Arrgh this game. I played it alot when it came out and have to say it wasn't one of the best RPG experiances around at the time. For one thing the Graphics. They're terrible, not even good by the standards of the time (this was released after BGII, which had much nicer graphics). I get the point that a game shouldn't be just about graphics, but the problem is it just makes the world look grainy and uninteresting. Hell even the original Syndicate looked better, this game really does look like it's been rerendered through a C64 filter or something. Which is a shame because the scale and scope of the story is breathtaking. There is literally tonnes to do and see, oodles of followers and quests. The story is also clever and extremely well woven into the world, with in some cases incredible amounts of speech options (of an IWDII level I'd say). But the problem is that to get through to this you have to face the Graphics and the dismal combat system. Aside from the fact graphically it looks awful, the pacings way too fast and things acrue wear and tear too quickly. I get it that maybe they were focusing on other area's of the game, but if that's the case why not tone down the level of combat needed? about 75% of this game is still hack and slash dungeon trawl, so why neglect one of the key area's of the game? Lastly the skill system. I can see what they were trying to achieve, but the way it's executed was just too messy. The scope is awesome, but given the terrible combat all the variables don't really add up to anything noticable. That said if you want to be an intellectual ogre (though with numerous sacrifices in other area's) go for it. Despite it's myriad flaws, there is a game underneath which is just about playable (barring the odd broken quest). So if you can endure all that there is a rewarding experiance, but I think to be honest there are comparible 2d isometric RPG's that offer as good an experiance without having to force a camel through the eye of a needle.
