Collector's Edition
Developer:BioWare Publisher: Interplay
Reviewed by Banshee on 01/29/01

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My first loyalty is always to my readers, who may be basing a purchasing decision on my objective review. For them, I stifled my personal enthusiasm for what is admittedly one of my two favorite games of all time and attempted to get into the cool white room that is my mental analytical space. In order to provide balance, I made a deliberate effort to look for flaws, and may have gone a tad overboard, perhaps even to the point of nitpicking in certain areas. As always, I recommend evaluating a demo for yourself prior to any purchase.

First Impressions:

Enough savoring: it was time to get down to installation of what may well be the largest single player game so far in the history of gaming.

Graphics:

The graphics for the 2D isometric perspective are truly beautiful. From the detailed mosaics to the masterful use of color in both lush and dreary environments, Baldur's Gate II is gorgeous. My husband and I often exclaimed to one another: "Did you see this?" It certainly proves that a 2D game can be just as spectacular as any 3D offering, but that's not news to fans of Myst, and, more recently, The Longest Journey.

This is not an objection to the current game, but if there is a future addition to the series, I have a suggestion regarding the paper dolls. I'd like to be able to select from a few options for each class, more along the lines of Neverwinter Nights' phenotype concept that was discussed in my interview with Brad Grier and Trent Oster. A little more diversity would be nice. I didn't much care for the pigtails on the female human fighter, and would like to have other choices. The current endeavor is fine for now, and I do approve of the fact that those playing female characters have the option of choosing a half-elf or elf if their character is less buxom, or a human or half-orc if their character is more full-figured. That kind of range is exactly what I like to see in games: if you want to play a character that's built like Arnold Schwarzenegger, great; if you'd rather play one that looks like Harry Potter, great. The more selections, the better the character mirroring, which can be very helpful in role-playing. Speaking of additional selections, I would like to have seen a few more portrait options as well. It was nice that they included the images from the previous game, but a few more would have been even better.

Sound/Music:

Top notch: the music is bombastic, dramatic and perfectly complementary. I play the theme even when I'm not playing the game. I know I gushed about the music during my preview, but I think it's meaningful that I didn't get sick of it during the many hours I spent with the game. The only reason I'm taking off a point is because the music and background sounds don't always seem balanced with the audible level of the NPC and PC speech in the game. Every now and then they're a bit hard to hear, even with the speakers turned up. Nevertheless, sound is a very nice feature of this game because of the customization available. I created my own sound pack for one of the characters I played, and it added a whole extra layer of depth to the game in terms of character identification for role-playing.

I also very much enjoyed the voice acting for many of the NPCs. David Warner's performance as Jon Irenicus is coolly arrogant and very effective, while Jennifer Hale's interpretation of Mazzy Fentan is worthy of mention. Some gamers may recognize her as the voice of Fall-From-Grace in Planescape: Torment, others may know her from her work on the Powerpuff Girls animated series. She does a fine job of portraying a character who has honor and noble ideals without being annoyingly pompous. The depth of the NPC characterizations adds a considerable amount of plot to the game and produces some rather poignant moments: I thought the result of Mazzy's quest for her missing comrades was especially well-acted.

Gameplay:

It took nearly an hour to do a full install on my system, then I spent another hour or so poking around fan sites to gather goodies like sounds and portraits. I made a few of my own during the process as well.

What can I say? Some may accuse me of bias in favor of the series, but the bias exists for a reason: it's a solid product. I fell in love with the first Baldur's Gate because of terrific game play, excellent character customization, a good interface and a fresh take on the RPG genre. It is hardly bias if substantial evidence exists as to why the series is so popular. The second game is even better. BioWare has refined and honed the good points and eliminated almost all of the bad points (pathfinding is greatly improved, but still a little rough at times on a low-end machine) while adding some nice new features.

One of the things I didn't mention in my preview of the game was the superlative design of the new areas and the geography in the game. The developers paid attention to fan feedback from the previous game, and it shows in the results they achieved. Locations are much more centralized: there's more to do in a given area so you're not just wandering through a big, empty game map to do one thing. At the same time, there are plenty of journeys to other places so it retains the proper feel of an epic adventure. It's the right balance. I never felt like an errand girl in this game the way I did occasionally in the first Baldur's Gate game, particularly on one quest involving a book in Beregost. Off the top of my head, I can't even think of a "Fed Ex" quest in BG II. Speaking of balance, I also appreciated the way imported characters from the first game were handled. It makes it worthwhile to play the first game for the increases in stats, for example, but such characters are not completely unbalanced compared to newly-generated ones because of the initial loss of items.

As stated in my preview, the revised interface for the journal and map functions are a major improvement. I also listed the many new class specializations. Familiars are still nifty; combined with strongholds, they add appreciable replay value in terms of experimenting with different character classes and alignments. I won't retread those bits in this piece. Suffice it to say that some of the new weapons are quite nice and that you should probably let one of your melee fighters dual-wield at least once so that you can enjoy the animation of a team member going in with swords blazing.

