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Baldur's Gate (Mac)

Baldur's Gate (Mac)

List Price:
Your Price: $19.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Why Diablo II doesn't compare
Review: I bought D II first. I played it and I liked it. The improvements from Diablo were good and I was pleased. Then a few days later Baldur's Gate came in the mail. Holy geez! As a computer gamer, I was impressed. But as a long-time RPG fanatic, I was blown away. A game like this could replace the traditional RPG. Listen to this, you generate your Player Character just like you would in an RPG, no having to chose from a standard 5 PCs as you must in D II. And you can customize the actual appearance of your PC. Not only that, but you must think. It's not your typical hack-and-slash game. Those of you who are bitter about the late arrival, well, GET OVER IT.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Blown away
Review: Bang for the buck! This game has kept me rapt for hours.I haven't finished but am going to play it again with a new character once it's over. There is SO MUCH to explore. I can't wait for another version to come to MACs. Much better than Hack & Slash and I enjoyed it more than Myth II. Although a combination of them both would be even better. One problem is limited items that the player can carry. They should allow more items. I like that you need to think about it and figure out options to violence to solve the problems in certain places.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Can't get the right software...
Review: I haven't had the chance to play this game yet. It shipped originally with the software for the expasion pack: tales of the sword coast. Tales is a supplement to Baldur's Gate, located on cd 6 (along with the installer for Baldur's Gate). This game is shipping with only the first five cds so I can't even install it. I have returned it twice and have finally asked for a refund.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Baldurs Gate Arrives
Review: The long awaited Macintosh version of BG has arrived and it is fantastic. I am running the game on a Graphite IMac with 128MB of RAM. The graphics and sound are excellent, 24bit runs faster than 32bit. The game ships on 5 CD-ROMs and is only available (at this time) as a single-user game. The multi-user game should be out in 4 to 6 weeks. The game loaded in about 2 minutes under easy install. If you like following the AD&D print rules (2nd edition) you are really going to love this game.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: This game rocks!
Review: When Baldur's Gate was (finally) ported to the mac, I bought it and haven't stopped playing it. Anyone who was/is/will be into D&D will love this game. It runs great on my G3 upgraded mac, and a factory G3 or G4 ought to make it fly. Very good job on graphics and adaptation of 2nd edition D&D Advanced rules.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Classic game
Review: This classic game, was first in the series and one of the most enjoyable.

Good game play.

Good strategy

The draw back is the cap on experience.

I have replayed it a couple of times and enjoyed it each time.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The mother of all computer RPGs
Review: The Baldur's Gate franchise is the most popular single-player RPG series out there for good reasons, even though it's been a few years since its release. While more recent Black Isle games, notably Icewind Dale II, have vastly improved graphics and interface and others like Neverwinter Nights have changed the playing field entirely, BGII stands out for its tremendous scope and exceptional depth. BGII's complexity, intertwining subplots and host of myriad characters are enough to constitute a novel, one which you get to shape and play out instead of merely reading. To me that's the essence of RPG that few others have been able to capture. Reinforcing this feeling, at many points in the game you must make decisions that have far-reaching consequences. Furthermore, you can also complete many quests using the good or evil approach. You may decide how to proceed based on whether you want to be good or evil; there are non-player characters (NPCs) of both alignments ready to assist you.

BGII's strongest asset is its quests. While some quests are short and easily completed, most are substantial, highly interesting, and many engender their own sub-quests. For instance, one quest requires you to infiltrate a thieves guild suspected of treason; to gain their trust, you must finish several tasks for them; after you gather evidence of their treason, you're asked to go back and eliminate the guild leader; if you're successful, you then have the option of becoming the new leader and manage your own guild. It's possible to finish the game doing only the minimum handful of quests, but you'd be missing a big part of the game. Similarly, it's almost impossible to complete all quests in one run, because the quests you get depend on the decisions you make. For instance, you can side either with the thieves' guild or the rival vampires' guild, each of which comes with its own storyline and quests. Most of the quests are initiated at the beginning of the game in Athkatla. Subsequently, quests become smaller and more linear.

Characters are tightly intertwined with quests. Since you start off with only one player, you should add additional characters to your party. Characters range from elven cleric/wizard to human ranger/stalker. Some are carry-overs from BG1. Some are found only if you accept certain quests, and some come with their own quests. You can interact with virtually any character in the game. Each character has his/her own history, alignment, and personality. From time to time, characters in your party will initiate dialogues with you and with one another, most with some amount of actual voice dialogue. Some interactions are quite funny; I've chuckled many times with Minsc and Jan in my party. One feature that I suspect to be very popular is romance with characters in your party. If you meet certain conditions, a male player can romance with one of three female NPCs and a female player can romance with one male NPC. Romance are simply additional dialogues that you go through during lulls between battles. They don't add significantly to the plot, but they're an extra dimension that adults may appreciate.

A new feature in BGII is the "stronghold". The stronghold you get depends on your class. For instance, the fighter stronghold is a keep outside of Athkatla, while the thieves stronghold is a guild headquarter in the Docks district. Strongholds are gained after you complete a certain quest; they generate gold for your coffers and come with their own mini-quests at intervals. They're not essential to the story, but they add immensely to the illusion of role-playing. Another great new feature is familiars, small pet-like creatures that follow you and obey your orders. There are many tricks you can do with familiars, but mostly they're just cool to have.

If you haven't played BG1, the premise is that you're the illegitimate child of Bhaal, the God of Murder. After you defeated your nemesis at the end of BG1, your party was ambushed and taken prisoner. You wake up in a dark dungeon and find yourself tortured and apparently experimented upon by an unknown wizard. The game begins as the dungeon are invaded by hooded assailants and you are released. Now you must fight your way out of the dungeons and discover the identity of your captor and thwart his nefarious plan. You will explore the vast city Athkatla as well as travel to many exotic destinations such as an extra-planar prison, an underwater Sahuagin city, the Underdark, the elven city Suldanessellar, even the Nine Hells! There are innumerable dungeons and ruins along the way for your to explore. If any game is able to truly capture the dungeon exploring feel of D&D, this is it!

