Baldur's Gate #BaldurGate: Siege of Dragonspear

[Infinitron]

More srsly though, can somebody finally tell us if it'll be good once the bugs are fixed ?

Wait for our review.

 

[Mrowak]

Beamdog teaches us a valuable lesson. If you're not sure about the quality of your game, put a very blatant sjw reference or two in it. It will inevitably trigger at least one person (that's all you need, really) in the gaming cosmos.
Then proceed to denounce how nazis are taking down the rating of your gem because they're reactionaries.
See sjws and sorts buy and rate your game high without playing it in the name of everything that's good in this world. See every journo that reviews your game points the fact that people dislike it specifically because of the sjw and nothing else.
Profit.

This new "self-damage-controlling" switch is pretty clever.

More srsly though, can somebody finally tell us if it'll be good once the bugs are fixed ?

It's actually quite enjoyable, to be honest. Barring redundant SJW propaganda (which is rare, but when it happens it's really facepalm-inducing), I had some major fun with a few, genuinely difficult encounters (I am playing on Hard, though).

The plot is serviceable so far and writing mediocre - on par with the one in BG1. It really sufferes from 'goody-two-shoes' vs. 'vilest scum on earth' dichotomy in almost every dialogue, but I guess it was the same in originals.

I think I know where they are going with main antagonist and her band of merry stereotypes.

TL;DR version: it's ok

 

[ay3yk88g]

Having followed these threads from Beamdog's original conception, I decided to register up and post my SPOILER thoughts on SoD. I read the thread following the recent shitstorm over diversity and felt I had to play through the game and see what it had to offer to give it a somewhat fair chance. Bare in mind, I did in story mode literally just to hack and slash my way through it as quick as possible and grab the gist of the story and new features, I didn't want to waste 2/3 weeks of my life on something that could be a buggy mess.

First of all, it has to be said, that there is absolutely no good reason that 90%, if not the entirety of the original BG NPC cast could not return. I didn't search hard, but there's a lot of characters that just aren't present/recruitable, most important of all; Imoen. Now she's potentially the only character you can kinda, sorta, but not really give a pass for not being in your party, but it's still somewhat depressing to see Imoen start and end as a supporting character. I'm not a diehard fan of Imoen, but there's something quite disappointing about not being able to have the opportunity to take her with you from the get-go or punt her in the skull as soon as you leave Candlekeep/escape from Irenicus' cage and go on your merry way. When the game begins, certain characters essentially tell you to fuck off like Coran and Tiax for... no real reason I can understand. Whether you can regain them later, I'm not certain, but imagine you approach an NPC for the first time and they tell you to get fucked, particularly when you presumably traveled with them at some point over the events of BG1. It's a little jarring.

I didn't take any characters from the EE build, I just didn't have the time and didn't give a fuck. Rasaad was one of those I could've picked up when returning to Baldur's Gate but I'd rather roleplay as Cernd than take that boring fuck of nothing for even half an hour. There was one character who essentially becomes your Imoen in this one; Corwin, and I must say that I enjoyed her company and felt she was an interesting addition. She didn't have the gimmick of Reddit Wild Mage, Grimdark Blackguard Half-Orc, Pretentious PRAISE THE SUN Monk, nor a ridiculous Vampire or any other concept EE introduced as 'characters'. Her storyline is tied to your own and eventually comes to an end in a fair way, though I decided to spare her and bomb off a waterfall instead. I saw Glint or whatever that fuckgoblin's name was and decided to not even approach, so again no comment.

A quick note on the diversity bullshit that I tried to steer clear of, it really wasn't an issue and one throwaway Minsc line which could be interpreted however you want if you really want to shield yourself from the bullshit Gamergate reference it so obviously is, isn't gonna hurt. And I didn't speak to the tranny either, as I said; story mode, hack and slash. But overall, I didn't feel the story or many of the characters were poisoned with an irritating diversity vibe, but there are five characters that deserve mention.

