Arcanum vs Baldur's Gate 2 - Which is better and why? Discuss!!!1

[Bruma Hobo]

A match for the third place spot in th the Holy Trinity. Fight!

 

[d1r]

Fallout New Vegas

 

[lukaszek]

isnt there a mod that fuses those two together?

 

[Wirdschowerdn]

BGII, hands down.

 

[Joggerino]

They are both one of the best RPGs in the history of gaming. I'd consider BG 2 to be better though.

 

[Comte]

They both suck

 

[Glop_dweller]

HDVD vs Bluray; Arcanum is HDVD.

Arguably Arcanum is better in premise, but BG2 wins out in scope and polish—and luck.

 

[Old Hans]

as a whole package that comes together, I say Baldur's Gate 2 wins
BUT Arcanum is good too.
so my final score is THUS

Baldurs gate 5 AND Arcanum : 500 gold stars and 3 golden globe awards

 

[octavius]

Being a combatfag I naturally prefer BG2.

 

[Blutwurstritter]

Baldur's Gate 2 with mods puts more on the table.

But having read this carefully articulated and insightful title has left me with no choice but to raise the following questions:

Absolutely not clickbait questions

Apples vs Oranges - Which is better and why? Discuss!!!1
Machinist hammer vs hand axe - Which is better and why? Discuss!!!1
Onion vs Garlic - Which is better and why? Discuss!!!1
Ski vs Snowboard Which is better and why? Discuss!!!1
Beer vs Wine - Which is better and why? Discuss!!!1
HK-SCIVR vs TD-DMRG Which is better and why? Discuss!!!1
Ketchup vs Mustard - Which is better and why? Discuss!!!1

I hope I will find an answer to these deeply ambitious questions one day.

 

[Captain Sicko]

I had much higher hopes for Arcanum and was really excited for the setting, but I always wanted to play a tech build and wasn’t very happy with it, so I preferred BG2.

 

[Butter]

Arcanum by a wide margin. BG2 with SCS isn't BG2.

 

[KateMicucci]

I played BG2 first and I was disappointed with Arcanum. I really, literally, do not understand why it's so popular here.

 

[Mr. Magniloquent]

Baldur's Gate II is a titan among CRPGs. Arcanum is the young prodigy who was going to change the world but instead got polio then died of secondary illness. While I have respect for Arcanum's qualities and mourn its many short-comings, it is not a serious comparison.

To all those who voted that they both suck, you hit your edgelord quota for today. Congrats.

 

[barghwata]

I am offended by the very existence of this thread.

 

[JarlFrank]

Arcanum is the best RPG ever made.

Thread over.

 

[bionicman]

Arcanum is the best GAME ever made! Cope and seethe BG2 enjoyers.

 

[c u in da ballpit ashren]

Had a phase where I absolutely adored Arcanum, so much so, that I picked up the physical copy. Then when I loaded the game and began playing after a disappointing amount of time patching to get it to run, started the combat and then it absolutely killed my enthusiasm. Someday I'll go back to it, as the story was pretty good and the dialogue is charming, but it seriously is just Fallout with worse combat in a different setting. BG2 on the other hand I played last year and after beating the first one right before it, it did feel different scale wise and I wasn't sure what to think but it's a far better game gameplay wise than Arcanum.

 

[<3sRichardSimmons]

I mean, I love Arcanum to death, and I am far more likely to replay it over BG2, but it’s just not a fair comparison. BG2 is an actually finished and complete game. Arcanum isn’t.

 

[Lonely Vazdru]

One shitty thread per day. You lost a bet or something ?

 

[Bruma Hobo]

One shitty thread per day. You lost a bet or something ?

It's raining outside.

 

[curds]

I prefer Arcanum, though BG2 is probably the better-crafted game, technically.

Arcanum = incredible ideas, execution often lacking.

BG2 = boring fucking ideas but executed quite well.

 

[Mauman]

Ugh....this is like asking me which of my dogs I love more considering both have a special place in my childhood.

Guess I'll go with "the one that pisses the least on the carpet" approach then.

So BG2

 

[Darth Canoli]

I prefer Arcanum, though BG2 is probably the better-crafted game, technically.

Arcanum = incredible ideas, execution often lacking.

BG2 = boring fucking ideas but executed quite well.

Well said!
It's difficult to compare BG2 and Arcanum, they don't do the same things at all.
Arcanum is focused on freedom while BG2 is quite linear (first dungeon then mid-game).
Arcanum is focused on a great quest design with multiple solutions while BG2 offers some choices but the quest design, while not worthless, is far from Arcanum's quality.

Now, about the combat, both games have trash combat, the only thing saving BG2 is the D&D system because RTwP turns it into RTS trash, it's still ahead of Arcanum but not by far.

Arcanum classless system offers some interesting options like talking to the dead and teleportation or good crafting mechanism (something very unusual) but the character development is lacking, at the very least, Fallout perk system is missing.

Story and world building wise, Arcanum is way better, the underdark is a nice touch but it's far from enough.

It doesn't feel like Arcanum and BG2 belong to the same genre.

Still, I don't know about your holy trinity because mine is :

• Wizardry 8
• ToEE
• UFO or Isles of Terra since UFO isn't a RPG.

ToEE soon to be replaced by KotC 2 or Colony Ship.

 

[Lonely Vazdru]

One shitty thread per day. You lost a bet or something ?

It's raining outside.

Fair enough.