Baldur's Gate - It Is Your Destiny (Baldur's Gate (PC))

Member Name: Splend42

Product:	Baldur's Gate (PC)
Date:	24/08/09 (14 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great gameplay, highly addictive, huge world map, very immersive

Disadvantages: Comes on lots of discs, Vista may not like it.

I've lost so many hours to this game! My obsessive love for this is second only to to the squishy lovey-dovey feelings I have for the Fallout series. It uses the Dungeons and Dragons AD&D 2nd edition rules system, so the setting and creatures that populate it should be familiar to D&D veterans.

The game follows your character as he (or she) learns that they are a rather important person in the grand scheme of things and thus goes on an EPIC QUEST to find their role in the coming troubles. This is, of course, a standard fantasy type plot. But don't worry about that, because there's so much of it that it won't really matter that it's a bit clichéd.

Another reason you shouldn't worry too much about the plot is that you will find yourself ignoring it for huge chunks of the game as you immerse yourself almost completely in the gameworld, which is HUGE and detailed. There are many lovely environments to explore, and you will likely play for months before even reaching the titular city of Baldur's Gate.

Gameplay is standard RPG fare, very easy to pick up and intuitive to use. When you've collected a few party members you can switch team formations easily and controlling party members is effortless and swift. Combat is easy to grasp too, though to be honest a large amount of my tactics involve throwing all my party members at one enemy at a time trying to swamp them with superior numbers. And magic. Lots of magic.

Graphically, I suppose its 3D isometric view is slightly dated now, but I find it charming. The locations are lush and beautiful at times, though there are places where you can't quite get to a position where you can get rid of the black fog-of-war, which is a little irritating.

As you go through the game, you get to choose whether you will be good, evil or neutral (a game feature that far predates these modern games that are boasting this as if it's a new thing e.g. Fable 2). This affects how people treat you and, interestingly, which NPCs will join your party to become your companions. If you're too evil then the nobler characters will snub you, if you're too good then the more evil characters won't give you the time of day.

There are tonnes of sidequests (occasionally feels like hundreds) and many many slavering beasties to slay. There is also multiplayer capability, but I do not know how effective that is as I have not taken advantage of it.

As it is an older game, your computer should be technically able to play it, though Vista tends to sulk if you play older games so you may need to play it in Compatability Mode. The only other possible downside is the sheer number of discs the game comes on - 5! That's quite a lot compared to modern games. I recommend you get hold of the version that comes on a PC-DVD as that cuts the disc-swapping right down to zero.

In all, this is a superb game. If you love huge, immersive RPGs with a great balance between story and action, then this game is for you. If you like empty shallow graphicsfests designed to push games systems to their graphical limits, then you'd best not bother with this.

Summary: Baldur's Gate is a classic oldschool RPG game, fun for all!