Baldur's Gate - Enhanced Edition: Review Roundup # 5

Three more reviews have surfaced for this game. The first one is from Gaming Illustrated,
they give it a score of 85%. Here's a quote about the gameplay:

Gameplay is smooth and only minor glitches were experienced. Occasionally issues with the cursor would make combat and communication initiation difficult. The cursor would elongate into one solid bar and not re-shape itself to let the player know what action they were selecting but the glitch would usually correct itself. Sometimes response from characters would lag, such as commanding them through a doorway or to shoot their bow, but these occurrences were few and far between and did not greatly hinder gameplay.

The second one is from Video Game Writers aka VGW. They give it a 4.5/5.
Here's a quote from their conclusion:

Looking back at my time playing with Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition, part of me is glad my younger self never got around to finishing it the first time I played. It's been both an interesting blast from the past, a head-shaking reminder of how much I loathed THAC0 while playing D&D, and an interesting look at early BioWare game elements which were refined for future franchises like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Mass Effect and Dragon Age. Not to mention it's a good, meaty, straightforward RPG……….This is one masterpiece that, after removing a decade's worth of grime and age, still manages to take your breath away.

The third one is from PC Gamer, scoring 77/100. Even though they gave the game a
77/100, they don't recommed it much, calling it a "judgement call" if you prefer the old BG version or the new BG:EE version:

If you'd prefer the convenience of BG:EE, it's a perfectly acceptable version. But the fact that you're reading this here suggests that you have some PC gaming nous, and a properly modded copy of the original release is ultimately the superior experience. That fact alone is a saving throw against what should have been a glorious comeback.

More information.

This is the only game that hasn't gone on sale this season. At even $15 I would jump. I just feel that $20 is too much.

Could always mod your old copy and have a better time.

Originally Posted by BababooeyHTJ
This is the only game that hasn't gone on sale this season. At even $15 I would jump. I just feel that $20 is too much.

I concur, Since I own BG and BG2 both digitally and on CD and never had any truble modding, 20$ is asking to much. For me that is.

A small price adjustment and I would jump on it, just for old times sake.

A spring sale perhaps?

C

Originally Posted by darkling
Could always mod your old copy and have a better time.

IDK, I've had issues in the past. I've never gotten planescape to work properly. I always run into one show stopper. BG does run on the same engine.

I just want to be able to play the game with no headache.

Originally Posted by BababooeyHTJ
IDK, I've had issues in the past. I've never gotten planescape to work properly. I always run into one show stopper. BG does run on the same engine.

I just want to be able to play the game with no headache.

That's the sole reason I bought it. Not for the new NPCs or the Arena scenario, neither of which are of interest to me. I tried a couple of times to get BG to work with Tutu & the widescreen mod and the result was odd graphical glitches (the green frame around a character portrait would flicker to the point of being a distraction) if I could get it to work at all.

Hoping it is a driver issue of some sort I will probably try & play either IWD with a widescreen patch or PS:T. I've seen some players on the BG:EE forum hooting mad because they were expecting a complete graphical overhaul or loads of new content within the original campaign— for me the added content just doesn't feel right and sincerely hope there is no DLC as some fans are demanding. DLC I think would end up sucking. I kept my expectations low and have been very happy revisiting BG. After having played mainly WoW & the occasional FPS since the IE was retired I had forgotten how much fun those games were. Here's to hoping the upcoming Kickstarters (i.e. Wasteland 2, Project Eternity) and Chaos Chronicles serve as another CRPG Renaissance like BG did so long ago.

Sorry— I may have strayed a bit OT— but despite its flaws I'm really enjoying BG:EE. To the OP BG:EE does allow you to play it with no headaches assuming you do not have an on-board Intel graphics chipset. At least I have had no issues, YMMV.

I wish that I had not bought it. I expected some completely different and to me, it's just the same. Having played the original game many times; I quit this one after 10 minutes. It's like putting lipstick on a pig…it is still a pig.

Why would you expect something completely different? It wasn't a remake, its an 'Enhanced Edition.' If BG1 is such a pig, why have you played it many times?