Corwin, as I said I found perfectly fine and not an annoyance. The main antagonist of the game; Catelyn Angel or whatever her name was, while fairly forgettable I had no real quarrel with, and the only annoyance overall was that you're almost blindly chasing her for most of the game when she actually seems fairly reasonable when you get down to it. Not a strong antagonist, really. Safana who was said to be recreated, from what I played her with was still as sultry as ever and had a bit of a kick, but I dropped her as soon as Viconia came along. Viconia is still a character very much unchanged and to me, I enjoyed having that because they could've easily turned her into a walking Sarkeesian. And finally; Skie Silvershield, who is almost the McGuffin of the game. Now, I never played Skie in the original BG, I found her almost, if not more useless than Alora but this game so badly wants to turn her into a good hearted victim when essentially, she's still as worthless as day one and sometimes it feels like you're back to Resident Evil 4 doing escort/rescue missions. Almost.

Going back to the characters who were dropped... for such a feminist hard-on this game is getting lampooned to be, I cannot for the life of me understand why the fuck Shar-Teel wasn't a major part in this game. She would've fit perfectly, and she's nowhere to be seen, which is head scratching because she's everything you want your feminist to be. I think guys probably dig Shar-Teel too considering she's not a bad tank and some of us like being cuckolded by a woman who endlessly shouts "MEN ARE PATHETIC", but i digress, she's fucking nowhere from what I saw, and she's a big miss if they were infact going for a feminist agenda.

Now, onto the actual story part of the game.

Spoiler

I worked myself quickly through the chapters and overall, it's a fairly passable story with some KILLER interaction with Jon Irenicus. He doesn't feel pushed upon or like they brought him in for fan service, he genuinely feels like a fantastic taunting cunt in the background of the game with excellent voice acting, if not a bit like he's got plums in his mouth. He doesn't play much of a role with the female antagonist that I see, but eventually after you enter the ninth plane of hell (which I'll get into soon) he decides to slip you a dagger and make you cut Skie... then you go into a momentary diatribe about being a murderer while the whole city wants you burnt at the stake, in what feels like an overrun epilogue to a game that's over. It's a horrid cliche that really didn't need to happen, particularly considering Skie Silvershield is a worthless fucking character and I'd gladly shout "Yeah i killed her, so what?" given the option. Maybe it was there, I was tired and tried to pick the options that gave the most story.

So, back onto Hell, which is the MAIN PROBLEM OF THE FUCKING GAME. It's not some tranny mage, it's not a one liner from Minsc talking about ethics, it's not even some bad marketer/writer who has no idea how to treat fans of a longstanding and well adored series whilst also wearing a bard's hat. It's the fact that you're a level 9/10 character at best and you find yourself walking into literal hell and cutting demons down left and fucking right. Now, I can maybe give a pass to Bhaalspawn, but considering I'm carrying 5 twats who still love their basic longbows, swords and plate armour, I'd be a bit fucking freaked out to tag along for an adventure and find myself in hell with all this shit going on. Bhaalspawn, fine. Minsc and Dynaheir decimating demons before they've even met Irenicus? Fuck off, that's a bit too 'epic' for a Baldur's Gate 1 expansion considering not even a year ago they were getting their shit pushed in by gnolls.

So you come against the big bad from Icewind Dale (I forget his name for Icewind Dale fans, I apologise) and get a bit of a longwinded "don't care" story about the Angel and why she fought for Dragonspear the entire time. Apparently she wanted to save her uncle who sacrificed his soul for her because... I don't know, and she didn't really care about all those people who died in Dragonspear anyway, she just wanted her father figure back. After all is said and done, you find yourself back in the castle... celebrating by getting pissed and eating a shit load of meat, apparently, because that's how Bhaalspawn and his fellow friends celebrate after going to fucking hell. By the way, the most ridiculous moment of this game is the point where you find yourself LITERALLY RIDING A FUCKING ELEVATOR FIGHTING DEMON'S ON THE WAY TO THE END BOSS. I mean, what the fuck!

The Irenicus/Skie storyline plays out and you eventually find yourself freed and back to the surface with Imoen and the original starting BG2 party before Irenicus decides to David Copperfield half of them. Part of it is a nice round up but another is quite patronising considering the events of BG1, if you were a bad guy or god forbid they die, you basically get told "fuck you, nobody else gave a fuck, here's Khalid, Jaheira, Dynaheir and the dunce with his space hampster. You figure it out." But they did their best considering no matter what you do in BG1, you're going to have traveled with those pals.

