Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition

This review is based off from using Windows 10 + Laptop with NVIDIA to play this game: So I played this revision of the game with the current patch implemented, and far as I can tell this game runs smooth like butter and I enjoyed it thoroughly when it came to the main original campaign. The new technical stuff offer more options to play with though one of which I really didn't like too much such as the new look for the characters which I automatically turned off. I also recommend mods that restore original content that didn't quite make it into BG1 Enhanced Edition, but adds a couple more hours to the game's overall average playing time. As for any other optional mods I leave it up to the person reading this, but always make sure to research each mod thoroughly before installing it (as some still have some major bugs). The Cons - Though I do like the new content to a certain extent, but I felt a couple of the new scenarios seemed kind of rushed which doesn't quite reflect the same quality to the original game. The areas that are locked behind a alignment check (technically) seems like a major letdown because these areas should as least be given a good-guy route instead of being forcibly evil to participate in it. I had to use the cheat commands just to see what these areas were all about due to my alignment. For now it will probably be up to modders to remedy this as I'm sure Beamdog as moved on since then to work on other projects. The Pros - The game runs smoothly as it can ever be thanks to Beamdog's patches; I understand that coding computer games can be a real challenge whether your a small or big studio and some of these previous reviews seem rather unfair though justified in their experience at the time. I like some of the small extra additions they made with this game that just improves the overall experience.

I don't understand all the bashing on Beamdog here. This game is freaking fantastic, and looks amazing on widescreen displays, with the full 16:9 aspect ratio that wasn't there in the old days of the CRT monitor. It's not just the presentation, but it blends in just the perfect amount of fantasy, and reality. I'm a JRPG person, and I am extremely, extremely impressed by this endeavor. This game reminds me a lot of Legend of Dragoon, with the balance of seriousness in combat, and comic relief in dialogue. The voice acting is super top-notch, and the characters actually have life to them, especially Neera, who had a very similar demeanor to Meru, and the voice acting on her sounds like something I'd hear in a big-budget production film. The soundtrack is pretty good, may I add! The addition of story mode is an extremely welcome addition to folks such as I, who just want to enjoy the game, but slay things at the same time without a hitch. So far, I'm not seeing any glitches, or bugs that unfortunately plague many PC games. I thought a game rated 4.1/5, Kingdom Come: Deliverance would be a great game from just the ratings alone, but after seeing that it contained bugs, and had a lot of extra annoyances with all the different negative stats plastered onto it in an attempt to be realistic, this is an incredible relief. I see why people love Baldur's Gate. I originally bought this on a sale a long time ago, and when I saw the reviews trashing Beamdog, I didn't give it a real try, and fast-forward to today, and I finally gave it a shot. I am quite impressed. A far, far cry from the 3.7 average I'm seeing here. Personally, I give this game a 4.45/5 stars. It is a classic that I recommend to any RPG fan. Once you get used to the isometric point-and-click nature of this game, it has plenty to offer. Overall, the story is original, and well-written, characters have special charm to them, and the voice acting was especially well-done. The game speaks for itself, play it!

I don't get the hate. As a veteran of BG and BG2 myself I was honestly surprised at how decent this version is. Running BG on anything more recent than an early 2000's computer required a bunch of mods and tweaks and the result was a playable but somewhat unstable experience (BGTutu and Nvidia degreenifier? No thanks). Yes, the mods were free, and their significance has never been played down by the community. The Enhanced Edition however does more than just package a bunch of "free" mods together: as of this review, this is arguably the best BG & Tales of the Sword Coast experience available. It is smooth, it is sleek, it is stable. Yes, they changed the UI, tweaked some rules, added a bunch of nonsense companions and some new locations. Who cares? Just ignore them! The graphics can be zoomed to look as small or big as you want, and the game looks fantastic even on high resolutions and ultrawide screens. NPCs come pre-scripted to attack and use spells and abilities automatically, but this can be easily customized or turned off (this is why they "cast spells", they are not ignoring commands!). Even as a long time fan I have to admit that at least for modern systems, this is the best BG1 & TotSC experience available despite the changes, and it runs flawlessly in both Linux and Windows. The additions are crappy and should be ignored, but the core game is still as relevant as it was back then. Considering that people still pay $60 for generic 10 hour games I don't think $20 for this is bad, but if you see it on sale it is a no brainer.

I had first played "Baldur's Gate" in the early 2000's and thoroughly enjoyed it. This enhanced re-issue of the first game in the series is simply superb. First, the game itself is super-stable and runs perfectly on Windows 11. The character/team creation class/kit options are deep, limitless in their possibilities and offer immense replay value. I spent hours on the Baldur's Gate wiki learning about all of the different character races and class/kit options, so I could create an interesting and powerful team. The game itself is immersive, satisfying and still hugely fun to play. This game is considered a classic RPG, and, with good reason. The story is great. sound effects and voice-acting are first-rate. Battles can be fought with different tactics. Want to plunge through enemy hordes as a fighter brute? Prefer magical attacks? Or, want to use thief sneak attacks? You can do it all. This is one of the best PC RPG gaming experiences of all time. Buy it, play it and enjoy it.

You get a lot of fantastic playtime out of Baldur's Gate 1+2. With the Enhanced Edition you gain built-in widescreen support and a nifty zoom feature, but it costs you support for hundreds of mods (many adding complete campaigns with solid writing). Why bother paying double for 3 EE characters if you can get a dozen or so mod characters that also bring individual banter dialogues. Save yourself some money and get the non-EE version and get the BIG WORLD installer, it'll run BG1+2 in the BG2 engine and also allow you to add tons of quality mods in one installer. Mod support in EE is just too intransparent :-/ If you hate mods, you can get EE, but you will miss out on much that kept the demand for BG for 15 years.