Originally Posted by CMF
So bought BG1&2 EE on steam cause it was on sale.

I understand it is an old game, but my nostalgia glasses are screaming at me that there was better gameplay in 1998. Diablo or Starcraft arguably had a similar static isometric view and felt better in interface (just a little feedback on how people on here mentioned they felt the interface now is bad and they wanted something similar to the old interface)

Graphics wise, again about standard for the time, but surprised at how little they pushed the boundaries. Static tile maps, ends in hard square bounding edges, little to no 3d layering. This was a time when 3d cards were becoming mainstream and you had games like halflife and quake3, metal gear solid. Different genres but you also had final fantasy tactics which, while turn based, had rotating battle cameras on tile based combat fields and elevation/z-axis.

I also saw feedback on here on how the character portraits are lifeless and they wanted more realistic portraits like in bg1&2...those are straight up cartoons. Saw feedback asking for more banter and "chirp" responses when clicking on characters or doing actions.....I got tired of hearing my character say "on it" after about 5 minutes of clicking on things.....

I have not gotten vary far, going to keep playing bg1 and hopefully bg2 will have drastic improvements over the first, but I feel the nostalgia glasses are a little strong for the die hards on here hating the current bg3 game...sorry frown


The isometric perspective and the non layered environments were a feature, not a bug. The entire game was designed to look and feel as though you were playing with minis on a table top, not playing in a living world. Hence why you had voice over narration like a DM and other such details. It was made to appeal not to people who like video games, but rather to people who liked Dungeons and Dragons.

You can't just download a twenty year old game and hope to have the experience of people who played in 20 years ago when it was new. Nothing is timeless, everything ages. Tastes and standards change. I loved the original Deus Ex, it was probably the game that most informed the way I appreciate and play games, but there have been so many advancements since it debuted that it is all but unplayable any more. The original titles weren't perfect, but they improved with every iteration. . .Except NwN2 which, well, it tried anyway. . .What most people I have seen here are asking here is for a game inspired by the best of what Baldur's Gate tried to do because in spite of all of its faults it did do some things quite well. Specifically its emphasis on story. Even minor items had descriptions that suggested those things too had history and experiences worth knowing. By all means look at it with a critical eye, but try and temper it with a little charity when it is deserved.

Last edited by DistantStranger; 31/10/20 09:28 AM.