Info about Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition: Official game description: The Classic Adventure Continues ------------------------------- _Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition_ is the beloved RPG classic, enhanced for modern adventurers. Continue a journey started in _Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition_, or customize a new hero to forge your path. Campaign Content ---------------- The Enhanced Edition includes the original Shadows of Amn campaign, the Throne of Bhaal expansion, plus brand new challenges in the Black Pits II arena! * **Classic Campaign:** The Original Shadows of Amn Adventure * **Expansion:** Throne of Bhaal * **New Challenges:** The Black Pits II: Gladiators of Thay, arena style battles * **New Difficulty Setting:** Story Mode allows players to focus on story and exploration, rather than combat and survival Epic Characters --------------- * **11 Playable Classes** plus dozens of subclasses * **Recruit Classic Characters** like Minsc and his brave hamster, Boo! * **5 New NPCs:** Neera the Wild Mage, Dorn Il-Khan the Blackguard, Rasaad yn Bashir the Monk, Hexxat the Thief, and Wilson the Bear * **New player voice sets** to customize your hero * **Upload Characters** from _Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition_, or forge ahead with a brand new hero Classic Gameplay ---------------- * 2-D isometric graphics * Real-time-with-pause combat * Adapts 2nd Edition Dungeons & Dragons Rules Enhanced for Modern Platforms ----------------------------- * Hundreds of bug fixes and improvements to the original game * Native support for high-resolution widescreen displays * Cross-play multiplayer support for Windows, Linux, and macOS A Story-Rich RPG ---------------- Kidnapped. Imprisoned. Tortured. The wizard Irenicus holds you captive in his stronghold, attempting to strip you of the powers that are your birthright. Can you resist the evil in your blood and forsake the dark destiny that awaits you? Or will you embrace your monstrous nature and ascend to godhood as the new Lord of Murder? Release date: Nov 15, 2013 Categories: Role-Playing Game, Turn-based Tactical, Character Customization, Story-driven Gameplay, Party-based Combat, Real-time with Pause, Isometric Action-RPG, Dialogue-based Gameplay Feature scans: - Wiki: score 10; verdict: Needs Improvement; summary: The analysis of user feedback reveals several key issues impacting the user experience. Technical problems such as pathfinding issues and screen glitches are significant concerns, causing frustration and interruptions. Additionally, there is a notable dependency on external data sources like wikis and manuals, indicating a lack of sufficient in-game information. The need for external guides and instructions further highlights the game's inadequacy in providing comprehensive in-game guidance. - Steam Deck: score 60; verdict: Tinkering Required; summary: The analysis of user feedback for the Steam Deck experience reveals several key issues. Bugs and stability problems are significant concerns, with users reporting frequent crashes and lost progress. Compatibility and user interface issues are also noted, with users suggesting the need for updates to improve the Steam Deck experience. Control issues are another major point of frustration, with users finding the controls difficult and poorly explained. Additionally, graphical issues related to upscaling have been highlighted, resulting in blurred visuals. Despite these issues, some users have had positive experiences, particularly with the enhanced graphics and customizable font sizes. - Hardware Profile: No data Feature extractions: - Community Price: - Community fair range: $5.00 - $15.00 - Reasoning: The evidence suggests that the community generally finds the game to be a good value when purchased on sale. Multiple reviews mention that the game is worth buying at a discounted price, with specific mentions of $20 being too high and $5 being a more reasonable price point. The frequent sales are also highlighted as a good opportunity to purchase the game at a lower price. - Playtime Metrics: - Game completion: 130.0h - Story completion: 64.0h - Session length: N/A - Endgame: 20.0h - Reasoning: The evidence provides multiple data points on playtime. 'Dedique casi 130 horas a terminar la historia completa en la Enhanced edition' indicates a full playthrough including side content. 'It took me 64 hours to complete the main game, about half of which was doing side quests' gives a clear breakdown of main story vs. side content time. 'Playing through it really feels epic... my first playthrough, taking 120 hours was indeed, momentary, truly brutal...' suggests a comprehensive playthrough including endgame content. 