GameBanshee Forums

dragon wench wrote:@Des,
I came here by way of the Baldur's Gate Two forum. Chances are that had I not been a part of the GB community I wouldn't have even tried Morrowind.

I came here via the Neverwinters Nights forum but like you I doubt I'd even have picked up Morrowind if I hadn't seen it on GB.

DesR85 wrote:Baldur's Gate? Hmm. Kept hearing about that game on this forum. I've also seen quite a lot of traffic going on over at the Baldur's Gate section of this forum.

I'd definately recommend it. BG2 is still one of the best RPGs I've ever played. The graphics are outdated but if you can live with that, the party control and story are some of the best I've seen in a game.

About Morrowind, I've heard of it 3 years ago before I joined this forum from G4TV. The majority of the gaming sites I regularly hang out gave it very good reviews. Same goes for Oblivion but since it lagged terribly on my PC (I can't believe the XBox 360 version even lagged as well :speech: ), I won't be that much interested in it.

mr_sir wrote: I'd definately recommend it. BG2 is still one of the best RPGs I've ever played. The graphics are outdated but if you can live with that, the party control and story are some of the best I've seen in a game.

What about Baldur's Gate itself? Do I need to play it before jumping into Baldur's Gate 2 or its not really necessary? Given that I really don't like Neverwinter Nights, I'm not sure if Baldur's Gate will appeal to me, though. Sorry for being negative.

DesR85 wrote:<snip>
What about Baldur's Gate itself? Do I need to play it before jumping into Baldur's Gate 2 or its not really necessary? Given that I really don't like Neverwinter Nights, I'm not sure if Baldur's Gate will appeal to me, though. Sorry for being negative.

Playing BG1 before BG2 isn't really neasecary, although it would provide some insight into the nature of your character. But the two games can stand fully on their own.
Baldur's Gate isn't like Neverwinter Nights (which was why many of us was disspointed with NwN). Besides from the multiplayer aspect, I could't point to anything that NwN did better then Baldurs Gate-series.
I'd compare Baldur's Gate more to the "feel" of Fallout then I would to NwN except naturally for the settings.

DesR85 wrote: What about Baldur's Gate itself? Do I need to play it before jumping into Baldur's Gate 2 or its not really necessary?

You don't have too, but it is a good idea since Baldur's Gate IMO is a better game than the sequel. It is quite old though, so if you going to play it you better have some acceptance of old games.

DesR85 wrote:What about Baldur's Gate itself? Do I need to play it before jumping into Baldur's Gate 2 or its not really necessary? Given that I really don't like Neverwinter Nights, I'm not sure if Baldur's Gate will appeal to me, though. Sorry for being negative.

As others have said, the BG games are nothing like NWN. NWN is one of my favourite games but it lacks most, if not all, of the qualities that I like about BG2. I found BG1 hard going and have never actually finished it but thats more because of the graphics and low levels than anything else. I like characters that are around level 10 and BG only gets to about level 7 or so. BG 2 starts where BG1 finishes but you can play BG2 without playing the first (I did and the story is easy to pick up as its really a whole new story in itself).

Oh and no need to applogise for being negative about a game. Everyone likes different games for different reasons so I'm not going to get offended if someone has a different opinion to me

Thanks for the advice, guys. I do know of a friend who have Baldur's Gate 2 so I might want to check out what the game looks like. Heard that its system is way more complicated than the D20 system so I might not be sure if I will be able to cope with the game or not, considering that I have never played D&D before. My friend did warn me that this game requires a good grounding in D&D in order to be able to play this game (he did have a good background of D&D, that's why he knows how to play the game).

My friend did warn me that this game requires a good grounding in D&D in order to be able to play this game (he did have a good background of D&D, that's why he knows how to play the game).

I'd have to disagree with that. It does help if you've got a good head for number-crunching, but that's all. And I've got virtually no background in D&D, and certainly no head for number-crunching. Plays just fine. Also has good replayability, thanks to a few elements that allow you to branch in different directions, and some great mods out there that significantly change the game.

I'm with fable on this - I don't think you need a good grounding in D&D - in fact I've never played D&D or any PnP stuff. While you are playing it you soon pick up on most things. There are still little stats etc. I don't fully understand but I've never come across anything that prevented me from enjoying the game or completing it.

That's comforting. For a moment, I thought that this game is not too friendly to those who never played these type of games before. About your experiences, that occurred to me too the first time I've played KOTOR. Didn't get to fully understand some of its terms but I did know enough to be able to play through the whole game from start to finish, albeit once only and that's LS. Never a fan of replays anyway (with the exception of Call of Duty 2).

