For pros, this game looks really good. Really detailed, nice current-level graphics and lighting and all of that... ... But it's gross. The scripted characters range from utterly uncompelling to completely disgusting, such as that warlock with the succubus liking his face I see every other loading screen. It's disgusting enough that it makes me just not want to play. As an exception to the characters generally, I will say that the vampire's romance path actually borders on interesting given what it entails. The woman who replaced Sarevok's deep voice as narrator? It's not Sarevok. This game is somewhat difficult. Baldur's Gate was a fantastic entrance into D&D for someone who had only played JRPGs before, and Baldur's Gate II wasn't too much harder to start with, but this is utterly unforgiving by comparison. One of BG2's few weaknesses was that it started with a long, tedious, uncomfortable dungeon, and it's a mistake this game makes right off the bat in trying to escape the nautiloid. BG1's leaving home into some light woods and to a friendly town was a far more comfortable, gradual foray into a 100+ hour adventure. I'm not into the grit and looting, I enjoy D&D for large and expansive worlds with a variety of climates and goals. The game is over sixty gigabytes. That's a rough download, especially for something as cumbersome to patch as the offline installer is in which you must apply every patch in sequence, and it sometimes still doesn't even work. I've just started using GOG Galaxy, and specifically to see if it keeps this game updated more easily without having to re-download the whole new thing. Finally, of course, is paying full game price for something unfinished. I can't play as an Aasimar, I can't be a cleric unless I declare some pagan deity or at least typing out good old "Jesus", it's just all bleh. So far all I've learned from early access is that this isn't Baldur's Gate. Perhaps some generic new title would suit it better.
... That says "Thank you for playing Master of Orion }{!" when you quit MoO2? Unplayable. No, it's actually all fantastic. MoO and MoO2 both work fantastically. MoO2 comes with patch 1.4 or something. I never knew of it, but it adds a few little options such as a "Cluster" galaxy size and a "Post-warp" starting civilization age. Honestly, this is worth it for the soundtrack it comes with alone.
