Product Description: Return to Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn and unravel the mysteries of a dangerous new dungeon - Watcher's Keep. Continue with an exhilarating new adventure when you explore the unseen lands of Tethyr, encounter fierce villains, and gain powerful high-level abilities as you achieve your ultimate destiny in...Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal.
Amazon.com Review: BioWare's Baldur's Gate II is the game that keeps on giving. Already one of the most massive role-playing games in memory--especially if you add the original Baldur's Gate and Tales of the Sword Coast expansion pack--the Baldur's Gate series has provided, easily, 300 hours of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Second Edition role-playing genius. Now, just when you've got your life back, and, maybe, finished BGII, the company goes and releases the new BGII expansion pack Throne of Bhaal.
BGII is already so huge one might wonder why you would need or want an expansion. Is it because there are hordes of additional monsters to fight, a couple new classes and kits to explore (the Wild Mage, for example), new treasures and artifacts, new quests and dungeons, and the ability to reach an unprecedented 40th level? Well, yes, those are pretty much the reasons why. Why wouldn't you want to meet strange new creatures, unleash strange new spells, and listen to even more bizarre voice acting from the lovable Minsc? But the real reason to get this one is to see the massive story finally reach a conclusion. There won't be a Baldur's Gate III folks, and Throne of Bhaal lets you see the fate of the character that debuted as Gorion's young ward so many years ago in the original Baldur's Gate.
This is an expansion, not a sequel, and thus the game mechanics and animation are pretty much the same as in Baldur's Gate II. With no new animation, save the new spells, and only a handful of new beasts, this game doesn't innovate--it adds to the overall experience. Naturally, it's fully playable in multiplayer mode, and you can start anew with one of the new classes or continue with your old character. --Andrew S. Bub
Pros:
More, more, more of the bestselling Baldur's Gate experience
A fitting conclusion to the epic story line
Cons:
Same tried-and-true gameplay, which makes it feel dull at times
After 200 hours of BGII, do we need more?
Amazon.com Product Description: Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal, the add-on pack to Baldur's Gate II, expands and enriches the gameplay experience by adding several new locations, high-level spells, and powerful new characters to the Baldur's Gate II game. Set in the Forgotten Realms campaign world of Dungeons & Dragons, Throne of Bhaal is the ultimate conclusion of the Baldur's Gate legend, as gamers fulfill their destiny as the child of Bhaal, god of murder.
Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal takes players through an all-new story line, rich with intrigue and treachery, as they unravel the mysteries of the Dungeon of Watcher's Keep and explore other new areas, such as the City of Saradush, the Fortified Monastery of Amkethran, Sendai's Underdark Fortress, and the player's own Abyssal Stronghold. Throughout their journey, characters may reach up to level 40, made possible with a raised experience cap of 8 million points, quite possibly the highest level ever achieved by characters in any Advanced Dungeons & Dragons computer game. Also included in the quest are more than 40 powerful high-level spells and abilities. The Wild Mage Character Kit will also be added to the already extensive class list, allowing gamers to create a powerful new character able to cast spells, with very unpredictable results.
Baldur's Gate II players will be pleased to hear that Throne of Bhaal is fully playable either while questing through their BG II adventure or after they have completed BG II.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - Tedious, but still fun
I am a huge fan of the Baldur's Gate series and I have to say, while the game is a very fitting conclusion to the series, it is probably my least favorite of the games. The game lacks much more in character development and it became more of a hack 'n slash type game than the previous ones. I guess in some regards there isn't much left to develop at this point though. I also think the character interactions nose dive in this game. Part of the fun of BGII was the huge amount of dialouge your party had between themselves and the little stories that take place while the main story goes on. The game is also very tedious at the end. The final battle is extremely difficult and in itself can take forever to beat. The Watcher's Keep dungeon quest idea was kind of redundant and it was just the Durlag's Tower of the second game in my opinion. Once inside it, it is an interesting story by itself, but it kind of has to be done randomly in the middle of the big rush to find The Five, which kind of takes the whole urgency out of it. If you have the platform game installed you can do Watcher's Keep before the expansion story starts, but it is practically suicide until the very end of the game, at least the second half of it anyway. Even then it would probably be too over the top for most parties.
Overall it was a great closing to the story, but I felt like I worked way too hard to get what I sort of knew was coming. I would still consider it money well spent and the entire series together gives countless hours of fun.
