Baldur's Gate

You know, they say to consider certain points in a review. Why I bought the game, for instance. Problem is, I honestly don't remember. I heard about it from somewhere, thought it sounded quite interesting, and bought it. It turns out it was an excellent purchase, because I was hooked from the start, and I stayed hooked.

I've never been a roleplaying person, at least not in the typical sense. Dungeons and Dragons never once interested me. I read a couple of books related to D+D, but still had no interest. When I found Baldur's Gate, that changed somewhat. I still don't do table top roleplay, but I do a bit online, as well as in computer games.

What I really like about this game is the ability to choose your own path. If you play it once, it's still cool to play again, because everything can change. I admit, the major quests remain the same, but the way you can go about them is always different. I like the choices given for type of character, and race, as well as if they should be good or evil. It makes the game more interesting when you can go through it with a character no one will like.

I spent a lot of hours playing BG, and I was always totally into it. I'd be on the edge of my seat in trap infested rooms, or gripping the mouse tight when I didn't know what came next. My system is not top of the line, I don't have all the wonderful sound and graphics cards that are available. However, it still looked wonderful to me. Each different screen was a joy to explore, the different creatures I came across challenging each in their own way. The variety was wonderful, I would hate to go through the game killing the same thing over and over again. Each chapter in the book of Baldur's Gate brought new challenges, and new places to go. Infiltrating the bandit camp and then killing everyone off was great, in my opinion. Better yet, I had a choice in the matter. I could have gone without joining the bandits.

Anyway, graphics have now I'm sure gotten even better, but I still like what I see when I play. They have a good soundtrack going, different voices for everyone and plenty of variety. The story line is interesting, and it wasn't until the end that I had it all completely figured out. I liked that part, because I hate knowing exactly what will happen. And I was impressed that the last guy was difficult, more son than the others, but at least he was still able to be finished off. I've given up on games before because I just couldn't finish a character, no matter what I tried. Cheating would be my only option, and it's one I choose not to take.

I haven't been able to get Baldur's Gate 2 yet, but I don't mind so much. I'm still enthralled with the original, and the Tales of the Sword Coast add-on. It'll be a while before I get sick of it, and then I'll have a whole new set of adventures to go on with the sequel. I look forward to it.