The plot forces a somewhat linear exploration as locations slowly unlock. As other reviews have mentioned- the DLC is generally lacking in content or replayability. Player actions feel and seem irrelevant as there is only 1 ending. The real question is whether this is worth $2. If the devs had unlocked at least 1 different ending as a new game+ then I think this would have been much better received and players would not mind playing the DLC again for the alternate ending. As is- there is no incentive to play twice since the ending occurs suddenly and isn't all that great IMO. Players demand more dynamic gameplay than this... even for $2.
I just finished my first play-through. I found the game graphically pleasing and the music/audio seemed very decent. I'm impressed and wouldn't consider it an Indie game due to the level of production. If you like crafting then the game is certainly full of it. Crafting components are simplified to a fault, but the system works. Crafting ammunition, for example, only requires powder and shell casings, but apparently no bullets. I also found it weird that the Survivors to not keep their shell casings after expending ammunition. The combat during scavenging runs is open-ended in that you can participate in little to none or you can decide to kill everyone you come across- though you probably won't live long if you do the latter. Some people will trade and replenish their stock over time, so there are long-term benefits to being cordial. First time players will inevitably do wrong things that set them back or make unwise choices when building and crafting. It's a learning process unfortunately. Holdout defense was a little underwhelming with pop-up statistics instead of actively defending the holdout with guns, knives, or fist. As a result it didn't seem to convey the psychological fear of war. There are dilemmas. For example, do you give needy children medicine or food, or keep it for your survivors? A lot of dilemmas had obvious right vs wrong choices. I would have preferred instead some gray areas, such as a wounded soldier asking for medical assistance. Or armed thugs knocking on the door, demanding resources. Bringing the war to the front door adds a unique flavor but that is just my opinion. So 4/5 is my score. It's a great game overall, but I felt some things were a little generalized, or avoided altogether. Still it's a great game, with a unique perspective. There is some re-playablity with different survivors and some slightly different locales so I am looking forward to that.
I bought this game half expecting it to not work on my 720p TV at its weird resolution of 1176x664... but wouldn't you know it delivered. Full screen too. I had lost my original copy of BG long ago and 1) compatibility and 2) widescreen - kept me away for almost 10 years. But the Enhanced Edition did everything advertised. Nice. The graphics deliver; if one thing stands out it's the fog-of-war (those dark unexplored areas) that the layering system of the original had with it's pixelized blocks which were always annoying for me to look at. That system has been completely replaced with a much nicer-looking subtle shading that's pleasing to the eyes. Since fog-of-war is everywhere in the beginning, that means all unexplored areas looks more pleasing. And my eyes aren't complaining. How about game breaking bugs or errors? I haven't experienced any. I've read some reviews here and it appears to be a common theme in the bad reviews. But honestly I haven't encountered a single bug or error as of Oct. 2014 when I bought this game... anything wrong or buggy must have been patched out. I'm very pleased here. Some game mechanics have been reworked. Some changes I've noticed is the new weapons and skill trees. BG1EE now has the katana, which means I can roll a katana wielding assassin (Thief kit option) using a single weapon style proficiency. Yeah. And then my assassin can pick all the locks in Candlekeep to buy that first expensive starter katana from the shop. It also means I get to ditch Imoen at the most convenient opportunity. Evil Win! The 3 new characters and classes are a nice flavor. They have different alignments so they encourage multiple play-throughs. No complaints there. And their stories continue into BG2EE, so I've heard, which means I get to experience these new classes from their roots all the way to their final ultimate form. Not bad... I think for an Enhanced Edition you at least expect something new, and I feel this has delivered on multiple fronts.
I am playing the first couple of missions and my laser beams are clipping directly through the enemies 60-70% of the time. I am wondering if my PC is too fast (I've heard that old games that run on very fast PC can sometimes do this since they were never optimized for future machines). In any case I am forced to use missiles to destroy all the mechs via splash damage and I run out of missiles too quickly to finish beyond the 3rd mission.
