BG2 hmmm, how do you even start writing a review for the game this epic and timeless. There's a reason why people keep praising BG2 as one of the best RPGs ever, heck even one of the best games ever. The game picks off after BG1, with many returning party members and NPCs. However, you don't need to have played BG1 to enjoy BG2. The scale of this game is pure epic, in terms of everything. From the very beginning, you're thrown in a dungeon from what seems like a maniac who likes torturing you, you try to escape the dungeon with what little you have and your caged friends. And that's just the beginning of an incredibly long tale. The cities, places, locales and dungeons you visit next are many, varied and all interesting. The gameplay of BG2 is one of the major highlights of the game. It uses the D&D v2.5 rules. It goes to the max levels in BG2, and to the epic levels in TOB. Apart from the main quest itself, there are a multitude of sidequests. NOT the boring fetch this, kill those MMO sidequests mind you, but sidequests involving stories, plots, murder investigations, evil intentions, just to name a few. There are lots of things to do in BG2, especially so in Amn apart from the mainquests. You'll see factions fighting out with each other, and you can choose between politics as early as Chapter 2. Combat is simply the best in the Infinity Engine games, from the lowly thugs you fight, to the Beholders, to the Mindflayers, to the Liches to the Dragons and eventually the epic enemies of TOB, it seems that most of the monsters in the monster manual of D&D has been added to the game. Needless to say, there is a ton of strategy involved for each and every fight. Almost every fight I've encountered, I had to plan my spells, movement and tactics. It's simply marvelous. Nice to note that the game made you feel powerful with each level, and especially in TOB. You feel the growth of your characters, yet it's never a walk in the park. Since the enemies you face are even more powerful, not because of the lame level-scaling most games like to use now but because they're new enemies with even more powerful abilities. Items and magical loot are a plently in the game. They can be obtained from combat, quests or even puzzles. There's even a famous talking sword. The characters in the game are very memorable. One of the most popular in the game, Minsc, has his own personal fansite. His battlecries and giant Space Hamster, Boo, are remembered by all and quoted by many. He has even appeared in comics. Boo is even refereced in modern games now such as Mass Effect 2. The main villain in the game, Irenicus, has been voted over the years in Best Villian of all time polls. In BG2, you follow his plot, slowly discovering his true motives. Everytime he appears, he generates a sense of awe and kick-assery made especially epic through David Warner's wonderful voiceacting. And yet through everything, you'll understand his motives and the reasons behind it as you advance through the main plot. You'll meet many other wonderful party members and NPCs throughout the game all voiced by wonderful list of well-known voiceactors. - Minsc, for eg, is voiced by Jim Cummings, the same voice who voices Winnie the Pooh and many other cartoons. - Irenicus by David Warner. - Rob Paulsen who also voices for many cartoons like Animaniacs, Darkwng Duck etc and also Morte in Planescape, one of the major voices in BG2. - Tress MacNeille who is best known for voicing many characters in The Simpsons also is involved in some NPCs in BG2. - Billy West who voices Fry in Futurama, in BG2 as well. And the list goes on and on. I leave it to you to find out the rest from IMDB, you'll find some concidences suprising! The music in the game adjusts to the mood and location in the game very well. Fight a dragon for the first time in BG2 and you'll know what I mean. Graphics are the standard Infinity Engine graphics. Most locales nicely pre-rendered. You can download the Gibberings High-Res mod: http://www.gibberlings3.net/widescreen/ to play the game at your monitor's native resolution. Baldur's Gate 2 will forever be a timeless classic RPG, paramount to many other modern RPGs seeking to duplicate it's grand success but mostly failing to do so mainly because of the new technolgies, limitations to grandness and gameplay involved into making a game now. Baldur's Gate is a game saga with all the elements of gaming: plot, gameplay, characters, graphics, music, all well-refined, well-written and well-made, woven into one amazing game package which has created many good memories for all who have played it.