For me it was worth the $20. Given what little amount of time I get to game, it was more than worth it to not need to spend an hour or more modding the game after installation. I particularly like that you can run it at high resolutions without the GUI becoming tiny. I'm only about 1/3 done and have enjoyed Dorn and Neera as well. Haven't made it to any of the new areas though, but really looking forward to that.

My only real complaint is that they released it with so many bugs. They should have done a public beta or something for people who pre-ordered and cleared these up. I haven't encountered any game breaking bugs, but a lot of minor annoyances.

Originally Posted by EvilManagedCare
for me the added content just doesn't feel right and sincerely hope there is no DLC as some fans are demanding. DLC I think would end up sucking.

I'll never understand this mindset. If you don't like the DLC (or added content), you can just no play it. Why would you actively root for other people to not get something they think they'll enjoy?!?

$20 is nothing. If you would have spent an hour updating BG so you can play it safely with all the mods, then the game has likely already paid for itself.

I played it through again over the holidays. The only new character that was even slightly appealing was Neera, but after she was killed off during a battle I didn't bother to raise her. Wild magic is just too much of a nuisance.

My main complaint was with the rocky terrain in Adoy's Enclave. Much of it didn't look gritty enough; more like a watercolor overlay.

My party is only level 4, but I haven't seen any real problems with the Wild Magic yet. Dorn is pretty good, though his story seems to be "ok he/she's dead, lets kill the next one!". It's kind of fun watching him and Viconia complain as our reputation increases.

I wanted to add the new Monk, mainly for his quest areas, but low level monks are beyond useless. I'm hoping when my group hits around level 8-9, I can go back and he'll come in at a level high enough to not be entirely useless. If not, well, there's always ShadowKeeper!

I got this game given to me for Christmas so trying it out now.

I'm currently in the middle of a fully modded GOG version of BG2, so I'll be able see first hand the differences, but so far I really enjoy the zoom feature in the Enhanced version, sometimes you just want a closer view and it still looks good unless you zoom in to 100%.

Originally Posted by rjshae
$20 is nothing. If you would have spent an hour updating BG so you can play it safely with all the mods, then the game has likely already paid for itself.

I don't feel like spending the time to update BG just to find out that it has gamebreaking issues popping up a couple of hours in like what always happens to me with planescape on more than one occasion.

I've spent less than $20 on brand new indie games on a custom engine. I'm not about to spend that on a minimal remake. Look at serious sam hd. Now that is an enhanced edition. This seems like more of a patch to me.

I've got it, though I haven't played it too much. I just got the new wild mage added to my party, which is kinda fun, though I worry that playing a ranger (myself) and already having a mage in the party means I'll have to forgo getting Minsc and Dynahier in my party this time around. Baldur's Gate probably won't feel like Baldur's Gate if there's no Minsc, so I dunno…

Anyway, I've had no problems with it so far, and it's played well, and it's about the third time I've purchased the game. Having a new character in the party probably keeps it a little more fresh, but it's been so long since I *seriously* played it (I got about 8 hours into it earlier this year w/ the GOG.COM version) I don't know that it needs that much.

Originally Posted by blatantninja
I'll never understand this mindset. If you don't like the DLC (or added content), you can just no play it. Why would you actively root for other people to not get something they think they'll enjoy?!?

Because developing hackneyed DLC ends up taking away from other resources like bug fixes & development of BG2:EE or IWD:EE or whatever other IE:EE is on the horizon. Plus, if the DLC is going to be anything like the Dorn, Neera, cheesy monk content then we should all be thankful there isn't going to be any.

And yes, I'm actively rooting against YOU from getting DLC.

Originally Posted by EvilManagedCare
Because developing hackneyed DLC ends up taking away from other resources like bug fixes & development of BG2:EE or IWD:EE or whatever other IE:EE is on the horizon.

Or they could make money off the DLC that could be used for bug fixes and increase the likelihood of BG2:EE, IWD:EE, or whatever other IE:EE actually being done. It's called business.

Plus, if the DLC is going to be anything like the Dorn, Neera, cheesy monk content then we should all be thankful there isn't going to be any.

Haven't used the monk yet, but Dorn and Neera are great. Definitely on par, if not better, from any of the original NPC's in the game, and they actually have content with them instead of being just meat puppets.

And yes, I'm actively rooting against YOU from getting DLC.

That's pretty sad.