@Des,
if you liked KOTR, you'll probably enjoy BG2. KOTR took some of the elements from BG2 (like story and party interaction) but weakened them considerably. And yes, as everyone says don't worry about the number crunching or D&D background. I had no experience with D&D when I first played it, and my skill with numbers is so abysmal that I practically break into a cold sweat when I see a mathematical equation

As far as NWN goes... I never finished it. I found the game to be a real disappointment. I may pick up the complete pack with the expansions sometime, because I've heard they make a huge difference, but the original game just lacks.

Everyone's gaming preferences differ, but I find BG2 to be the best RPG I've ever played. So, biased as I am, I'd wholeheartedly recommend giving it a try

@Des: Hrm....from what I know of you from the forums, I don't take you to be a big fan of medieval sort of fantasy. I'm thinking that's the basis of you not being interested in D&D style games, yes?

As for myself, I like both sci-fi and medieval fantasy equally: Star Wars or the Forgotten Realms, I like 'em both. As far as D&D style RPGs go, the Baldur's Gate series sits on a pedestal far above the others. I think you would enjoy playing the Baldur's Gate series, as tactics and strategy play a large role in the successful completion of the games. You crunch numbers playing other games, right? Well, you'll take to doing that in the Baldur's Gate (BG) games very quickly. In fact, I think you might enjoy the robust character development avenues in the BGs and find it refreshing compared to the over-simplified D20 system used by the KOTORs.

The interaction between your player character and the NPCs alone is worth playing the BG series of games. The writing is fantastic, the dialogues engaging and often hilarious, and lends to an outstanding game experience. And the nicest thing: nowdays, the games are cheap. Can't beat that with a Gamorrean Cleaver.

*Dusty, foot sore Ranger trudges past still burning pile of wires and cheap pressboard (that at one time might have been mistaken for an entertainment device) and in the door. Finds an empty table, checks the rafters for any roosting gull's above, and finding none, sits down. "Fair wench", he asks, "Could I have a bottle of Fiddlebender's Brew? Perhaps one for the lady over there eyeing that nappy looking cleric, as well. I think she probably could use one more than I."

*Sits one the chair, orders beer and Vodka Redbull*

This is a moent when I miss all those spammers who have left/banned lately...
This place is so dead!

Anyone here for small chatting??

*takes a sip from Vodka Redbull*

Philos wrote:*Dusty, foot sore Ranger trudges past still burning pile of wires and cheap pressboard (that at one time might have been mistaken for an entertainment device) and in the door. Finds an empty table, checks the rafters for any roosting gull's above, and finding none, sits down. "Fair wench", he asks, "Could I have a bottle of Fiddlebender's Brew? Perhaps one for the lady over there eyeing that nappy looking cleric, as well. I think she probably could use one more than I."

Hi Philos,
glad you could stop by
Sorry for the delayed response, I just got back in after dragging myself around the docks and market for a couple of hours.
*passes bottles of Fiddlebender's Brew to Philos and anyone else who wishes one*


@Kipi,
I think, in part, it is dead here because over on this side of the pond it is Labour Day Weeekend, and the last blast of summer before schools go back. It was crazy downtown, here in Vancouver, all kinds of people by the water sunning, cycling, and generally enjoying themelves.

[QUOTE=dragon wench]<SNIP> and generally enjoying themelves.[/QUOTE]Bastards!

* Mutters the cleric as he attempts to drown his sorrows, in leiu of dancing or decrying sin. There being either no money or no sin on offer. * - Curdis !

dragon wench wrote: if you liked KOTR, you'll probably enjoy BG2. KOTR took some of the elements from BG2 (like story and party interaction) but weakened them considerably. And yes, as everyone says don't worry about the number crunching or D&D background. I had no experience with D&D when I first played it, and my skill with numbers is so abysmal that I practically break into a cold sweat when I see a mathematical equation

Me neither. My maths is just plain average only. Even with advanced maths, I'm just plain average. As for my knowledge of D&D, its next to zero. But, yeah, I'll think about it since I did enjoy playing KOTOR (my friend recommended it to me after my stint with Fable: The Lost Chapters and the fact that I've played Star Wars: Republic Commando before).

dragon wench wrote: As far as NWN goes... I never finished it. I found the game to be a real disappointment. I may pick up the complete pack with the expansions sometime, because I've heard they make a huge difference, but the original game just lacks.