So OVERALL it wasn't a bad expansion, there's some real care and craft put into it. Ignoring all the diversity arguments, they really tried to give this a shot and there's enough Baldur's Gate goodness in there to easily warrant $20 or so, there's also some interraction with Black Pits characters, which I personally love. But for those who grew up with original BG or can't even stomach BG without having BGT installed, I completely understand if you're not willing to make the jump to the Enhanced Editions. Overall, reading the backlash I was really considering dropping the EE's and having played SoD quickly, even though the story is lukewarm in parts, and introduces some real issues with starting with a level 10 party in BG2 having just entered the demon's lair 48 hours or so previous, I enjoyed it and would stick to them.

tl;dr: Shit's okay, don't let the feminist agenda and basement dwelling shitstorm ruin it too much for you. If you could stomach the EE's, you'll have a blast with this.

Thanks for reading if you did and keep being awesome, codex.

 

[CptMace]

More srsly though, can somebody finally tell us if it'll be good once the bugs are fixed ?

Wait for our review.

Which one ?

TL;DR version: it's ok

Buy on sale it is then !

 

[felipepepe]

Will PS:T still be Amber Scott-ified by Beamdog? You know, fixing the story and upgrading characters personalities. Or was that project scrapped? I see lots of opportunities for an even bigger clusterfuck right there. It should also result in an entertaining Codex thread.

Oh boy, all that Morte banter with Fall-from-Grace and Annah... If Jaheira was so triggering, the only way PS:T:EE is coming out is with a "don't listen to the skull" "enhancement".

 

[Infinitron]

Which one ?

I think the PoE Review Saga may have given people in inaccurate impression of the Codex's ability to produce reviews. We haven't even reviewed our own GOTY 2015, how fucked is up that.

P.S. Check out the post above you which I just authorized.

 

[CptMace]

Don't worry it was merely a pun. I know there's a review coming. Well thanks for the feedback y'all.

 

[Ausdoerrt]

The funny thing about this whole "scandal"? I think it's a brilliant PR move by Beamdog. This way, nobody's talking that much about the bugs or crappy writing etc., and they can pretend that people hate their game because it's "OMG-cunt-ruh-vur-shul" rather than because it's a steaming pile of shit.

P.S. I still remember how much "controversy" was created by a single gay pirate in TOEE. 13 years, and the collective gaming industry/community still ain't out of puberty.

 

[ay3yk88g]

By the way, I completely forgot to mention this was a line mentioned in the 'new chapter' screen, voice over and all.

Spoiler

"Was yours the hand that plunged the dagger into Skie Silvershield's breast?"

Oh, I laughed. Wow.

 

[PhantasmaNL]

critique

That is a suspiciously informative first post, good job.

 

[Lyric Suite]

You meant the gaming industry/community still won't accept degeneracy in the name of muh feelings.

 

[Ellef]

13 years, and the collective gaming industry/community still ain't out of puberty.

CURRENT YEAR strikes again! C'mon people!

 

[gunman]

Official Beamdog statement:

As you are well aware by now, our latest game had become the target of a group of Internet sociopaths that are trying to destroy our reputation and undermine our future projects. These misogyns and homophobes, coming from the dark corners of the Internet, of which most notable is a place of bile and infamy called RPGCodex, will be met with justice, because our cause is just. The habilitated legal institutions have been already notified and will take action as soon as possible. Meantime, we gladly announce the true Baldur's Gate fans of our next project: Planetscape Torment: Enhanced Edition. The haters can do nothing to stop our efforts to make the classic, yet sexist, games of the past truly worth playing again. Under the skillful pen of our writer Amber, we have already rewritten part of the story of PS:T, that will revolve against the the protagonist now called The Sexless One. Stay strong my friends.