Earlier I mentioned some of the strong voice talent they got for the NPCs, but didn't tell you how much the game dynamic is enhanced by the dramatic change in the way NPCs are now utilized. They're not just little figures trotting along after you like dutiful dogs, nor do they have their moment in the spotlight for their quest and then just retreat into the background. They chat. They can have their fortunes told. They scold one another and you, sometimes, or give advice on what action your character should take. They're a social little bunch, something I personally enjoyed very much. I will tell you that I heard my husband say, "Oh, shut UP, Jaheira!" on more than one occasion, but I think that has more to do with Jaheira's personality than there being too much conversation overall. Speaking of NPC personalities, I know that Zoras pleads Anomen's case, and he's right, the character does get better, but even with that taken into account I'm just not convinced that all the annoyance was worth it. At times I was fairly convinced that they had named him Anomen as an abbreviation for "Annoying Man." More on this in the Marketing Efforts Towards Women section.

Rumor has it that all this is headed to the Playstation 2 very soon. No official word yet on an expansion or a sequel.

Enjoyment:

I've already addressed many of the nice features, but the packaging itself adds practical and aesthetic value to the software. For example, the excellent manual is no flimsy wisp of photocopied tree pulp, but a well-written, nicely-bound contribution that will enrich the game world for players who take the time to read it. I've already mentioned the cloth map as an especially handy extra for those of us with curious pets.

Again, as I've said, the game has surprisingly good replay value. Not only because of the numerous specializations for character classes, but also because of how the classes tie into strongholds. Each one produces a different series of quests depending on your character. Not to mention the well-written story that provides immediate immersion and involvement with the characters that are likely to accompany you on your travels.

A specific aspect of the Collector's Edition that affects game enjoyment is an extra vendor with special objects in the CE version. Actually, certain retailers also offered a bonus disk, so if you have both of those disks you get two extra retailers in the game, one in the Copper Coronet and one in the Adventurer's Mart. Joluv, in the Copper Coronet, offers items from Icewind Dale, while Dierdre (the CE CD merchant) in the Adventurer's Mart offers supplies from Planescape: Torment. While their absence will not prevent the player from completing the game, it is my opinion from comparing the preview without them and the final game with these goodies added that some of the items they have can be quite useful and make the game a bit easier. If you haven't picked it up, and if you can find a copy, I believe the Collector's Edition is actually worth the extra money. You see, anything that makes your character's existence in BG II easier is a good thing, because the game is quite tough. Some have actually criticized the game for being a bit too difficult in certain enemy encounters. While I certainly agree there are some very serious obstacles, I don't think I can really fault them for making the game challenging because they provided a difficulty toggle that allows players to adjust the encounter level on a case-by-case basis. True, it reduces your experience, but then again, there's always another monster to fight.

Multiplayer:

I don't quite know how to rate this because I wasn't able to test it properly. MPlayer doesn't handle machines coming through a firewall or proxy server at all, it seems. Direct TCP/IP didn't work properly, either. LAN play, on the other hand, worked just fine and was quite enjoyable. I detest MPlayer: their interstitial ads actually interfere with the usability of their interface, but the connection problems really lie with them and not with BG II, though I would recommend an alternative online intermediary choice in the future. I had a very negative experience with MPlayer: it feels very cheap and tawdry in many ways. I realize that ads pay the bills, but there is a positive way and a negative way of delivering them. Their current system significantly tarnishes the user experience, making it a relief to escape into the game. It is my understanding that GameSpy recently purchased MPlayer, so perhaps some changes will be forthcoming.

The multiplayer experience also depends on the other players, of course: if you have a good team that collaborates well, role-plays a bit if that's your thing and so on, it can be excellent. On the other hand, team members running around willy-nilly on their own can be frustrating when you're staring at the screen while another party member is clicking through dialogue.

It's another experience entirely to play a party of your own creation in multiplayer. I tested this and found it very appealing. I suppose it's somewhat narcissistic, but I enjoyed the experience of being able to try so many of the new character specializations simultaneously.

From what I've seen, the real limitation of the multiplayer experience is the length of the game. It would be ideal if you had a team of dedicated players that met regularly via MPlayer or perhaps once a week after work to play a LAN game, but you're asking for a tremendous time commitment even if you go straight through the basic story, not to mention doing side quests. There is a saying: almost anything is possible, but not everything is probable. I think it's unlikely that many groups would have the dedication to commit to regular sessions in this way. When you can get a group, it's fun seeing each individual shine in the character they've chosen to play, but overall I suspect that BG II's single player has more utility for most purchasers and is where the game truly shines. Still, from what I've seen of multiplayer, I can't classify it as a weak point because from what I have experienced in LAN play, it's very entertaining to have a group of sentient NPCs who can handle battle strategies without your assistance. I really wish it had worked with my network setup, and I hope that Neverwinter Nights and other future releases work better with shared internet connections. However, knowing previous connectivity situations with Vampire and other games, it would be unfair of me to penalize the game knowing that most games simply aren't as compatible as they could be. With this in mind, I will not assign a numeric rating to BG II's multiplayer.