Rating: - WHEN cRPGs TOUCHED THE SKY...
This was the LONGEST the MOST FUN game I have ever played! And, mind you, I am not an easy customer (feel free to browse through my reviews, you will see what I mean...)
The original BG series was excellent in all of storyline, gameplay, music and stability. Now, nowadays, sequels usually mean a graphically-improved expansion (at best). BG2 is a rare exception of the sequel clearly SURPASSING the original. And in the case of such great original, this means a lot!
Words fail to describe the perfect harmony of brilliant ideas, interweaved story-lines and detailed coding that makes this game an unsurpassable classic! Do not let the slightly outdated graphics discourage you. They were cutting edge only some years ago - and you will be able to unleash their full potential even on mid-range PCs!
I have yet to meet anyone who has played it and not raved about it! Hard-core D&D funs will find the character building, fighting checks and balances and overall experience very close to the actual pen-&-paper games.
Casual computer gamers will notice none of the tedious stuff of other cRPGs as the gameplay runs smooth and beautifully.
You even have the choice to turn it into either a turn-based or an action game by tweaking the auto-pause options! I am telling you: this is how computers games should be!
You will let yourself get lost in the deep dungeons of the labyrinthic story; you will be laughing out loud to the humorous dialog; you will be surprised as to who is a double and triple-agent.
There is an evil beyond imagining unleashed and only you with your party can stand in its way.
Party members offer a multitude of unpredictable balancing points and diverging story-lines of their own: side quests, conflicts and love affairs enrich the story in so many original ways!
An unsurpassed classic!
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!
Rating: - Fun, though leaves some problems
If you are going to buy this game you will need to go to Baldurdash's page and download some of the things on his site for it. You can increase the difficulty of the battles (actually makes for a truely epic and HARD final boss) and also fixes some plot points that were removed (Imoen's bhall taint finally manifesting, Saravok dialogue options).
The quests in this game are definately a challenge, and for the most part very fun. The biggest problem is that there really are not any side quests worth talking about. The plot is very see through, I thought, and really you don't see many new things that will take your breath away.
With that said the game does have its merrits. If you like BGII and don't mind a more liner plot then you will love this game. The addition of feats allows everyone to continue getting stronger and helps remove the problems of a ceiling for fighter types (after all, once you get to a certain point you just always hit).
The ending battle, when not modified, is not too terribly difficult. On the other hand, the modded end battle is definately not for those who are easily frustrated as you will most likely try and fail many MANY times.
If you want a definate ending to the game then you should give this game a try. However, if you don't feel to strongly about it then consider avoiding it since it is pretty much just more of the same. Don't expect a plot that will draw you into what is going on.
Rating: - Excellent! (4 1/2 stars)
This expansion is a great conclusion to an excellent computer game. Baldur's Gate 2: Throne of Bhaal gets right everything that was good about the first 2 games. The character development and party dynamic are still the best in any computer RPG that I have played. The story centers around discovering your destiny as the offspring of an evil god. You and your band of adventurers will go through towns, forests, mountains, dungeons, and even another plane of existence. There are many new spells, magic items, weapons, armor, and monsters, and the pocket plane idea is a really nice touch. The isometric view and graphics are still pleasant to view, and the dramatic music is among the best in any game I've played. The story is well told and measures up to the high standards set in the first 2 games. Actually, the suspense in this expansion really draws you in, sort of like the final chapter in part 1. I docked the game a half star for two reasons: one of the levels of Watcher's Keep had a maze and a couple of puzzles that were too frustrating to be fun. Also, when I kill something/somebody I want it to be dead, not to come back again and again (a problem that I had with Shadows of Amn). There were no real bugs that I noticed, besides a few spelling errors, one frozen cut-scene, and a few cases in which spell casters simply would not cast spells at key times during combat. This last problem was especially frustrating since magic use is so central to winning fights in this expansion. Otherwise, this is a grand conclusion to one of my favorite computer game series. Highly recommended.
Rating: - This should have been a whole new game!
I love BSG II. And when I got this, it was such a let down. It has cool battle's and a decent plot but I think BlackIsle could have put a little more effort into this and make this a new game (aka BSG III). I give this two stars because it does have potential. But overall, a big disapointment.
- Tedious, but still fun
- WHEN cRPGs TOUCHED THE SKY...
- Fun, though leaves some problems
- This should have been a whole new game!
