Except that there was coop MP in BG 1 and 2, my GF at the time and I spent countless hours playing it over LAN.
(...)
The Bhaalspawn saga is done for. Why do I keep getting "not the Warden" vibes here? Because it's not the Bhaalspawn? I mean, the exact arguments you're trying to use here are the same arguments made to imply that Dragon Age 2 wasn't a Dragon Age game, as well as Dragon Age Inquisition. I was there for all of that. We even had "Mass Effect is Shepard's story" things for Andromeda... That series made a lot of changes between each iteration. It's nice that you've chosen to assign the intent of the developers, but can you provide any links to where they said they were replacing the original games, or is this another half-baked argument offered up because that's how you feel about it?
I feel I am not expressing myself clearly. I said BG3 has different focus than BG1&2, which it does, not that it has features that don't belong in BG game.
I also made clear that story continuation is less relevant, as the story was completed in Throne of Bhaal. "Not the Warden" is the complete opposite of what I said.
Dragon Age tell self contained stories, so also no need for direct continuation.
As to BG3 "replacing" originals I meant nothing by it really. Numbered entries generally aim to make a better game than the previous release. That's kinda the point, take a previous release and make it better or update it. If you make a sequel and it doesn't overshadow the original, than something went wrong, no?
And of your argument will be that Baldura Gate3 is too different to compete directly with the originals.... Than we are back to the argument that it is not really a sequel, is it.
Sequels very rarely overshadow the originals though. Even with BG 1 and 2, there are factions that believe one or the other is the better game. That's fairly subjective because of why one is better than the other. Is it better because there were higher character levels, for example. I prefer 1 to 2, but I have an unhealthy amount of hours dedicated to both. However, my point was more that you can have a continuation of a series w/out having to directly tie to any one thing in the series. Dragon Age continued, and will continue, a central narrative. That's not strictly available here, since the initial story has been concluded, barring any retcons, which I hope doesn't happen. However, closer to my point, is the fact that the Bhaalspawn events weren't the only thing going on in the Forgotten Realms. We're being provided with persons and locations that do tie in to the first two games, the first one for sure, and so, I don't see using the name as just a marketing ploy. Sure, there's some marketing involved, but as I said earlier, WotC/Hasbro are way too hands on to just let Larian do whatever they want with the IP.