 

[Tacgnol]

Official Beamdog statement:

As you are well aware by now, our latest game had become the target of a group of Internet sociopaths that are trying to destroy our reputation and undermine our future projects. These misogyns and homophobes, coming from the dark corners of the Internet, of which most notable is a place of bile and infamy called RPGCodex, will be met with justice, because our cause is just. The habilitated legal institutions have been already notified and will take action as soon as possible. Meantime, we gladly announce the true Baldur's Gate fans of our next project: Planetscape Torment: Enhanced Edition. The haters can do nothing to stop our efforts to make the classic, yet sexist, games of the past truly worth playing again. Under the skillful pen of our writer Amber, we have already rewritten part of the story of PS:T, that will revolve against the the protagonist now called The Sexless One. Stay strong my friends.

I'll be surprised if the actual statement differs much.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

How long does it take to pen an official statement though?

 

[Tacgnol]

How long does it take to pen an official statement though?

I think the more important question is, how many SJWs does it take to pen an official statement?

 

[Florian Gheorghe]

Which one ?

I think the PoE Review Saga may have given people in inaccurate impression of the Codex's ability to produce reviews. We haven't even reviewed our own GOTY 2015, how fucked is up that.

P.S. Check out the post above you which I just authorized.

I am still waiting for Underrail review I know :D

 

[Doma]

 

[Reinhardt]

It's 2016. Don't you think that serial killer gnome is racist and problematic? Why not tell us truth already - he's just harmless pedo, opressed by white cishet human males. We need to change his quest ASAP. Party saves him from Patriarchy and joins on his quest to enrich children across Sword Coast.

 

[Roguey]

Will PS:T still be Amber Scott-ified by Beamdog? You know, fixing the story and upgrading characters personalities. Or was that project scrapped? I see lots of opportunities for an even bigger clusterfuck right there. It should also result in an entertaining Codex thread.

They likely won't ever do Torment for the same reason they won't do IWD2: code's too different, too much work.

 

[mastroego]

Official Beamdog statement:

As you are well aware by now, our latest game had become the target of a group of Internet sociopaths that are trying to destroy our reputation and undermine our future projects. These misogyns and homophobes, coming from the dark corners of the Internet, of which most notable is a place of bile and infamy called RPGCodex, will be met with justice, because our cause is just. The habilitated legal institutions have been already notified and will take action as soon as possible. Meantime, we gladly announce the true Baldur's Gate fans of our next project: Planetscape Torment: Enhanced Edition. The haters can do nothing to stop our efforts to make the classic, yet sexist, games of the past truly worth playing again. Under the skillful pen of our writer Amber, we have already rewritten part of the story of PS:T, that will revolve against the the protagonist now called The Sexless One. Stay strong my friends.

Surely you mean The Genderless One.

 

[GrainWetski]

Official Beamdog statement:

As you are well aware by now, our latest game had become the target of a group of Internet sociopaths that are trying to destroy our reputation and undermine our future projects. These misogyns and homophobes, coming from the dark corners of the Internet, of which most notable is a place of bile and infamy called RPGCodex, will be met with justice, because our cause is just. The habilitated legal institutions have been already notified and will take action as soon as possible. Meantime, we gladly announce the true Baldur's Gate fans of our next project: Planetscape Torment: Enhanced Edition. The haters can do nothing to stop our efforts to make the classic, yet sexist, games of the past truly worth playing again. Under the skillful pen of our writer Amber, we have already rewritten part of the story of PS:T, that will revolve against the the protagonist now called The Sexless One. Stay strong my friends.

Surely you mean The Genderless One.

Amber has a gender, but she doesn't have sex.

 

[mastroego]

But I'd suspect she denies the former and craves the latter.

 

[Space Insect]

Will PS:T still be Amber Scott-ified by Beamdog? You know, fixing the story and upgrading characters personalities. Or was that project scrapped? I see lots of opportunities for an even bigger clusterfuck right there. It should also result in an entertaining Codex thread.

They likely won't ever do Torment for the same reason they won't do IWD2: code's too different, too much work.

Just think of the terrible things they would do to butcher the magnificent creations of Josh Sawyer!

 

[varangos]

Dis is a truly historic time to live,codex losing its shit for 3 lines of dialogue.
Having a tranny quest would result in mass shootings across the global from basement dwellers.