Overall Impression:

This review could have been very short, but I don't think it would have made my WG bosses very happy if I just posted "one of the best games I've ever played," and left it at that. It is a massive adventure and a wholly immersive experience. One thing I found particularly fascinating and that provided additional comparative information for this review was watching my spouse play the game behind me. His experience, his route through the game was very different from my own, but just as intriguing. Additionally, he loved Diablo II, which is not my cup of tea. I've noticed that many people seem to either like action games (like the latter) or like RPGs, but few seem to care for both. It would produce poor data to extrapolate that my spouse's game preferences apply to a broad spectrum of gamers, but for those interested, I will mention that he was not engaged by the first Baldur's Gate but is completely addicted to BG II. Me, I'll openly admit that it was one of my most-anticipated games of 2000, and not only was I not disappointed, it exceeded my expectations in numerous ways.

Many of you reading this have seen my previous work and know that I'm not shy about raising a fuss or giving a bad review. However, I also try to give credit where credit is due. It is easy to praise a development team that has shown itself to be an industry leader and pacesetter. Baldur's Gate I was no fluke, and BG II is just that much better. There's a reason the team has received so many awards, and why they are often credited with revitalizing the RPG genre.

Overall, if you like RPGs, rush right out and buy it as a belated Christmas present or early Valentine's Day present for yourself, if you haven't already. It is a remarkable value. Consider this: if you pay $55.99 for the Collector's Edition, and get 300 hours of entertainment out of the contents, you've averaged about 19 cents an hour! Definitely cheaper than the movies. Also, if you liked Diablo II you may want to at least try the BG II demo. You may find that it suits you better than you might have guessed.

Marketing Efforts Towards Women:

This is the primary reason the game is receiving a 9.5 for game play, and not a 10. Over my shoulder I often heard the comments of Jaheira and Aerie almost feuding over my spouse's male NPC. I don't have to speculate, I know from observing his game that I missed a whole other facet and layer of richness simply because female characters only have one romance option (Anomen) in the game, and every female I know of who has played the game has complained about him. I have to agree: he is an annoying character. I find it highly unlikely that many females would find his arrogance attractive, and frankly think they're likely to ditch him early on because his personality is so grating. Yes, Zoras, he does improve. However, I think it's doubtful that very many people pursuing that option keep him long enough to find out. To be frank, I only kept him because I felt honor-bound to play an honest, non-cheating, straight game and to fully explore and test the romance option for WG readers. Without that duty, I would have tossed him from the party very quickly. This wouldn't be an issue if there were other options for female player characters, but there aren't, so it does affect game play for those who choose to play a female character.

On the other hand, as far as marketing efforts go, it is only fair to mention the fact that BioWare has been one of the most openly supportive developers I've encountered when it comes to the female gaming audience. Hey, it makes good business sense, and we certainly like it here! It is also worth mentioning that the game was probably at least halfway done by the time awareness of our specific audience was beginning to spread. Furthermore, on this series at least (I can't speak for others because I haven't played them), they have always been very equitable about offering a variety of roles for female characters, not to mention offering character portraits for multiple races, be they human, halfling, drow, or gnome. Every Baldur's Gate game has always had a female character option for race and class, which is fully in accordance with Dungeons & Dragons, and women and men both hold positive and negative positions in the games, so a healthy spectrum is represented. A few more comments on the marketing efforts toward women are covered in my preview.

Additionally, I believe they will continue to expand their commitment to making games that all their fans can enjoy fully, based on Dr. Ray Muzkya's recent comments to Stomped:

Stomped: What, in your opinion, was the single most encouraging trend in gaming that appeared this year and why?

Dr. Muzyka: I think that more women are playing games every year, and that there will hopefully eventually be gender equality (50/50 male/female) in our fan base.

With this in mind, I'll cut them a little slack. For now. But next time . . . ;) Nevertheless, any RPG fan worth his or her dice should not let this one detail keep them from purchasing the Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn Collector's Edition. It is a more than worthy heir from the keepers of the RPG throne.

Links:

GameFAQs
A nice walkthrough. It may lack the pretty pictures of the dead tree Versus guide, but the Versus guide quite frankly sounds like it was written by a horny thirteen-year-old male, not to put too fine a point on it. Some paraphrased quotes? "Nalia is nothing more than a fresh li'l hotty with an attitude." "It's okay if Anomen goes bad 'cause chicks dig bad boys." No, I'm not making these bits up. If that isn't your cup of tea and you like saving $15, I'd recommend this as a fine alternative if you're stuck and need a little assistance. If you prefer the convenience of not having to Alt-Tab out of the game or not having to use up your own paper, I have heard that Prima's strategy guide, available in Great Britain, is much better.

Game Zone
This link includes a list of what each bonus merchant sells. I did not include these lists here because I was trying to be careful about spoilers, so click this link at your own risk.