'Comptez au moins une centaine d'heures pour faire Baldur's gate 2 correctement' reinforces the total playtime estimate. - Time-to-fun: - Summary: Baldur's Gate II has an initial learning curve and setup friction, but once past that, the combat and pacing make it enjoyable. - Stance: Fun after initial learning curve - Anchor: Completing initial setup and learning phase - Time to anchor: 1h 0m - Friction: Steep learning curve; Lack of clear guidance; Initial setup and configuration - Unlock drivers: Configuring auto-pause settings; Balancing spellbooks; Understanding combat strategies - Conditions: Playing in single-player mode; Appreciating deep storytelling; Enjoying tactical combat - Player Archetypes: - Newcomer Seeker (sale) - Motivation: Learning and experiencing the game for the first time. - Playstyle: Follows recommendations and guides to navigate the game. - Experience: newcomer - Purchase stance: sale - Labels: new player; first timer - Reference games: Baldur's Gate I; Baldur's Gate II - Nostalgic Veteran (buy) - Motivation: Re-experiencing a beloved game and its nostalgia. - Playstyle: Replays the game multiple times, often with different builds or strategies. - Experience: veteran - Purchase stance: buy - Labels: veteran; old-school player - Reference games: Baldur's Gate II - Modding Enthusiast (buy) - Motivation: Customizing and optimizing the game experience. - Playstyle: Uses mods to tailor the game to their preferences. - Experience: veteran - Purchase stance: buy - Labels: modder; enthusiast - Reference games: Baldur's Gate II - Role-Playing Immersionist (buy) - Motivation: Immersing themselves in the game world and story. - Playstyle: Creates detailed character backstories and engages deeply with the game's narrative. - Experience: mixed - Purchase stance: buy - Labels: role-player; story lover - Reference games: Baldur's Gate II; Dragon Age; Mass Effect Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category. Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews. What players like: - Acclaimed CRPG Masterpiece (weight 0.45): This game is widely regarded as one of the best CRPGs and RPGs ever made, setting the gold standard for the genre. It is praised for its deep and engaging role-playing mechanics, story, and overall quality. - Deep and Tactical Combat System (weight 0.3): The combat system is noted for its depth, tactical elements, and strategic complexity. It is based on Dungeons & Dragons mechanics and offers challenging and interesting combat encounters. - Engaging and Well-Written Story (weight 0.25): The game features a great story with a well-elaborated plot, engaging storyline, and excellent lore. It is praised for its complex and epic narrative, as well as its sense of humor. - Excellent Character Development (weight 0.21): The game is praised for its excellent character development, including well-developed companions and characters with deep dialogues, romances, and conflicts. - Enjoyable and Addictive Gameplay (weight 0.2): The game offers fun and addictive gameplay, with a high overall quality. Players find it very enjoyable and engaging, contributing to a good gameplay experience. - Improvements Over Previous Game (weight 0.18): The game is seen as an improvement over its predecessor, with enhancements in various aspects such as combat and gameplay mechanics. It builds on the foundation of the first game and is considered better in many regards. - Meaningful and Interesting Side Quests (weight 0.18): The game features many outstanding and meaningful side quests that are well-crafted and varied. These quests contribute to the depth and richness of the game world. - Enhanced Edition Improvements (weight 0.16): The Enhanced Edition of the game includes quality-of-life improvements, new content, and interface adjustments. These enhancements make the game more accessible and enjoyable. - Timeless and Enduring Quality (weight 0.13): Despite its age, the game still holds up well by modern standards. Its stories, characters, and overall quality remain good and enjoyable over time. - Rich World-Building and Fantasy Elements (weight 0.12): The game is rich in lore, secrets, and fantasy elements. It offers a diverse and abundant world with various places, characters, quests, items, and mechanics. - Beautiful and Updated Graphics (weight 0.1): The game features beautiful 2D graphics and an updated art style. The detailed and charming locations contribute to its visual appeal. - Charismatic and Unforgettable Characters (weight 0.09): The game features charismatic, legendary, and interesting characters that are unforgettable and add to the game's charm and appeal. - Variety of Enemies and Content (weight 0.09): The game offers a variety of enemies and content, including varied enemies and challenging difficulty. This contributes to its depth and replayability. Common complaints: - Outdated graphics and visuals (weight 0.33): The game's graphics are frequently criticized for being dated, blurry, and not having aged well. Many players find the visual quality unsatisfactory compared to modern standards. - Clunky and confusing interface (weight 0.23): The user interface is often described as clunky, confusing, and outdated, making it difficult for players to navigate and enjoy the game. - Outdated and inconvenient controls (weight 0.2): The controls are often described as awkward and inconvenient, especially when compared to modern games, making the gameplay experience less enjoyable. - Steep learning curve (weight 0.2): New players often struggle with the game's complex mechanics, including the combat system and character building. The high-level rules and intricacies can be intimidating and confusing. - Bugs and glitches (weight 0.16): The game is noted for having numerous bugs and glitches, which can disrupt gameplay and cause frustration among players. - Poor pathfinding AI (weight 0.14): The pathfinding AI is often unreliable and frustrating, leading to characters getting stuck or behaving unintelligently. - Criticism of Beamdog's changes (weight 0.11): Beamdog's changes and additions to the game have been criticized for varying quality and lack of support, impacting the overall experience. - Difficulty spikes and imbalances (weight 0.09): The game features severe difficulty spikes and inconsistent difficulty curves, which can disrupt progression and frustrate