The PF ruleset is essentially 3E on crack, unless I'm missing something, and WotR would appear to be using the full load of rules plus supplements, which on one hand is cool for those among us of the nerdy pursuasion, but on the other hand is an absolute nightmare to get into for more casual people. And WotR is centered around taking that whole path from relative obscurity up to demigod level and eventually punching dragons on the nose when they misbehave, isn't it?
Looking back, neither BG1 nor BG2 nor PST were that kind of over the top "clash of the titans" combat simulators. ToB and the IWD games were, arguably, and that's probably why they are generally less fondly remembered than what I feel is the case for BG1, SoA, and Planescape Torment. The awesome part of those games was going around to different places and having that "party of adventurers on adventure" experience. The combat itself was something to do, but it was never the main focus. And particularly in BG1 and PST, it really wasn't that good, was it? It got your pulse up, it was a change of pace, but it wasn't the thing that kept one coming back.
Thus if that is ultimately where WotR is aiming, and given the PF rules and the 25 classes and the thousands of perks and whatnot I kind of suspect that to be the case, then I really don't see a Baldur's Gate title ever being serious competition. Crazy high level encounters is just not what the franchise is about, is it?
