This is one the games I loved as a kid, and I'm glad it's been remade to play on modern machines. If you like D&D, you'll like this. There's a lot of little extra quests you can do and a few fun options while trying to complete the main story line, which allows some freedom to play your characters the way you want to.
My only non-review comment is for Linux owners. Modern Ubuntu and even Debian cannot run this without libssl_1.0.0_32-bit/libssl_1.0.0_64-bit. You'll have to find a way to install this to run it.
Despite not being set in the city that gives it its name, Baldur's Gate II is a huge step up from the first game... which was already pretty good! While BG1 was a mostly linear and predictable succession of short fetch quests and combat encounters, its sequel is more elaborate in its storytelling. You're constantly presented with complex situations that not only do you often get to solve in different manners, but also involve memorable characters, deep lore, well-written dialog and amazing set pieces. Overall, this game a lot more lively and memorable than its predecessor: the places you visit and the situations you're involved in are stranger and more creative, and your companions are more fleshed out and will often talk to you directly and give their thoughts during conversations – sadly, they only level up when by your side, so you'll want to stick to a small selection of them for most of the game to have more competent allies...
It's still pretty solid gameplay-wise. The battles are strategic, and you have even more spells and items to play with. The difficulty is what you'd expect from an actual DnD campaign with a less-than-forgiving GM: it's more “dungeon-crawly” than BG1, and the game often pits you against groups of tough enemies, expecting you to be fully shielded against their strengths and aware of their weaknesses. I'm not a fan of it personally, but I'm sure a lot of people out there wouldn't have it any other way...
This version still carries some flaws of the previous “enhanced edition” and does not fix as much problems as it should, but at least the original cutscenes are there, and the new quests and characters are integrated more organically. In short: this is one of the best game of its era, it fully realizes the potential of the saga, and it's a classic adventure that has aged fairly well. If Baldur's Gate felt like a generic fantasy RPG to you, then you will probably find its sequel a lot more interesting. Pick it up without second thoughts.
I won't go into detail here, because others have already done it better than I could in this review, but it's still Baldur's Gate 2 under the bling.
Yes, the new party members are hit-or-miss, but guess what? Don't take them if you don't like them! Yes, the technical updates are good, especially for people who don't want to bother with modding.
Is the combat still the same? Sure is, always has been. The word missing from the first sentence is "terrible" because I personally never got the hang of the combat in this game. And likely never will. But, people out there like it, so I'm trying to be objective.
Also, you get the original game, if you're a crotchety old coot who dislikes anything modern. Win-win!