Never got into the game myself. Saw my friend playing it before and somehow I was quite turned off by it. It must have been the camera view because I never touched any RPG that was top-down before. Only 3rd person RPGs like Final Fantasy 7&8 and Fable. First Person RPGs also turned me off too, particularly Morrowind and Oblivion, except Dark Messiah of Might and Magic's demo.

Chanak wrote: Hrm....from what I know of you from the forums, I don't take you to be a big fan of medieval sort of fantasy. I'm thinking that's the basis of you not being interested in D&D style games, yes?

That could be one of the main factors. Aside from Fable: The Lost Chapters, I don't really play any other medieval based RPGs. It could also be the fact that I don't really play that much RPGs and I'm mostly to RTSes and action games.

Chanak wrote: I think you would enjoy playing the Baldur's Gate series, as tactics and strategy play a large role in the successful completion of the games. You crunch numbers playing other games, right? Well, you'll take to doing that in the Baldur's Gate (BG) games very quickly. In fact, I think you might enjoy the robust character development avenues in the BGs and find it refreshing compared to the over-simplified D20 system used by the KOTORs.

As for other games, I don't think I've played games that have any relation to using numbers at all, aside from some adventure games. As for team-based games, I did play Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30, Star Wars: Republic Commando and Freedom Fighters. However, what turned me off about KOTOR's party system is that you have to control and plan each and every one of the member's action and that is slightly tedious and troublesome to me. I prefer the method where you give out commands and the others will do as you command just like the above games I mentioned just now.

Hmm. Considering how interesting the characters are back at KOTOR, I think I might be able to enjoy the characters there too. By the way, as I recall, I've read a review somewhere that the characters in KOTOR do resemble some of the characters back at either BG or Neverwinter Nights in terms of the personality.

Morning All,

Originally Posted by dragon wench
As far as NWN goes... I never finished it. I found the game to be a real disappointment. I may pick up the complete pack with the expansions sometime, because I've heard they make a huge difference, but the original game just lacks.

Same for me DW,
I bought a package which include the first expansion, but not the second. Even though I have finished the first chapter (in Neverwinter itself) I just find myself going back to either BG2 or one of the IWD games when I go to play a CRPG. What is one minus (of many) for me is how the NPC (henchman) function. Having a limit of one was bad enough (I got over that) but I can't give them anything except a potion for immediate use. "Gee look at the great bow, sure wish I could give it to Shaar, she could really make good use of it." Sigh.....

@Des,
In NWN you can adjust the camera angle from top down and far back to up close and straight ahead (perhaps like most of the games you are used to) or points in between. Not that I am a NWN fan. But that was a nice feature of the game.

@Kipi,
Hopefully things will pick up some. I was surprised coming back on line after a few days absence (right when everything seem to hit the proverbial fan) at all that happened.

*Ranger offers a bottle of Fiddlebender's Brew to muttering cleric*

Philos wrote: In NWN you can adjust the camera angle from top down and far back to up close and straight ahead (perhaps like most of the games you are used to) or points in between. Not that I am a NWN fan. But that was a nice feature of the game.

But the problem is when you do zoom up as close to the character as possible, the main character looked kind of ugly. Furthermore, the viewing angle in Neverwinter Nights is restrictive (in 3rd person view, that is), making it harder to manoeuvre around and doesn't give a good view of the situation. No wonder its better to stay at the top-down view for a game like this. I'd much prefer Fable's viewing angle compared to Neverwinter Nights since when you zoom out to the max, its still in 3rd person but in a way, you'll get a better viewing angle.

[QUOTE=Philos]<SNIP>*Ranger offers a bottle of Fiddlebender's Brew to muttering cleric*[/QUOTE]* The bottle is quickly grasped and chugged. The ragged cleric looks out the window and his eyes narrow. *

If those bleeding gulls don't hush up some I'm going to go royal messenger.

* Appears to concentrate on a 'call lightning' spell. *

Bah!

See the hooded theif over there?

* Indicates the Mystic Theif who hasn't posted since page two. *

All we would need is a magic user and we could have a party!

Or seeing as she's asleep we could just take advantage of the situation, how about it? - Curdis !

Any goodies to handle?

Curdis wrote:* <snip> Or seeing as she's asleep we could just take advantage of the situation, how about it? - Curdis !

And how do you propose to do that? *eyes suspiciously*

Watch those flying daggers, they just whiz through you, before you know it, those tips would be greeting your then bleeding heart.