First off this isnt a hate thread. I actually like what been done here,, but in no way are they deserving of the title "Enhanced". They are in no way bad. Far from it in fact, but both stand as prime examples of wasted opportunity.
- The UI is still clunky and absolutely no effort was put in to make it more functional and user friendly.
- The Graphics have seen very little work (actually did a side by side with my GOG editions, and the so called improvements are either so subtle as to be virtually unnoticeable, or actually non existent).
- Sound is virtually untouched (although env effects do seem slightly better)
- New NPCs are ok, but add no value and certainly dont improve the game in any way.
- The Black Pits are insulting. Vapid pointless garbage that was nothing but a waste of time, money, and effort. their inclusion is an embarrassment, and not worthy of anyone's time (either developer or player). The time wasted on these pieces of dross would be better spent on enhancing, bug fixing, and polishing the core game.
The things that should have been done have not even been attempted, and before anyone replies with "they couldnt", ALL of these things could be done.
1: New UI. Modular, and enhanced with a cleaner interface and improved functionality (e.g expanding widows, improved hover interaction, moveable segements, and resizable). Maybe animated portraits, or some other visual polish.
2: Improved sprites. While making them 3D meshes to work in game would be asking a bit much, someone actually redesigning and polishing the sprites should have been a no brainer. The omission is frankly unacceptable. Some new animations at LEAST should have been included.
3: Improved spell effects. See above.
4: Improved backgrounds. While the original artwork is still amazing, there could have been some additional work in adding some flair to the animated sections, again though nothing was done.
5: Improved FMV's. The utterly appalling low rent motion comics in BG1 were a real low point, and the untouched movies from BGII is just lazy (or maybe erring on the side of caution after the response to the first game). Having the team create new fully animated hi rez versions of the original movies should have been a priority.
5: Player Character assets. many more portrait and voice options should have been included.
I am extremely grateful that the game works "out of the box" on my Win8 machine, and the native widescreen support and the Zoom ability are fantastic. The new kits are great, and all the rule fixes and refinements are also hugely appreciated.
There are other minor things I would have loved to see, but they're a personal preference thing, and not things I would expect to see, despite being things I would have liked to see.
I reviewed BGIIEE for GP and gave it 9/10. 8.75 of that is because Baldur's Gate II is still an amazing game, the other .25 is for the tweaks made. This could have been more though, and no one should be looking at this as how to enhance a classic game. Failing to do the minimum should not be rewarded.
I understand that a lot of hard work and real effort went in to these games, and I sincerely appreciate it, for the most part what was included is exceptional. Its what isnt here that I take issue with. You had an opportunity to REALLY make an impact, and you didnt. Mine like many other positive reviews highlight that the majority of that positive score is due to the core game and not the "enhancements". In fact many share my opinion that there isnt actually enough in here to earn the title Enhanced Edition. This is just one man's opinion though, and many people love everything you've done, I only wish I could feel the same way. When you're charging over twice the asking price of the vanilla editions, you better be backing that up with something worth that extra cash... that sadly isnt the case at this time.
What we have here is a strong base, now build some enhancements on that base and deliver the Enhanced experience that the game deserves, and I know you're capable of.
- The UI is still clunky and absolutely no effort was put in to make it more functional and user friendly.
- The Graphics have seen very little work (actually did a side by side with my GOG editions, and the so called improvements are either so subtle as to be virtually unnoticeable, or actually non existent).
- Sound is virtually untouched (although env effects do seem slightly better)
- New NPCs are ok, but add no value and certainly dont improve the game in any way.
- The Black Pits are insulting. Vapid pointless garbage that was nothing but a waste of time, money, and effort. their inclusion is an embarrassment, and not worthy of anyone's time (either developer or player). The time wasted on these pieces of dross would be better spent on enhancing, bug fixing, and polishing the core game.
The things that should have been done have not even been attempted, and before anyone replies with "they couldnt", ALL of these things could be done.
1: New UI. Modular, and enhanced with a cleaner interface and improved functionality (e.g expanding widows, improved hover interaction, moveable segements, and resizable). Maybe animated portraits, or some other visual polish.
2: Improved sprites. While making them 3D meshes to work in game would be asking a bit much, someone actually redesigning and polishing the sprites should have been a no brainer. The omission is frankly unacceptable. Some new animations at LEAST should have been included.
3: Improved spell effects. See above.
4: Improved backgrounds. While the original artwork is still amazing, there could have been some additional work in adding some flair to the animated sections, again though nothing was done.
5: Improved FMV's. The utterly appalling low rent motion comics in BG1 were a real low point, and the untouched movies from BGII is just lazy (or maybe erring on the side of caution after the response to the first game). Having the team create new fully animated hi rez versions of the original movies should have been a priority.
5: Player Character assets. many more portrait and voice options should have been included.
I am extremely grateful that the game works "out of the box" on my Win8 machine, and the native widescreen support and the Zoom ability are fantastic. The new kits are great, and all the rule fixes and refinements are also hugely appreciated.
There are other minor things I would have loved to see, but they're a personal preference thing, and not things I would expect to see, despite being things I would have liked to see.
I reviewed BGIIEE for GP and gave it 9/10. 8.75 of that is because Baldur's Gate II is still an amazing game, the other .25 is for the tweaks made. This could have been more though, and no one should be looking at this as how to enhance a classic game. Failing to do the minimum should not be rewarded.
I understand that a lot of hard work and real effort went in to these games, and I sincerely appreciate it, for the most part what was included is exceptional. Its what isnt here that I take issue with. You had an opportunity to REALLY make an impact, and you didnt. Mine like many other positive reviews highlight that the majority of that positive score is due to the core game and not the "enhancements". In fact many share my opinion that there isnt actually enough in here to earn the title Enhanced Edition. This is just one man's opinion though, and many people love everything you've done, I only wish I could feel the same way. When you're charging over twice the asking price of the vanilla editions, you better be backing that up with something worth that extra cash... that sadly isnt the case at this time.
What we have here is a strong base, now build some enhancements on that base and deliver the Enhanced experience that the game deserves, and I know you're capable of.