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Baldurs Gate Review

First there was an extremely overly complex and comparatively unpopular board game called AD&D, but then the dawning of a new age came, Bioware walked a previously untrodden path, daring to venture where no developer had gone before and immortalise this board game in the form of a computer game. It was hailed as many to be the greatest RPG of all time, and every games magazine were in agreement that it was really ground-breaking for it's specific genre. This game was the masterpiece known as Baldurs Gate.

Even a few years later, now that it's sequel has been released and it's impact has worn off slightly, this is still a truly wonderful game. It takes place in the 'Forgotten Realm', a world filled with murderous backstabbing thieves and soldiers, mythical creatures and powerful mages. You are a single young man and after the death of your mentor - Orion - you are forced to venture across the large lands with just a couple of friends to assist you. The story progresses brilliantly as you get further and further through the game, with new plot twists coming into play, and questions answered as you go on.

To accompany the developing story you have character classes and levels, all of which can be totally customised at the start to give you the sort of fighter that you'd be most suited to. Your weapons vary with certain ones having different advantages and disadvantages, as well as having some great exotic, fairly abstract items which generally prove extremely useful in your quest.

So there's the foundation laid down, and already it should be fairly obvious that this game has great potential, and let me tell you right now in no uncertain terms that it fulfils all of it, as well as adding some excess brilliance.

Combat is done by use of the AD&D rules, although even players unfamiliar with them will soon be able to get acquainted with the friendly interface and the fairly basic procedure in battle. Although sometimes you need a lot of luck on your side to be victorious, it is generally a skilful affair, especially with the inclusion of various kinds of strategic magic. Everything that you'd expect is in there, along with some innovative spells which really spice up the game.

The animation of the characters as they fight these battles, or walk around the vast cities or maps, looks fairly simple, but in actuality they work incredibly well. It is no better than one would expect, but it's no worse either. The graphics compliment the animation perfectly, with the same sort of style of easy-on-eye visuals which don't try to be over-complex and thus achieve their primary aim of managing to look impressive. I sincerely doubt any awards will be given out for Baldurs Gate's graphics, but I'd be equally surprised if anyone complained.

Perhaps the greatest thing about the four-disk game is that it runs so smoothly on even the more dated computers. The battles never seem to suffer slow down, and the game never freezes during play. It all contributes to the excellence of this amazing RPG.

The final jewel in this games majestic metaphoric crown is the size of the epic quest. The world is huge and fairly non-linear, allowing you to burn hours upon hours of pure intensive gaming. It will take even the most advanced and experienced gamers a long time to complete this, as each of the disks really do have a lot of exploration required to complete them. The lifespan is seemingly endless, and the game never experiences dull moments, as it's an exhilarating ride all the way.

To try and describe Baldurs Gate using mere words would be an insult to this wonder, so I'm not even going to attempt it, but merely just order that you spend some of that hard-earned cash on it. You can pick it up for sub-£15 now-a-days with the inclusion of the Tales Of The Sword Coast expansion pack. Why are you still here? Go buy it!

Overall: 92%

Pros: · Huge quest · Great gameplay · Ground-breaking, must-own classic

Cons: · Looks and feels slightly dated compared to the sequel · Will prevent you from having any sort of social life!