Baldur's Gate - Overrated & terrible gameplay overall

Baldur's Gate (and BG2) is suppose to be the game that 'saved' the RPG genre. Is this a joke? I gave it a shot and this may be the most overrated and awful playing RPG ever.

So what is good about this game? Clearly it's not the combat, because that is terrible. It's not the story, because the writing and characters are forgettable. Is it the music? No, this game doesn't even have a memorable soundtrack. The graphics aren't super terrible for 1998, but boy do the animations suck. Maybe I can give props to the open world map, sound effects, banter, and weather effects. That's about it.

Speaking of the combat. Who actually enjoys this pausing combat? Basically you get into a fight, pause, choose what abilities to use, and then it's a roll of the dice. If you die, you might as well reload your save because resing will drain your bank. If you win, you need to rest to use spells again. The entire game is lame dungeon crawling and saving every second you win a battle or progress an inch forward. I was looking at the save screen more often then playing the game.

Baldur's Gate is suppose to be a contender for the best RPG ever. Seriously laughable... It may be one of Bioware's worst game series. The slow pace of the game and the fact that you can't even run makes it even worse. What a chore it was to play this.

So disappointed, but I should have known people overhype bad RPG's all the time.

Don't believe the hype. This game is boring tripe.

So because you don't like the game its impossible for someone else to feel the complete opposite. Ok.

One of my favourate RPG's, a great game.

BG and Infinity Engine games in general were awesome. Neverwinter Nights is probably my favorite bioware game though, or Dragon Age Origins

What hype? All the cool kids don't even know what Baldur's Gate is.

Also, if you want to convince anyone, I'd suggest you put some effort into being convincing. Because your word choice alone is enough to make people dismiss what you wrote as another unbalanced internet rant.

Baulder's Gate, Planescape Torment, Icewind Dale and Neverwinter Nights are great DND style RPG's. If it was not for DND, there would be no RPGs to begin with.

Well, the game isn't as well known as you think. That, and the game is VERY old, and it was a great example of DND style gameplay. It's not for everyone, and it's gameplay nowadays is more than a bit outdated, but it's still good.

Yeah, the combat is chaotic and random, a lot of swings and misses, so (control freak that I am) I never got too far into either 1 or 2, despite trying multiple times. Too bad, because I'm told the games are excellent.

Video Games aren't movies

You can't come back to a 17 year old game and still expect it to hold up. Despite what some people say, there is no such thing as a timeless classic when it comes to video games. Baldur's Gate was amazing when it released, but the flaws with the presentation, character pathfinding, and storytelling will put off most people that try and play it today.

How old are you? It sounds like you expected something else, from post-2010.

lol You're about 17 years too late. I loved Baldur's Gate 1 & 2 and Icewind Dale back in the day, they were great and very enjoyable.

Not every aspect of game hold up over times.

I recently play Baldur's Gate and I still enjoy it.

I truly enjoy the combat since it is not just using the same combos that many current RPG have fallen into with being fast pace. I find the action ideal of many current RPG to be to be slow and dull.

I like the random to the attack. I find it better that the dull and predictable narture that is Skyrim combat is. It just feels more real and that coming from a guy that find FPS less immersive.

Also, I enjoy the leveling system. It nice to have a RPG about role playing and not pretending that many current RPG have become. It nice having a RPG that has a better balance with amount of control you have over your characters role in the game play. IT five you way more that the almost nothing you get from Mass Effect 2 but not open so much that you can master everything like in Skyrim.

Not a big fan of controlling a party of characters.

The first one was good, but BG was all about the sequel. It seems obvious that you did not play these when they were first released. There was nothing like them at the time, and really nothing has matched the isometric 3D style since (although PoE and Wasteland 2 are reviving the style). Nowadays everyone is about the action and fighting. BG was about the careful planning of the characters and fighting the incredibly tough monsters (like a Lich or Mindflayer).

@paindivine: I played the first one years ago. And I hated it. Then I replayed it a while later... not in the way you're meant to. I soloed it with an overpowered archer character and loved it. Then I happened to stumble on the 2nd one years later and decided to just buy it on a whim, along with a couple other games, expecting it to be mediocre... and I loved it. I play the 2nd one probably once a year now and it's probably still one of my favorite games of all time. Some people hate it, but whatever. If you didn't like it, good for you, it certainly isn't for everyone and it most certainly has some problems... but the rest of us who consider it one of the greatest games ever simply don't give a shit what you or anyone thinks, we love it, and always will. Enjoy something else. There's quite a bit out there.

