC, to the tune of (I think) $2 apiece for the three new characters.

Ever hear of public relations?

If this isn't working out the way Beamdog hoped it would I fail to see why it isn't their own fault. This is, after all, a site dedicated to a particular niche, that attracts a particular segment of the gaming community. Everyone but a fool has to know that making "enhancements" is a risky proposition that might not prove to be economically beneficial.