Welcome to Thunderdome

Posted: **Mon Oct 01, 2007 11:48 am**

Atari has apparently released a 4 DVD collection consisting of the original game (now nine years old), its expansion, BG II & it's "expansion" (kind of like half a game), all for about $25. I will be purchasing this as my original BG discs seem to have some error where it crashes at this one particular spot. No amount of patching, reinstalling, or technical wizardry ever fixed it. Due to the crashes, I never actually beat it, though. I vaguely remember getting to the end, though. Never beat the expansion for BG II, either. But, I digress. $25 for a shitload of gaming hours, I assure you, if you've not partaken in the last decade.

Posted: **Mon Oct 01, 2007 12:23 pm**

It was fun when I played the original, but the new game engine with Neverwinter Nights pretty much killed the franchise, it seems.

Posted: **Mon Oct 01, 2007 12:36 pm**

I still say that BG 2 is the best RPG release in the past fifteen or twenty years. & there's some easter egg that spans the entire series that I wanna try.

Posted: **Mon Oct 01, 2007 3:19 pm**

I still say that BG 2 is the best RPG release in the past fifteen or twenty years.

Say what now?

Not saying BG2 wasn't good or even great, but that's a pretty bold statement.

Posted: **Mon Oct 01, 2007 3:35 pm**

I'm entirely willing to make it.

What holes would you care to shoot in such a claim?

Posted: **Tue Oct 02, 2007 10:48 am**

Baldur's Gate 2 wasn't perfect by any means and there have been a ton of really good RPGs in the last 20 years.

Posted: **Tue Oct 02, 2007 12:00 pm**

Yea, there've been some damn good ones. But aside from being good, BG 2 has a few hundred modules w\ entire story arcs that can double playtime.

Posted: **Tue Oct 02, 2007 12:41 pm**

Where did those few hundred modules come from? I remember it shipping with one.

I believe a game can only be judged on what shipped in the box and there were MANY RPGs that offered more gameplay out of the box.

If you want to get really technical about gameplay time, Ultima Online has been running since 1997(?) with 300,000-a million or more subscribers all experiencing a different RPG 24/7.

Length of gameplay shouldn't be THE determining factor. Hell, Oblivion could theoretically be played forever. Doesn't make it the best.

I'm not saying what the best RPG ever is...I don't know. I'm just pointing out that I don't think it's BG2. BG2 did not stand apart much from BG, nor does it standout from Neverwinter Nights (1 or 2). Hell, you could run those games all side by side and they look very similar.

There are even FPS shooters that can be considered RPGs.

The list is just too impressive to declare BG2 the best.

Final Fantasy 1-12
Ultima 1-9
Wasteland
Fallout 1 & 2 (3 coming)
A Bard's Tale 1-3
Might & Magic series
The Elder Scrolls series
Skies of Arcadia
Neverwinter Nights
Knights of the Old Republic 1 & 2 (Mass Effect coming)
Wizardry series
etc.

Posted: **Tue Oct 02, 2007 12:46 pm**

Fallout & KotOR immediately sprang to mind. Wasteland is twenty years old. Still my absolute favourite RPG. Ultima VII is also up there (I curse the Voodoo memory manager to this day).

My judgments are, of course, insanely biased.

Edited By Malcolm on 1191343884

Posted: **Tue Oct 02, 2007 12:57 pm**

Leisher wrote:If you want to get really technical about gameplay time, Ultima Online has been running since 1997(?) with 300,000-a million or more subscribers all experiencing a different RPG 24/7.

23/7. Don't they shut down for an hour every day for backups?

Posted: **Tue Oct 02, 2007 1:10 pm**

Fallout & KotOR immediately sprang to mind. Wasteland is twenty years old. Still my absolute favourite RPG. Ultima VII is also up there (I curse the Voodoo memory manager to this day).

I still have a place in my heart for the A Bard's Tale series. I remember actually using graph paper to map the dungeons. I had a monk named Amon Ra that was pretty much unstoppable.

23/7. Don't they shut down for an hour every day for backups?

Yep, I forgot about that. Despite all it's flaws, I think it's an easy argument to say that UO was the best MMORPG ever made until the developers broke it. No other developer would dare make another game like it for fear of alienating a segment of their potential audience.

Posted: **Tue Oct 02, 2007 1:45 pm**

I grew up playing Pac-Man as an RPG.

It's why I have such bad eating habits.

Posted: **Tue Oct 02, 2007 1:55 pm**

I'm not saying best RPG ever. Best RPG of the past couple decades.

& Bard's Tale still kicks ass. Monks were god after a bit.

Posted: **Tue Oct 02, 2007 3:21 pm**

I grew up playing Pac-Man as an RPG.

It's why I have such bad eating habits.

Uh oh, I grew up playing Leisure Suit Larry.

I'm not saying best RPG ever. Best RPG of the past couple decades.

I know you drink a lot, but what year do you think this is...?

The vast majority of the games I listed have come out within the past two decades, let alone a "couple."

Posted: **Tue Oct 02, 2007 5:19 pm**

I haven't really played an RPG since the days of Bard's Tale.

Posted: **Tue Oct 02, 2007 5:24 pm**

TheCatt wrote:I haven't really played an RPG since the days of Bard's Tale.

The combat system in that thing beat the hell outta the slow, clunky strategy maps in the Gold Box Series.

Posted: **Tue Oct 02, 2007 11:32 pm**

I may have to wait till the semester is out to purchase this thing. It would kill any hope of my meeting the minimum GPA requirement.

Posted: **Wed Oct 03, 2007 8:08 am**

I've actually set aside Bioshock due to similar concerns about it interfering with stuff I need to get done. I'm also worried about Mass Effect's impending release and the fact that HL2:E2 is now available.

Posted: **Tue Dec 24, 2013 5:55 pm**

BG Enhanced edition on sale on Steam for $7.99 for another 43 hours. BG2 Enhanced edition on sale for $16.99 until Jan 2 on Steam.

Posted: **Tue Dec 24, 2013 10:39 pm**

Malcolm wrote:BG Enhanced edition on sale on Steam for $7.99 for another 43 hours. BG2 Enhanced edition on sale for $16.99 until Jan 2 on Steam.

Bought it for me and my kid with the idea of doing it multi.

Edited By GORDON on 1387942772