Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition - Initial Thoughts

About the Game (From the Steam Store Page)

Kidnapped. Imprisoned. Tortured. The wizard Irenicus holds you captive in his stronghold, attempting to strip you of the powers that are your birthright. 

Can you resist the evil within you, forge a legend of heroic proportions, and ultimately destroy the dark essence that haunts your dreams? Or will you embrace your monstrous nature, carve a swath of destruction across the realms, and ascend to godhood as the new Lord of Murder? 

Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition brings this critically acclaimed role-playing experience to back to life.

Previous Play Time

0 hours

What Was I Thinking When I Bought This

As I said in my opening post for Baldur's Gate I'd often heard the name in association with the all-time great rpgs. That was my primary motive for buying the first one. It was only later that I heard  the recommendation that people skip the first one and move directly to the second. Needless to say, this dismayed me greatly, but it wasn't until the most recent sale that it got enough of a discount for me to take the plunge. It was probably inevitable that I'd get it, though. It's practically a compulsion. If things come in sets, I'm not entirely comfortable until I have the whole set. It's not an irresistible impulse or anything, but it definitely influenced my purchase.

Expectations and Prior Experience

When I played Baldur's Gate, I felt like it was a deeply flawed game with enormous potential. Thus, I am really excited about playing Baldur's Gate II. I expect it to be better balanced, have more (and more meaningful) choices, and for the plot to actually be comprehensible before the last hour and a half of the game.

On the other hand, it's still based off AD&D second edition, so far all the inevitable extra polish that comes with a sequel, it's entirely possible that I may find myself stymied by frustration. I have a strong hope that I'll get to the end of this one, and am optimistic about my chances, but I'm not 100% certain that I'll be able to make it.

So, I think I'll make a wager with myself. If I can get to the end of Baldur's Gate II's main story, I will reward myself by playing Planescape: Torment next (it's not on my Steam list, but I'll blog about as if it were). If I can't, I'll punish myself by going directly to Dungeons and Dragons Online (which I quit shortly after character creation - I've since heard this was a wise decision).