players. - Multiplayer issues (weight 0.05): Multiplayer gameplay is noted for being clunky and buggy, which can negatively impact the overall multiplayer experience. - Tedious inventory management (weight 0.04): Inventory management can become tedious and time-consuming, particularly without the use of mods, which can detract from the overall gameplay experience. - Disappearing quest items (weight 0.04): Players have reported issues with quest items disappearing, which can disrupt progression and cause frustration. - Save file issues (weight 0.04): The game has been criticized for issues related to save files, which can cause problems and disrupt the gameplay experience. - Localization issues (weight 0.04): There are reported issues with language changes and localization, which can affect the gameplay experience for non-native speakers. - Real-time-with-pause combat shortcomings (weight 0.04): The real-time-with-pause combat system has been criticized for its shortcomings, which can impact the overall combat experience. - Lack of clarity in progression (weight 0.04): The game has been criticized for not being clear about the steps needed to progress, and for having too many ways to perform actions that can hinder progression. - Review bombing due to external factors (weight 0.03): Some reviews seem to be more focused on external factors or personal frustrations rather than the game itself, indicating potential review bombing. Gameplay feedback: - Story and dialogue depth (weight 0.22): The game is praised for its story-driven and dialogue-rich gameplay. Players appreciate the in-depth RPG elements, including romance options and high-quality dialogue. - Turn-based and tactical combat (weight 0.18): Combat is turn-based with complex mechanics, requiring careful planning and strategic use of spells and traps. - Character development and interactions (weight 0.14): Characters are well-written and memorable, with significant development and frequent interactions with companions. - Real-time with pause combat (weight 0.11): The combat system features a real-time with pause mechanic, allowing players to strategize and plan their actions effectively. - Dungeons & Dragons mechanics (weight 0.1): The game is based on Dungeons & Dragons mechanics, featuring tactical combat and isometric RPG elements. - Quest variety and complexity (weight 0.1): The game offers a variety of quests, including high-level and timed quests, which drive the gameplay and provide depth. - Character customization (weight 0.08): Players can customize their characters extensively, including progression and various builds. - AD&D 2nd edition ruleset (weight 0.07): The game uses the AD&D 2nd edition ruleset, which may feel antiquated to some players. - Spellcasting mechanics (weight 0.06): The game features specific spell combinations and uses, adding depth to the combat system. - Party-based mechanics (weight 0.06): The game includes party-based mechanics and AI control, which can sometimes be game-breaking. - Multiplayer dynamics (weight 0.06): The game features multiplayer dynamics, adding to the overall gameplay experience. Performance notes: - Bugs and technical issues (weight 0.21): The game has various bugs, including minor bugs, multiplayer bugs, and technical shortcomings. Some reviews mention frequent crashes and model freezing bugs. - Enhanced graphics and visuals (weight 0.17): The game features enhanced graphics, improved visuals, and support for modern resolutions. However, some reviews mention that the graphics are dated and blurry but can be slightly improved with ReShade effects. - Smooth performance on modern machines (weight 0.11): The game runs smoothly and well on modern machines, including high-resolution widescreen support. Some reviews mention that it doesn't require high-end specs to run beautifully. - Interface and loading issues (weight 0.09): The game has interface adjustments and loading time issues. Some reviews mention problems with character loading and creation, as well as the game opening in window mode. - Improved pathfinding and stability (weight 0.08): The game has seen improvements in pathfinding and stability. However, some reviews still mention pathfinding issues and characters getting stuck. - Compatibility issues (weight 0.08): There are compatibility issues, particularly with Steam Deck and MAC configurations. Some reviews mention that the lowest configuration MAC struggles with certain games. - Save file and localization issues (weight 0.06): There are issues with save files and Japanese localization files. Some reviews mention black screens when alt-tabbing and occasional crashes during location transitions or dialogues. - Lack of support and updates (weight 0.02): There is a notable lack of support and updates for the game, which has led to some player dissatisfaction. Recommendations: - Highly recommended for RPG fans (weight 0.29): The game is frequently recommended for fans of RPGs, particularly those who enjoy deep, challenging, and expansive party-based RPGs. It is considered one of the best CRPGs and video games in general. - Recommended despite issues (weight 0.18): Many reviewers recommend the game despite its bugs and localization issues. They suggest that the improvements and community support make it worth playing. - Use of mods and guides (weight 0.09): Reviewers recommend using mods and online guides to enhance the gameplay experience, especially for new players. - Play the first game first (weight 0.06): Several reviews suggest playing the first game in the series before playing