Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition

A classic RPG. I starting playing it for the first time a couple of months ago. It can at times seem archaic and unforgiving but give it time and once you get into it, the experience is wonderful. Puts a lot of modern games to shame with it's emphasis on a rich and rewarding combat experience based on the AD&D rule set. It's well worth while familiarising yourself with the rules before starting the game as they will help with understanding the stats system. There are quite a few mods which will improve the game. The gibberlings3 have some nice mods for the game. As a add on the Siege of Dragonspear adds more to the story. Now onto BG2. I found the game to work flawlessly on Linux so a big thank you to BeamDog for investing the effort in the Linux port.

I have been quite satisfied with this purchase. Unlike NWN's "enhanced" edition with game-breaking bugs, this actually feels like a step up from the original game, in spite of some challenges. The additions enrich the game and some elements are working considerably better than in the original game. The challenges include the occasional crash (no particular pattern) and graphic issues. I am playing on my laptop, connected to a regular computer screen, but it requires a kind of trick to actually display this particular game on the big screen (closing the laptop and using ALT-TAB to get out of the game before it finishes adjusting to the new screen size - which will result in black screen - then returning to the game, allowing it to adjust to the correct resolution to display it on the big screen). Even after reinstalling it and trying various tips I found online, I couldn't get it to start up normally without first having the laptop open. Some of the additions seem a bit awkward or king of forced(pressure to be "politically correct" or "inclusive"), but at least it's generally really well implemented. I feel this is actually a step up on the original and deserves a good rating, in spite of the problems.

Baldur's Gate 1 leads you through a world where everything seems ordinary while also conveying a constant potential for the extraordinary. It puts you in the role of a nobody, who compelled by mysteryous reasons, is forced to leave his cloistered life. And so it goes: you're unexperienced, vulnerable and clueless, roaming through a land that is as broad as you are free to explore it. Your relevance in this world is evident — you're the protagonist after all —, but you know nothing about it and will affect your surroundings initially by means of small, trivial deeds — but also the occasional heroic ones. The game is slow-paced, almost disorientingly vast and rather empty, but its emptiness makes every discovery intriguing and every encounter suspicious — a child looking for a pet may or may not be what it seems. Still, in spite of its vastness and vagueness, the game feels very organic, nothing's ever out of place. The story does not want to be ambitious and this is where it shines. You'll mainly face the everyday problems of common people, some of whom have been affected by a major local political and social crisis. All of them contribute to bring life and credibility to this universe you're set into. And eventually the plot will scale. Companions are very simplistic and lack greater dept, but being archetypal they're easily understandable and relatable — the loyal childhood friend, the young warrior who seeks only justice, evil wizards and greedy thieves. Much like everything else that seems vague about the game, their simplicity is meant to be completed by the player's imagination (this is a roleplaying game, after all). Beamdog's Enhanced Edition made the game playable without the need of mods, while also adding new content, which not at all offends the original game. It's true some of the encounters are forced upon you, but Baldur's Gate II is full of forced interactions. The new characters add variety to the game and are very likeable. A lovely videogame.

A great way to bring new gamers to the saga, and introduce them to it's many charms. Glad I got it as it comes with the original, as an original gamer, happy to know that the old content is there and still as always, Great!

You can import your character and (most) equipment from this excellent game to Baldur's Gate II, which is even better. Currently replaying BG1, next will be Siege of Dragonspear (haven't tried it yet), then Baldur's Gate II Shadows of Amn and its Throne of Bhaal expansion. Hundreds of hours of superb content, not to be missed.