forced to jump thru hoops the whole damn game only to end up in the asylum

[friedmad]

ok, now i'm realllllly pissed at this game. i've been used the entire damn game by everyone around me and i finally do all their stupid crap to get to the point where i get to the asylum to free imoen, only now i'm forced YET ONCE AGAIN to jump thru more damn hoops to get myself out?!?

and there's no way of avoiding the damn asylum?!?

this freaking game would have been ALOT more fun if it werent so damn linear!

so now i've wasted my money on a game that i thought was supposed to be fun, but only serves to piss me off the very core of my soul!

what really pissed me the most was to find that the one guy i've had in my party from the very beginning, the traitor yoshimo, *miraculously* poisoned me on the boat ride to the island, and now I have to jump thru Irenicus's hoops to get the hell out of the asylum?

can anyone save my faith in this FRUSTRATING game? I've looked at the GameBanshee walkthrough and it says i'm supposed to be able to somehow avoid the crap that Irenicus pulls on me, but cant get around his lovely 'walk through' of the prison cells.


Grateful, but pissed,

<D>

[fable]

@Friedmad, first, welcome to the forum.

Second, calm down.

Third, this will net you more replies under the BG2/SoA board than it will in SYM. I'll move it there, but try posting in that place for answers to BG2 questions. Best chance of getting anything more than smartaleck non-sequiturs.

Fourth, welcome again to the forum.

[Tybaltus]

Well, yes, the asylum can get quite annoying at times. But the game is a classic, and if you tough it out now, it will get better.

If you want a game that is less linear, I highly recommend a game called "Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind". It has a major plot, but you dont need to follow it. If theres one game that isnt linear, its this one. And its dang good too.

[UserUnfriendly]

actually, the asylum is quite fun, and fairly rewarding, item and spell wise...its got some major plot twists and surprises, and at least one mod, imoen romance, will substantually add to the dialog, especially if you have edwin after his quest turns out to have unexpected consequences...hehehhehe....

i really am very fond of the asylum....

[garazdawi]

You also do not need to go through the hoops: Highlight for spoiler You can also talk to saemon havarian again and he'll arrange so that you can leave the Island..... Seamon can be found just next to where the girl who changes "faces" was before....

[Graeye]

Isn't the whole point of gaming to figure out how to "jump through hoops" of one kind or another, regardless of what game it is?

Anyway, before you get too disgusted with this game, remember that there are over 100,000 posts on this forum alone; there must be some redeeming features that make that many people passionate enough to take the time to post questions, replies and comments.

Personally, I don't see the linearity; you can pretty much do or not do things when and with whom you choose. Did Yoshimo's sudden betrayal seem linear? <G>

[Ieo]

I agree, I didn't find BG to be very linear; in both BGI/BGII you can do quests (and NPC quests) and other things as you saw fit. Yes, there is a major "story" line, and in that sense it's "linear," but this isn't a hack-n-slash game where you just go dungeon romping whenever, wherever, with the sole purpose of accruing nice spells and weapons (though it's possible to some extent). People who prefer hack-n-slash/dungeon-hacking/shooter games with no major storyline won't find much satisfaction in the BG universe. Besides, the point of BGII is, well, that you're being dragged along because of what you are, right? Frustration is essentially part of the story.


<semi-spoilerish>

As for the particular hoops you're complaining about - are you talking about the Asylum's under-dungeon where Bodhi stuck you? You can't just skip that (garazdawi's post applies to AFTER you finish the Asylum dungeon, anyway). Sorry.

[Baldursgate Fan]

There is a Dan Simpson's BG2 walkthrough on http://www.gamefaqs.com if you are really stuck and in need of a solution. A search through this forum on the asylum would be more than sufficient too. This asylum thingy would be just a memory when you finally get your hands on Irenicus! Trust me

[Thanatos]

I'm sorry, but if you think BGII is linear then you frankly have no idea what you're talking about.

Name one RPG in recent memory that didn't have some kind of major storyline you had to follow. Even Morrowind (which really is really closer to "Life Sim" than RPG, but I digress) had a main quest that you had to eventually follow if you want to complete the game. There must be hundreds of sidequests you can choose to do throughout the game, and if you don't have the barest wit to find one of them, well, you're hopeless.

[HellMonkey]

It might also seem boring because of the character youre playing. Magic users and monks are pretty awsome. there also sidequests that i thought were awsome like firkraag and such. and you could just walk around and do nothing the whole game. there is no time constraint. if u wanted u could just go around killing everything in athkatla and the rest of faerun(ive done it too). So maybe its not the game but ur approach.

[fable]

I definitely think it's just frustration speaking when he writes that BG2 is so linear. The game is easily one of the most non-linear CRPGs I've ever played, and I've been playing 'em since the early 1980s with the first Ultimas and Wizardrys. Many quests are completely optional; several can be won in different ways; one sub-group of quests can be played from two opposing sides.

Perhaps he means that you can't go everywhere, as you could in BG1? Personally I prefer avoiding the endless journeys over repetitive backgrounds. I'd rather start within hitting distance of my quest.