The Inside Scoop on Gaming

To say that I am not a fan of AD&D would be an understatement. But for some reason Baldur's Gate really worked for me. It is a fantastic game.

The graphics are lush and you get immersed into the game environment. The cities are detailed and each is unique and stands out. Baldur's Gate for its size. Nashkell for the fair and the mine. The list goes on. However the places in cities could have been better labeled with-in the game. Makes for a little more needless running around. It would have been nice to have a run option for tooling around.

Unlike many games you accually have to explore the Sword Coast to find lairs, towns and other locals. It is not as bad as you would think. Basically there are adventuring areas that border one another and it only takes maybe a minute to get across one without dilly-dallying. Each area usually has a number of side quests, which makes the game that much more enjoyable.

Character creation is a breeze and you only have to create one character, you will pick up more on the way. The only weakness in the game so far as characters are concerned is the variety of NPC's that join your party. Towards the middle and end of the game I would have given almost anything for a thief/magic user or a fighter/magic user. Get used to having lots of thieves and a fair number of clerics as companions. However if you look around enough you can find the right party miz for you. For myself it was 2 rangers, 1 fighter/thief, 1 Paladin, 1 magic user and 1 cleric. It worked pretty well.

The game engine is its biggest strenth and weakness. If you love AD&D the game plays just like the normal version. But if you dislike the linear aspects of the AD&D system, you might feel frustrated with the character limitations. It is an age old argument. Like I said the game runs well.

The combat is fast an furious and a greta deal of damage can be dealt out. It is turn based but unless you pause the game, it runs in real time. Characters can either be directly commanded by the player or have scripts which dictate their actions (i.e. shoot missile weapons, cast spells then run away, etc.). It is a nice blend of real time and turn based systems.

The plot is fantastic and unlike other heralded games in the previous year, you have not seen this plot before. The game is somewhat non-linear in the fact many of the quests are either optional or do not have to be done in order. Of course should you solve a side quest and come upon the person who sends your party on it can be a little incongruous...but then you just talk to them again and you get your reward and exp. One minor gripe about the game is the fact that there is not a huge variety of magic items...of course that makes you really value the good ones that you come across.

The variety of monsters is nice. Unlike psuedo-CRPGs such as Diablo, each monster usually has its own graphic. Some atctics work well on monsters, some don't. Fighting magic users is a pleasant challenge, since they use the same nasty spells your characters do.

The magic looks nice and translated well into the game. Spells go off in fantastic colors and effects! Also there are a ton of spells availiablt to the spells casters, which is refreshing. Although the designers could have included a few more fourth level spells. It's a minor complaint.

The multi-player feature is probably one of the most touted features of the game and wound up being the weakest. After toying with multi-player I found it to be somewhat slower paced and sort of frustrating. Especially since if a character talks to an NPC, the whole game pauses. However after a 100 plus hours of playing I have not felt the need to seriously play multi-player Baldur's Gate.

The tutorial is weak and might turn off many players experienced or not. It doe saccoplish getting used to the game interface, but it could have been better flowing. Once you get past the tutorial Baldur's Gate will get you hooked.

When the computer game rags nominate best CRPG of the year, I think Baldur's Gate is going to be the one to beat. It is simply fantastic. And thats coming from someone who does not enjoy AD&D!

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Baldur's Gate
Author: Bioware Category: CRPG Company/Publisher: Interplay Cost: $49.99 Page count: n/a Capsule Review by Wes Johnson on 01/28/99. Genre tags: Fantasy	To say that I am not a fan of AD&D would be an understatement. But for some reason Baldur's Gate really worked for me. It is a fantastic game. The graphics are lush and you get immersed into the game environment. The cities are detailed and each is unique and stands out. Baldur's Gate for its size. Nashkell for the fair and the mine. The list goes on. However the places in cities could have been better labeled with-in the game. Makes for a little more needless running around. It would have been nice to have a run option for tooling around. Unlike many games you accually have to explore the Sword Coast to find lairs, towns and other locals. It is not as bad as you would think. Basically there are adventuring areas that border one another and it only takes maybe a minute to get across one without dilly-dallying. Each area usually has a number of side quests, which makes the game that much more enjoyable. Character creation is a breeze and you only have to create one character, you will pick up more on the way. The only weakness in the game so far as characters are concerned is the variety of NPC's that join your party. Towards the middle and end of the game I would have given almost anything for a thief/magic user or a fighter/magic user. Get used to having lots of thieves and a fair number of clerics as companions. However if you look around enough you can find the right party miz for you. For myself it was 2 rangers, 1 fighter/thief, 1 Paladin, 1 magic user and 1 cleric. It worked pretty well. The game engine is its biggest strenth and weakness. If you love AD&D the game plays just like the normal version. But if you dislike the linear aspects of the AD&D system, you might feel frustrated with the character limitations. It is an age old argument. Like I said the game runs well. The combat is fast an furious and a greta deal of damage can be dealt out. It is turn based but unless you pause the game, it runs in real time. Characters can either be directly commanded by the player or have scripts which dictate their actions (i.e. shoot missile weapons, cast spells then run away, etc.). It is a nice blend of real time and turn based systems. The plot is fantastic and unlike other heralded games in the previous year, you have not seen this plot before. The game is somewhat non-linear in the fact many of the quests are either optional or do not have to be done in order. Of course should you solve a side quest and come upon the person who sends your party on it can be a little incongruous...but then you just talk to them again and you get your reward and exp. One minor gripe about the game is the fact that there is not a huge variety of magic items...of course that makes you really value the good ones that you come across. The variety of monsters is nice. Unlike psuedo-CRPGs such as Diablo, each monster usually has its own graphic. Some atctics work well on monsters, some don't. Fighting magic users is a pleasant challenge, since they use the same nasty spells your characters do. The magic looks nice and translated well into the game. Spells go off in fantastic colors and effects! Also there are a ton of spells availiablt to the spells casters, which is refreshing. Although the designers could have included a few more fourth level spells. It's a minor complaint. The multi-player feature is probably one of the most touted features of the game and wound up being the weakest. After toying with multi-player I found it to be somewhat slower paced and sort of frustrating. Especially since if a character talks to an NPC, the whole game pauses. However after a 100 plus hours of playing I have not felt the need to seriously play multi-player Baldur's Gate. The tutorial is weak and might turn off many players experienced or not. It doe saccoplish getting used to the game interface, but it could have been better flowing. Once you get past the tutorial Baldur's Gate will get you hooked. When the computer game rags nominate best CRPG of the year, I think Baldur's Gate is going to be the one to beat. It is simply fantastic. And thats coming from someone who does not enjoy AD&D! Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 4 (Meaty)