this one for an enhanced experience and better understanding of the story. - Rich role-playing and party dynamics (weight 0.05): The game is praised for its rich role-playing elements and excellent party dynamics, making it a standout in the RPG genre. - Historical significance in RPG gaming (weight 0.04): The game is considered a historical peak in RPG gaming, offering one of the richest narrative experiences in the genre. - Buy it on sale (weight 0.04): Some reviewers recommend buying the game on sale to get the best value for money. - Strategic combat (weight 0.03): The game features strategic combat that is challenging and engaging, appealing to fans of tactical gameplay. - Start on Normal/Core Rules (weight 0.02): New players are advised to start on Normal or Core Rules difficulty for a balanced and enjoyable experience. - Bundle for great value (weight 0.02): Reviewers suggest bundling the game with other titles for a great value, making it a cost-effective purchase. - Read related books (weight 0.02): Fans of D&D are recommended to read 'BioWare: Stories and Secrets from 25 Years of Game Development' for additional insights and enjoyment. Other player notes: - Loyal fanbase and nostalgia (weight 0.05): The game has a dedicated following, with players owning multiple versions and expressing nostalgia. Emotions: - Nostalgia (weight 0.3): Players feel nostalgic due to the game's classic status and enduring legacy, often reminiscing about personal experiences and memories associated with playing it over many years. The game's rich story, memorable characters, and the fact that it has aged well contribute to this sense of nostalgia, with many players recalling their childhood and the impact the game has had on their lives. - Frustration (weight 0.16): Players experience frustration primarily due to technical issues, bugs, and outdated game mechanics. Difficulty spikes, complex rules, and poor controls also contribute to this frustration, making the game challenging to navigate and enjoy. - Satisfaction (weight 0.08): Players feel satisfied with the game's overall quality, depth, and improvements over the original. The satisfying conclusion to the saga, deep and tactical combat, and good storytelling contribute to this sense of satisfaction. - Admiration (weight 0.07): Players admire the game for its timeless quality, great story, and character development. The game's depth, replayability, and the fact that it stands the test of time contribute to this admiration. - Excitement (weight 0.06): Players are excited about the game's depth, richness, and engaging combat system. The interesting story, improvements over the first game, and the epic adventure contribute to this excitement. - Joy (weight 0.06): Players experience joy from the game's immersive experience, character interactions, and the satisfaction of overcoming challenges. Positive memories and the game's status as a favorite after many years also contribute to this joy. - Disappointment (weight 0.06): Players feel disappointed due to the game's shallow and linear story, lack of meaningful dialogue options, and the quality of the Enhanced Edition. The game not living up to expectations and certain expansions being disappointing also contribute to this feeling. - Enjoyment (weight 0.05): Players enjoy the game's rich content, deep combat mechanics, and engaging storyline. The abundance of quests, interesting characters, and the game's setting contribute to this enjoyment. - Appreciation (weight 0.05): Players appreciate the game's narrative, character development, and overall quality. The updated graphics, quality of life changes, and the game's depth contribute to this appreciation. - Enthusiasm (weight 0.03): Players are enthusiastic about the game's high quality, rich universe, and engaging combat system. The game's status as the best RPG of all time and the fun gameplay contribute to this enthusiasm. - Gratitude (weight 0.01): Players express gratitude towards the game developers and the modding community. The game's improvements and community support contribute to this sense of gratitude. - Love (weight 0.01): Players love the game for its original content, characters, and world-building. The game's status as a classic and the personal connections players have with it contribute to this love. - Anger (weight 0.01): Players feel angry about specific aspects of the game, such as the quality of additional content and characters, as well as the lack of support and updates from Beamdog. - Happiness (weight 0.01): Players feel happy due to the game's addictive gameplay, beautiful art style, and the joy of playing in a group. The game's fun and engaging nature contribute to this happiness. - Amusement (weight 0.01): Players are amused by the game's chaotic and dynamic nature, as well as specific characters like the half-orc Dorn. The game's humorous elements and unique character interactions contribute to this amusement. - Entusiasmo (weight 0.01): Players express enthusiasm for the game's good story and recommend its purchase. The game's engaging narrative and positive experiences contribute to this enthusiasm. - Hate (weight 0): Players express hate towards the changes made by Beamdog, feeling that these changes have negatively impacted the game. - Boredom (weight 0): Players feel bored due to the main storyline and repetitive dragon fights, which make the game feel monotonous. - Sadness (weight 0): Players feel sad as the adventure comes to an end, reflecting on the impact of the official canon ending on characters and their personal journey.}