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Your opinion: BG vs. NW (help a newb make the right decision)

Ya, I'm the dork that slept through the whole Baldur's Gate phenomenon. I recently finished Oblivion for the XBox 360 with a Level 44 Mage and realized that I need a more satisfying, hard-core AD&D experience. I'm on a mission now.

So I stroll over to Gamespot.com to find out what the best-reviewed RPGs over the last 8 years have been. Seems Bioware has the market cornered. Anyways, Baldur's Gate II seems to be king BUT I can't find a copy of BG1. Naturally, I can't play BG2 without playing BG1. My genetics and severe OCD won't allow it.

BG1 is impossible to find at the retail level and the secondary market has only revealed one, mega-scratched version which I declined.

I'm also inclined to steer clear of BG2 because it's old and because of the mess of patches and mods out there which, quite literally, freak me out (OCD, remember?).

So then I stumble across the Neverwinter series. It looks better. It's a lot more recent and I can buy the product in the stores still. SO, my dear RPG nuts, help a newb out....

Can I skip Baldur's Gate 2 and get a superior fix with the Neverwinter Series? Gamespot gave BG2 a 9.2 but they also gave NW1 a 9.2. NW2 seems to have tanked a bit with a crappy camera and horrid graphics.

Skip the BG stuff? Don't skip it? Comments on the NW series by comparison?

Mucho Nachos!

In my opinion the Baldur's Gate Saga (Baldur's Gate, Baldur's Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast, Baldur's Gate II Shadows of Amn and Baldur's Gate II Throne of Bhaal) is superior to Neverwinter Nights.

Neverwinter Nights didn't make seem like all that much. Sure, you're a hero, the classes were nothing new, most of them. Those that looked good were only fun for a short while.

The saga, once again, in my opinion should be crowned as THE best RPG released for PC.

Each NPC has their own personality and through the game, you get to know them. They become your friends. The storyline is great, the different combinations and styles of gameplay are wonderful.

I have been with this series since the very first Baldur's Gate and I still play it. Hell, I even camped out for Shadows of Amn and Throne of Bhaal.

I suggest you don't skip the BG series.

RPG Guy (sorta) wrote:I'm also inclined to steer clear of BG2 because it's old and because of the mess of patches and mods out there which, quite literally, freak me out (OCD, remember?).

Then just play it with the appropriate patch, and let it go at that. You're really something great if you don't. It's not more than a few years old, it runs on everything, probably including a food market checkout screen, and it frankly looks better than most of the blockish 3D titles that stagger badly on most modern cards and require enough RAM to power a small sub.

Can I skip Baldur's Gate 2 and get a superior fix with the Neverwinter Series? Gamespot gave BG2 a 9.2 but they also gave NW1 a 9.2. NW2 seems to have tanked a bit with a crappy camera and horrid graphics.

There you are, then. The new ones have "crappy camera and horrid graphics," but the old ones are, well, old. Why don't you try that old one out, before dismissing it out of hand?

PS: I'd suggest dropping the "we're all nerds, here" argument. Many of us aren't nerds, and only occasionally play games, but we like good games, which is why we know BG2.

While the NWN Expansions are better than the original, most notably Hordes of the Underdark.... I really would not recommend the series over BG/BG2.

When I played NWN after BG2, I was *hugely* let down.
NWN is, "okay," but that is about it. Some people really like playing the game online, and if that is your interest, you may enjoy it, but otherwise, I really can't say that I'd recommend it.
I gather that NWN2 is somewhat better, but I have no personal experience with it.

You will thank yourself for finding BG/BG2, and while you are at it, I'd also suggest trying to locate Planescape: Torment...another amazing, story and dialogue driven game.

d-wench, fable, other guy:

thanks for the reinforcement. I'll keep hunting for BG1 in that case. I've read your posts and I can tell how much you love this game so I'll just trust that with confidence.

PS. Many thanks to everyone on these boards for the consistence use of SPOILER ALERTS. I can't access most of the threads here but at least my BG virginity remains intact!

(Now if I can only find a good copy of BG1 and BUST that cherry!)

You can buy the complete Baldur's Gate serie for approx. 35 $US on ebay. I bought Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VIII from one of the sellers who offers it, Noctalis, and his service was high class.

I have not played Neverwinter Nights yet, but I can tell you that the Baldur's Gate serie is the best thing I have played in my life.

Here are some pages you might find helpful:

For BG1
Amazon.com: Baldur's Gate: Computer & Video Games

Amazon.com: Baldur's Gate Original Saga with Tales of the Sword Coast Expansion Pack: Computer & Video Games

For BG2
Amazon.com: Baldur's Gate 2: The Ultimate Collection: Computer & Video Games

Amazon.ca: Baldur's Gate 2 The Collection w/Throne of Bhaal Expansion: Computer and Video Games

Compare Prices and Read Reviews on Baldur's Gate II: The Collection for Windows at Epinions.com

Baldurs Gate 2 The Collection for Windows PC

A Compilation Set: Amazon.co.uk: Baldur's Gate Compilation (PC DVD): PC & Video Games

Good luck with the cherry!

Well, since you're looking forward to playing RPGs with the D&D system, I would recommend the Fallout series, the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic series and, as what the others had mentioned, the Baldur Gate series. As for me, I don't really like D&D based RPGs a lot (with the exception of the KOTOR series) so my knowledge on these games are kind of limited at best.

As for Neverwinter Nights, I tried it at a friend's place before and I can tell you that this game is not my cup of tea. My friend, however, really enjoyed that game. It really depends on people's preferences regarding games. The reason why I didn't like it and quite a number of top-down RPGs is because they felt weird. Not to mention that it reminds me of Diablo and playing strategy games (the camera part). My reasons are weird, I admit, but that's how I feel regarding Neverwinter Nights and quite a number of RPGs, honestly speaking.

Well, I'm not that much of an RPG fan anyway, to be honest. The best RPGs I've played are both Final Fantasy VII and VIII. I also did play Grandia 2 before but didn't find it that good.