Gumar
Novice
- Joined
- Aug 20, 2020
- Messages
- 38
Baldur's Gate 2 is vastly overrated. It's a complete mess. It's only good points are the diversity and versatility of the locations and the monsters.
Otherwise, there is literally no atmosphere or single plotline in the game. Anything to hold interest? No.
Irenicus is a shadow, who intermittently pesters you with thoughts and kidnappings. his motivations are revealed until late. He seems to be a shadow than a real, scary villain.
Athkatla is one shithole of a city. Its art design is very bland. It doesn't give a fantasy vibe at all. More of a cosmopolitan, Southern European decaying husk of a city.
Side quests are too numerous, one dimensional, and completely unrelated to the plot. The Game is supposed to be related to Bhaalspawn or Irenicus's machinations, yet De'arnise keep, firkraag, Tradesmeet, planar sphere seem like random happenings.
Can anyone tell me how the Druid problem, the mad mage in planar sphere problem, eyeless cultist problem, and the weredragon aristocrat's puzzle dungeon all erupted at the same time? was their backstory explained? were they in any way related to Bhaalspawn, Irenicus?
Shadows of Amn was simply a platform to showcase the DnD knowledge of Bioware. To lure first-time gamers with "OOOOOOOOOOO BEHOLDER! :OOOOOOO Dragon" OOOOOOOOO KIDS we have a planar sphere "
Story writing, Minsc's humorous parables, and quality of dialogue is very mediocre.
Combat in BG2 is okay up to certain levels, but at higher levels, mage fights become cheesy, tiring, and boring. Breach, dispel magic, spell trigger, contingency, pierce, breach etc. No variety.
Compare Icewind Dale, Dragon Age for better gaming experiences, and smaller but more compact stories. On top of that, you get a sense of adventure only when you progress into a storyline.
BG2 storyline is like watered-down beer while Icewind Dale is concentrated whiskey. Even in Dragon Age, despite the wide variety of locations, we still have the feeling that there is an overarching plot.
for Combat, Icewind Dale 2 and Divinity Original Sin had much harder and more tactically enjoyable combat than BG2.
People hate Diablo 1 and 2 for their "lack of roleplaying" but they are pretty solid games for a very limited world. Their locations are mostly for monster killing, but yet they give a better sense of dread than pathetic dungeons in BG2. 4 Acts of Diablo 2 transport you into 4 completely different atmospheres, gothic for 1, arabian for 2, demonic for 3 and hellish for 4. We are able to feel the atmosphere, the immersion is flawless.
Diablo 1's locations were very claustrophobic and coupled with slow character speed, made encounters really scary.
BG2's atmopshere is really nowhere near these games.
It's no surprise though that it got as popular as it did, as "generalist" games made for mass audience are usually subpar in everything except diversity and variety. Something to please everyone concept.
Niche Games are truly classical as they are made with a specific objective in mind and the creators go wild with their imagination.
hell BG1 had a tighter storyline and a better unfolding of lore. BG2 lore is haphazard, unstructured with no sequential unfolding. You meet djinnis first, goblins next and suddenly you meet elementals.
To immerse, you got to provide anticipation, hype and a context for any area of any monster.
Dragons in Dragon Age Origins were few and were very much looked forward to. Dragons in BG2 are a dime a dozen. Almost every area has its guardian as a Dragon.
Highly imaginative players prefer niche games while generalists prefer Baldur's Gate 2.
Also, Baldur's Gate is not very appropriate a name for the series.
It should be renamed as :-
Bhaalspawn Saga : Part 1: Mysteries of the Gate (BGEE)
Bhaalspawn Saga : Part 2: Siege of Dragonspear (name implies)
Bhaalspawn Saga : Part 3: Shadows of Amn (Before Underdark)
Bhaalspawn Saga : Part 4: Irenicus's folly (After underdark)
Bhaalspawn Saga : Part 5: Throne of Bhaal (name implies)
Otherwise, there is literally no atmosphere or single plotline in the game. Anything to hold interest? No.
Irenicus is a shadow, who intermittently pesters you with thoughts and kidnappings. his motivations are revealed until late. He seems to be a shadow than a real, scary villain.
Athkatla is one shithole of a city. Its art design is very bland. It doesn't give a fantasy vibe at all. More of a cosmopolitan, Southern European decaying husk of a city.
Side quests are too numerous, one dimensional, and completely unrelated to the plot. The Game is supposed to be related to Bhaalspawn or Irenicus's machinations, yet De'arnise keep, firkraag, Tradesmeet, planar sphere seem like random happenings.
Can anyone tell me how the Druid problem, the mad mage in planar sphere problem, eyeless cultist problem, and the weredragon aristocrat's puzzle dungeon all erupted at the same time? was their backstory explained? were they in any way related to Bhaalspawn, Irenicus?
Shadows of Amn was simply a platform to showcase the DnD knowledge of Bioware. To lure first-time gamers with "OOOOOOOOOOO BEHOLDER! :OOOOOOO Dragon" OOOOOOOOO KIDS we have a planar sphere "
Story writing, Minsc's humorous parables, and quality of dialogue is very mediocre.
Combat in BG2 is okay up to certain levels, but at higher levels, mage fights become cheesy, tiring, and boring. Breach, dispel magic, spell trigger, contingency, pierce, breach etc. No variety.
Compare Icewind Dale, Dragon Age for better gaming experiences, and smaller but more compact stories. On top of that, you get a sense of adventure only when you progress into a storyline.
BG2 storyline is like watered-down beer while Icewind Dale is concentrated whiskey. Even in Dragon Age, despite the wide variety of locations, we still have the feeling that there is an overarching plot.
for Combat, Icewind Dale 2 and Divinity Original Sin had much harder and more tactically enjoyable combat than BG2.
People hate Diablo 1 and 2 for their "lack of roleplaying" but they are pretty solid games for a very limited world. Their locations are mostly for monster killing, but yet they give a better sense of dread than pathetic dungeons in BG2. 4 Acts of Diablo 2 transport you into 4 completely different atmospheres, gothic for 1, arabian for 2, demonic for 3 and hellish for 4. We are able to feel the atmosphere, the immersion is flawless.
Diablo 1's locations were very claustrophobic and coupled with slow character speed, made encounters really scary.
BG2's atmopshere is really nowhere near these games.
It's no surprise though that it got as popular as it did, as "generalist" games made for mass audience are usually subpar in everything except diversity and variety. Something to please everyone concept.
Niche Games are truly classical as they are made with a specific objective in mind and the creators go wild with their imagination.
hell BG1 had a tighter storyline and a better unfolding of lore. BG2 lore is haphazard, unstructured with no sequential unfolding. You meet djinnis first, goblins next and suddenly you meet elementals.
To immerse, you got to provide anticipation, hype and a context for any area of any monster.
Dragons in Dragon Age Origins were few and were very much looked forward to. Dragons in BG2 are a dime a dozen. Almost every area has its guardian as a Dragon.
Highly imaginative players prefer niche games while generalists prefer Baldur's Gate 2.
Also, Baldur's Gate is not very appropriate a name for the series.
It should be renamed as :-
Bhaalspawn Saga : Part 1: Mysteries of the Gate (BGEE)
Bhaalspawn Saga : Part 2: Siege of Dragonspear (name implies)
Bhaalspawn Saga : Part 3: Shadows of Amn (Before Underdark)
Bhaalspawn Saga : Part 4: Irenicus's folly (After underdark)
Bhaalspawn Saga : Part 5: Throne of Bhaal (name implies)
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