Baldurs Gate is probably the weakest Infinity Engine game, but it was still revolutionary at the time. It was a very clever adaptation of DND rules in an accessible format, it featured good multiplayer options, and it started to set the scene for Bioware's later NPC-driven formula.

Baldurs Gate 2 was a triumph, and is arguably the greatest high fantasy role playing game all the time. I still think it's a bit generic, it's not my favourite RPG ever, but it's absolutely solid in every way.

BG2 and Planescape Torment are the best RPG's I've ever played, and I have played some of the best (though I haven't played The Witcher games).

Note: While the original Diablo was hardly a true RPG (but a fantastic game) it was the game that set the framework for the western RPG's that followed and single-handedly revived the genre on PC, while creating the hack and slash Action RPG (RPG lite)

1997 - 2000 inclusive was the best time to be a PC Gamer. At least 20 great games a year, 3dfx, and 3 dedicated PC gaming mags! Good times, those games are STILL influential today.

Somebody Give this a man a Beer because he is right on the money !!!

Although in all fairness you are talking about a genre that still to this very day doesn't give two shits about gameplay...... only back then it was pretty much normal.

It might explain why people keep flapping on about how good it was..... because in 1998 it didn't get anybetter. What a terribal time to be a PC Gamer.

But now we're on 2015 and there are atleast Two RPGs that are worth playing. :)

TC. I think you misunderstand that Baldur's Gate is a game of its time, it's not a great game within todays standards in the sameway I didn't enjoy Super Mario 64.

Nostalgia is abig thing with gaming opinions, and not everyone can admit when a game hasn't aged well. What M64 and BG did for gaming has my thanks, but I'd rather play the spiritual successors that improved further on the concepts and mechanics.

@RSM-HQ:

Pong aged well.

If there's such a thing as a Timeless Classic then that will be Candidate Number One.

I've played many games older than myself and agree Timeless Classic does exist in gaming. But Baldur's Gate is not one of them, it was a product of its time and no more in my view.

PS I think Tetris or D00M come to mind for me :)

@RSM-HQ:

:) I'm willing to agree with you on Tetris. Its such a clever game.

I would say Doom is not a timeless game. I find that it way past t prime.

@wiouds: I played D00M way-way-way past its release and found it fun as all Hell. Though I suppose it's possible it clicked for me because I enjoyed its puzzle like structure.

I just watched Matthew Matosis analysis of Tetris being the perfect game....... obviously nothing is perfect but damn this guy really knows how to sell you on an idea....... assuming you can keep up ofcourse.

Its probably a waste of time to bash a game this old. But i never did like the game either, i even tried the similar newer game made from some of the people who made Baldurs called Pillars of Eternity. I didn't like that game either... maybe because i never liked the original game.

I found the staging of the shoot outs to be poor. Shooters have push so far beyond it and they are still innovating it.

@wiouds:

Even Call of Duty !!! :)

Explain.

@wiouds: Well the shoot-outs had more room to breath than most games I can think of, though I understand on the cover-way of viewing shooters. D00M isn't very realistic either on how you can outrun a rocket and yet still get auto-hit the second a grunt fires a weapon.

But as stated before, what I enjoyed about that old game is its puzzle structure. The map designs with that level of depth is something few games do in 2015.

@RSM-HQ:

I think that even if it was it would be difficult to articulate that using text alone.

I was young when I played Doom so I don't really remember.

I do not like the maze aspect of the game. To me it just wonder around mindless.

The Staging of a shoot out is who the shoot out is set up from the moment it start to the moment all threats are done. It is complex and have a huge impact on the single player element of a shooter, but it also something most does not even thing about. Staging including: the area, The type of enemies you fight, time of new enemies, and the goal you are given. This also include a balance of how open the the area is and how much control the devs have

Doom have small room with toxic waste on the floor and an enemy at the other end of the room with another being lowered in the left corner. It is a simple and bland shoot out. It is small and offer no real openness to the shoot out. The enemies are just there.

I''m still not too sure what's being argued. If it's arguing highly scripted vs unscripted then it's judging the game on what it isn't, rather than what it aspires to be.

