Neverwinter Nights vs Baldur's Gate?

I was just wondering what the big gameplay differences are between the two games. Stuff like companions, combat, difficulty, etc. Any information would help.

Also, are there any big differences between BG 1 and 2?

Thanks!

Hm.. tough one here.. especially since I love both of them.. Both games are excellent DnD CRPG's but if I really had to chose I would probably go with original Baldur's Gate but for a very, very small favoritism..

Baldur's Gate is fantastic but Neverwinter Nights engine was excellent. The exploration is larger in Baldur's Gate with some memorable second characters (Minsc and Boo, the moon blade wielding elf) come to mind; Baldur's Gate will forever be one of my favorite single player PC RPG, it was also one of the first well designed games that had choices offering consequences, yet a different way to approach the game.

I won't divide them, simple find and buy:

- Baldur's Gate 1,2.

- Neverwinter Nights

- Icewind Dale

They are all cheap now and classics I wish we see at some point in time in future.

Edit:

The differences are that it's a direct follow-on. You can even bring your character over from BG1 to BG2. The Throne of Baal follows directly on from BG2 - it's a good plot.
You can play BG2 on it's own perfectly well though.

In some ways BG2 is a better game then BG1 but I definitely suggest you both games.

Single-player (official campaign) Baldur's Gate is superior to Neverwinter Nights 1 in almost every way.

Where Neverwinter Nights shines is in the massive amount of great modules available, the multiplayer and the powerful editor.

I am a fan of both games, and have probably put many more hours into NWN1 b/c of all the great user-made content available for it.