The greatest series of adventure games ever

Baldur’s gate is a game that takes place on the world of Fare’un, also where the cleric quintet, and the Icewind dale books (with drizzit and cadderly) took place, In the same time span. I have met drizzt in BG and cadderly in BG2. I have also met elminster, also I have read a couple books about him. There are also different species you can be, human, half elf, elf, dwarf, and halfling. The classes determine you’re characters skills, hp per level, and whether or not you can use spells. The classes are:

Fighter- no magic abilities but a strong attack and gains a lot of hp per level. Stat to specialize in is strength.
Ranger- can charm animals and has good attacks and gains a lot of hp per level. Stat to specialize in is vitality
Paladin- can cast 1st level cleric spells. Gaines a good amount of hp per level. Stat to specializes in is charisma.
Cleric- can cast cleric spells. Gains a normal amount of hp per level. Stat to specialize in is wisdom.
Druid- can cast druid spells. Gains a normal amount of hp per level. Stat to specialize in is wisdom.
Thief- can use thief skills, ok at fighting. Gains a little bit less than normal amount of hp per level. Stat to specialize in is dexterity.
Bard- can use bardsong and can cast mage spells but not nearly as much as a mage can. Gains the same amount of hp as the thief. Stat to specialize in is charisma.
Mage- can cast mage spells. Gains a measly 4 hp per level. Stat to specialize in is intelligence.
Specialist mage- same as a mage but focuses in one school of magic. The bonus is you that you have a bonus when casting a spell from the school you choose, but you can’t cast the opposing school’s spells.


The game play 5/5
The game play is fairly easy to learn and really easy to use, the spell system is weird but if there were spells in real life, that’s how I picture the spell system would be. The game uses the advanced Dungeons and Dragons combat and spell system and magic items system. The actual game play is the click to hack and slash, except there are turns but it yet it does. The game doesn’t wait for you to make you’re move, but you can press spacebar to pause the game. While it’s paused you can tell you’re characters what to do, which is helpful when you have a party of six. The spell system is quite strange and is hard to explain, but I will try. You can cast a number of certain number of certain level spells per day, and once you use it you have to rest without being interrupted. For example, say you can cast 4 level 1 spells and 2 level two spells. There are nine spell levels, and you gain a spell level every two or three level ups. The magical items are rare and hard to get, especially the good ones. The multiplayer is good but is almost the same, except for you’re playing with friends.


The stats
Strength- increases you’re melee damage and how much you can carry. Important for fighters and paladins.
Dexterity- Increases thief skills (for thief’s of course) and you’re chance to hit someone. Important for archers.
Vitality- important for rangers and just about everyone. Determines how much you’re bonus hp per level.
Wisdom- The prime stat for the cleric and druid. It determines how many cleric and druid spells you can cast.
Intelligence- the prime stat for the mage and specialist mage. It determiners how many mage spells you can cast.
Charisma- Important for the bard and the paladin. It determines what people think of you.

Leveling up
This games level up is slow!! And there’s an experience cap at the 7th level. Now I think you can download a patch for that or you could not cheat and play it the way you’re supposed to. But being able to level up only to the 7th level really cuts back at the replay value.

The storyline 5/5
The storyline is very interesting and so are the other 50 or so side quests. You are the son of Baal god of destruction(pronounced bale), there are 7 of you. You grew up in candle keep, under the influence of you’re step father Gorion. And when it came time for you to leave, he accompanied you, because hi is a powerful mage. on the way you get ambushed by an armored figure, who kills Gorion, but you escape. And I can’t really tell you anything else or I’d be ruining the experience for you.

The graphics 5/5
The environment is beautifully detailed, and it looks so real you wouldn’t believe it until I showed you. The character graphics are pretty good but nothing astounding. So far no serious bugs.

Sound 4/5
The sound features no serious songs but really good sound effects and voices. the sound effects aren’t breath taking though. There are no serious sound glitches either. I think the sound was pretty good but there were a couple times where the sound effects and music got annoying enough to make someone go insane. Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha.

Replay value 4/5
The game captivated me for months and I still experiment with other characters. But I’m pretty much bored of it right now. But I played it 24/7, all day every day, or at least when there was no school. This game is a real interference with you’re social life.

Learning curve 5/5
This game was easy to learn and even easier to use. The pause technique gave me a real advantage in some battles. I would summon all my monsters and cast protections spells and even a few offensive spells before the person who is supposed to be fighting you even starts talking to you.

Overall 5/5
This game is a definite must to all adventure/roleplaying gamer.

A happy
Pinkpandaboy