In general, Doom - Quake 2 have more varied and meaningful enemies than most modern games. The area's themselves feature per-laid as well as scripted traps that make Darksouls seen quaint. Doom levels are intricate puzzles that go from both tight, to huge open levels, especially with Doom 2. On higher difficulties, the enemy count increases, as does ammo.

Did somebody say Dark Souls ?

Hmmmmm.........

Please no one mention Dark Souls , Lulu will never let it go.

Nice try with the bait. But you will have better luck in SW

So run along :)

@Lulu_Lulu: The first time I played D00M was when the third game was being hyped, and I absolutely loved the two games. Then became ultimately disappointed when the third game came out.

@Jacanuk:

LoL..... thats a shame..... I have some new trash to throw at From Software since I recently play the Artorias of The Abyss DLC.

Oh well..... some other time then. :(

I am taking about every aspect of a shoot out. This is the moment you see the threat until all danger is gone. Nothing else. No large level design. Which is a good thing since the horrible made maze of Doom is a huge down side for me.

The enemies that you fight. What weapons they have? How they move? When do they come into the fight?

The area you fight in. How many areas have an meaningful area to move that change the shoot out. Does it it change the type of shootout there is?

The goal given to the player. What must the player do like defend a location, dungeon crawl, stealth or rush through?

For doom:

Other than different type of enemies there not much else to the enemies. They mostly just stand out in the open or run at you.

Every room have on tiny changes to it that it feel the same and many times there not meaningful change to it. Most of the time the shootout happen in open room or hallways.

Every shoot out in the game is a dungeon crawl. It is the same thing. Walk into an area see enemies, then move side to side in the hallway and shoot them.

Rage use the same design and suck because of it.

@wiouds: I always found the shoot-outs in D00M as distractions from figuring out your objective with reaching the finishing-line. Most those "shoot-outs" can be skipped/ avoided to focus on getting from A to B. Just like in a Mario game, D00M outside of boss battles has nothing to do with slaying the creatures. It's a fun inconvenience.

In fact, I would go onto stating the Boss battles are the worst part of D00M. I prefer figuring out the puzzle, what I'm missing, and what needs to be done.

My mind has been blown with some of the things you have to do.

Though as you stated not everyone liked that kind of structure, most likely why it's rare in modern gaming.

However as a younger gamer that old game to me is more original than the cinematic linear games I played before trying D00M. I was not the biggest fan of Unreal 2 or TimeSplitters & with how bad D00M 3 was universally received D00M must be doing something right.

I'm just glad D4 is going back to the classic formula, & I'd say it's a wanted return of level design.

@RSM-HQ: If you like it fine. Mindless wondering around after you kill everything is not my ideal of fun and I am happy to see that over used for its time type of fetch quest to die off. The problem with Doom3 was it took the shoot staging from Doom2 but at least it got rid of that horrible maze element so it did have one improvement.

@wiouds: If that's how you view it that is entirely fine and your opinion, however the maze feel is what got me into D00M and for many gamers as well.

@wiouds:

I disagree, DOOM and especially DOOM 2 are both timeless classics.

Of all the games I've ever played DOOM 2 is the best, and I could still fire it up and enjoy it today.

@JangoWuzHere: I totally agree with you. Idk about baldurs gate but I have very fond memories of playing prince of Persia sands of time on the ps2 when I was a child. I recently got to play it again at a friends house and although the wall running mechanics are still surprisingly good, it didn't grip me the way it did back then. In fact I'd say it's a pretty average game compared to today's games but the story imo is still nice. Pure nostalgia haha. Always affects the way we look at things

@AFBrat77:

As I said before I find the staging of their shoot out to be way beyond out of date. Current shooter have push way beyond it. I find current shooters to use the innovations.

If you hate the maze then you will hate Doom 1 and 2 levels.

Got to admit, the only infinity engine game I ever completed was Planescape: Torment. Gameplay wasn't that great, but the story was so unique and well written I was able to keep going. Never managed to finish a Baulder's Gate or Iceland Dale. I may not be the target audience though because I didn't care much for Dragon Age either.

Baldur's Gate is a straight up dumpster trash game. Age has nothing to do with it. Compare it to JRPGs of its time - most have better design, overall gameplay and story than this boring garbage.

The only game I am aware of that is true to the feel of Dungeons and Dragons would be Neverwinter Nights.

if you cant have a DM is pretty much unless exercise and misses most of the point