You'll encounter a virtual encyclopedic list of monsters, including golems, vampires, liches, beholders, mind-flayers, werewolves, demons, and dragons. Some are immensely powerful and require much tactical planning on your part. Mastering spells and understanding their effects and limitations are a must. This is a hard task as there are 300 spells of all types in the game. Enemy spellcasters have powerful magical protections that make them virtually invincible. However, every protection spell has some form of counter. To successfully attack them, you must use the appropriate counter-spells to weaken their defense. Game play is fast and furious. Battles are not as large as those in IWD2 and are more oriented toward magical duelling, which is equally if not more fun.

The sprite graphics and animations are unspectacular by modern standards, but they are no longer noticeable once you become immersed in the game. Background graphics is gorgeous eye-candy, however, particularly the Sahuagin city, the Underdark, and Suldanessellar. The soundtrack and voice-over work are superb.

BGII has very high-replay value thanks to its breadth and richness. If you like RPG games, this one is a must-have.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Throne of Excellence
Review: The combined talents of Bioware and Black Isle Studios have done it again. The Throne of Bhaal expansion (which hardly feels like an expansion) brings many more entertaining hours of BG gameplay to the already spectacular product of Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn. If you are considering of buying the Throne of Bhaal expansion, you probably already enjoy Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn immensely. And if that is the case, I highly recommend this product for any BG fan. There are three whole new chapters added to the game's story to bring a wondrous conclusion the Bhaalspawn saga, as well as a large dungeon known as Watcher's Keep that can be accessed at any time. I found every new area with all the high-level foes very challenging. The voices, sound and music were top-notch. The graphics aren't very different from what you have seen in the original BGII, but they still strike me as being richly detailed and beautiful to behold. I did not find this expansion short one bit. (It is an expansion after all, not an entirely new game) The price for this product was very fair considering all the many hours I spent returning to the Sword Coast and battling enemies with god-like power. And as you finish the expansion and watch as the Bhaalspawn Saga comes to a close, you reflect back on the simple beginnings in Candlekeep and all the journeys and adventures that took you to this point. If you've been a fan of the Baldur's Gate games from the beginning, it'll be a sad but satisfying experience to see it end.

My hats off you to hardworking folks at Bioware and Black Isle Studios... There are few games out there that I love as much as this series. Lets hope you guys continue to release quality products that raise the expectations of RPGs for years to come.

"Wherever evil treads, Minsc treads louder!!"

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Better games on the way
Review: I waited and waited and WAITED for this game, and yes, I did get some enjoyment out of it. The graphics are beautiful, and the quests/encounters are generally top-notch.

But there are quite a few drawbacks... 1. The characters move slowly and constantly bump into each other/go the wrong way. Compared to Diablo II, this is incredibly frustrating! Yes, you can jiggle with the AI, and I encourage it, and yes, you can pick up boots of speed, but it's a big problem with all the terrain you have to explore.

2. For my taste, there's too much hokey humor. A stuttering, chicken-out fighter? And one who loves his "space hamster?" Come on. A little bit goes a long way.

3. It's based on 2nd Ed rules. If you're unhappy with the new system, by all means, go for it. I much prefer the sleek and adaptable new system.

Also, why settle for BG or BG2 when Neverwinter Nights is on the way, based on 3rd Ed? And Diablo II (already available) and its expansion, which use their own nicely-tuned system?

Lastly, developers, let's get those Mac/Linux ports out faster next time, eh?

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Baldur's Gate II: Outstanding and Impressive
Review: This game is an absolute godsend. As stated in the first review I ever did on Amazon, I was not a fan of the role playing genre before this series came along. Since then, it has been a marriage made in heaven. Of course, my better half does not appreciate the time I spend with this series of games. Warning: Could Lead To Divorce!!!

In BGII you are a descendant of the god Bhaal. This leads to your kidnapping and torture at the hands of Irenicus. The story develops from this premises. You will find many positives to this game including: 1) Partial use of AD&D 3rd edition rules. 2) Inclusion of kits for the main classes of characters which leads to specialization 3) The ability to import your character from BGI 4) Massively improved graphics 5) Inclusion of Monk, Sorcerer and Barbarian classes 6) 200+ hours of game play 7) Romantic involvement with some of the other characters (Aerie, Viconia, Jaheira and for female player characters, Anomen) 8) Interface is extremely easy to use 9) Inclusion of characters from BGI such as Imoen, Minsc and Jaheira 10) Ability to gain a stronghold with specialty quests from that stronghold (I have used the fighter stronghold and the mage stronghold so far, but there are also strongholds for a Paladin, Ranger, Druid, Cleric, Theif, and Bard, each with special quests) 11) A lot of replayability as there are so many different character classes to explore. 12) High experience point cap which allows for example, a mage to use and memorize up to 8th level spells. 13) Multitudes of magical items including Vorpal and Holy Avenger blades, Ring of Wizardry, Armor forged from the scales of Dragons you kill, Bag of Holding and other items that can be forged from items that are found across the quest. 13) High level legendary monsters.

This game is an absolute must have for the RPG fan. It beats Diablo II hands down. Be prepared to think as there are many options open to the character and each choice can lead to unforseen consequences. Be prepared to fight as you are bound to run across a legendary creature or two. Be prepared to romance with one of the aforementioned characters. Be prepared to eat at your computer. By the way, what exactly is sleep? This is THE BEST RPG on the market!!!


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