BG2 is often rated as the best PC RPG of all time. Admittedly, I probably felt the same way about it the first time that I played it. However, I've liked the game less and less with each successive playthrough, for the reasons explained below.
The improvements of BG2 over BG1 are obvious and frankly irrefutable - it has more magic weapons and spells, more action, more NPC interactions, and (when comparing the original versions) better graphics and an updated engine. In short, it's better than BG1 in virtually every technical/visual/superficial way.
But I've always felt that, in making such obvious improvements over BG1, the makers of BG2 forsook some of the more fundamental aspects of BG1 that made it such a great game, despite its technical inferiority. Now, with the release of BG:EE, which has "evened out" a lot of the technical disparity between the two games, BG2's limitations have been made even more apparent to me.
My biggest complaint about BG2 is the freedom - or lack thereof, I should say. In BG1, once I had left Candlekeep (which I could theoretically do at any time), I had a great wide world in front of me, with the freedom to explore largely as I pleased. Random assortments of enemies could come jumping out of the fogs of war at any time, and although I've played the game numerous times, I still have trouble keeping track of exactly where certain things and characters are, and am still surprised when I come across them. In short, the game somehow remains fresh and original nearly every time that I play it.
By contrast, BG2 feels very linear, restrictive, and repetitive IMO. It feels more like a series of extended dungeon crawls linked together, rather than the "roaming" feel of BG1. For at least half of the game, my character is trapped somewhere and following an escape route - i.e: Irenicus' dungeon, Spellhold, the ocean city, the drow city, etc. Although I have the freedom to do the Chapt 2 quests in the order that I want, the individual quests themselves also come to feel routine and repetitive after a couple of playthroughs. For example, when I set out on Nalia's quest, I merely leave Athkatla and I arrive at the castle - no need to locate the place, or explore the areas in between, like in BG1. From there, I know that I'm going to find myself on a rooftop full of snake men, a courtyard full of rabid dogs, a room full of golems, another room full of umber hulks, and then in the final battle with the troll king. While I understand that, depending on your character class, quests like this may offer some interesting options for you at the end, I often feel as though I'm being forced to follow an extended, linear -dare I say, perhaps, a bit boring? - routine in order to get to that point. In a nutshell, after having played BG2 a few times, the majority of the game ceases to feel fresh or surprising to me.
Although BG2 has more weapons and spells than BG1, this is undermined by the fact that the game is constantly nerfing these items in order to make the game feel more challenging - so while a +2 weapon is a huge deal in BG1, even +3 weapons come to feel inadequate at certain points in BG2. In other words, the "less is more" approach of BG1 allows you to better appreciate certain aspects of the game IMO.
The slower pacing and "roaming" format of BG1 also allow you to better appreciate the visual aspects of the game IMO. I actually enjoy seeing the lush green landscapes and listening to chirping birds and ocean waves crashing against cliffs. I understand that BG2's more direct structure may provide more excitement during initial playthroughs, but I feel that BG1's approach gives the game better replay value. Even the city areas in BG2 come to feel routine and repetitive IMO, because they aren't interspersed with random houses like in BG1.
Finally, I absolutely, positively cannot stand BG2's bias toward magic. I've always felt that BG1 could be won by virtually any approach if it was just done well enough. By contrast, BG2 basically forces you to be an expert in casting and dispelling magic and make this the forefront of your approach. Consequently, a number of character classes, like single class thieves, are made to feel badly nerfed or relegated to a niche role - a very crippling blow to the RP aspect of the game IMO.
Well, that's my rant for now. Your thoughts?
The improvements of BG2 over BG1 are obvious and frankly irrefutable - it has more magic weapons and spells, more action, more NPC interactions, and (when comparing the original versions) better graphics and an updated engine. In short, it's better than BG1 in virtually every technical/visual/superficial way.
But I've always felt that, in making such obvious improvements over BG1, the makers of BG2 forsook some of the more fundamental aspects of BG1 that made it such a great game, despite its technical inferiority. Now, with the release of BG:EE, which has "evened out" a lot of the technical disparity between the two games, BG2's limitations have been made even more apparent to me.
My biggest complaint about BG2 is the freedom - or lack thereof, I should say. In BG1, once I had left Candlekeep (which I could theoretically do at any time), I had a great wide world in front of me, with the freedom to explore largely as I pleased. Random assortments of enemies could come jumping out of the fogs of war at any time, and although I've played the game numerous times, I still have trouble keeping track of exactly where certain things and characters are, and am still surprised when I come across them. In short, the game somehow remains fresh and original nearly every time that I play it.
By contrast, BG2 feels very linear, restrictive, and repetitive IMO. It feels more like a series of extended dungeon crawls linked together, rather than the "roaming" feel of BG1. For at least half of the game, my character is trapped somewhere and following an escape route - i.e: Irenicus' dungeon, Spellhold, the ocean city, the drow city, etc. Although I have the freedom to do the Chapt 2 quests in the order that I want, the individual quests themselves also come to feel routine and repetitive after a couple of playthroughs. For example, when I set out on Nalia's quest, I merely leave Athkatla and I arrive at the castle - no need to locate the place, or explore the areas in between, like in BG1. From there, I know that I'm going to find myself on a rooftop full of snake men, a courtyard full of rabid dogs, a room full of golems, another room full of umber hulks, and then in the final battle with the troll king. While I understand that, depending on your character class, quests like this may offer some interesting options for you at the end, I often feel as though I'm being forced to follow an extended, linear -dare I say, perhaps, a bit boring? - routine in order to get to that point. In a nutshell, after having played BG2 a few times, the majority of the game ceases to feel fresh or surprising to me.
Although BG2 has more weapons and spells than BG1, this is undermined by the fact that the game is constantly nerfing these items in order to make the game feel more challenging - so while a +2 weapon is a huge deal in BG1, even +3 weapons come to feel inadequate at certain points in BG2. In other words, the "less is more" approach of BG1 allows you to better appreciate certain aspects of the game IMO.
The slower pacing and "roaming" format of BG1 also allow you to better appreciate the visual aspects of the game IMO. I actually enjoy seeing the lush green landscapes and listening to chirping birds and ocean waves crashing against cliffs. I understand that BG2's more direct structure may provide more excitement during initial playthroughs, but I feel that BG1's approach gives the game better replay value. Even the city areas in BG2 come to feel routine and repetitive IMO, because they aren't interspersed with random houses like in BG1.
Finally, I absolutely, positively cannot stand BG2's bias toward magic. I've always felt that BG1 could be won by virtually any approach if it was just done well enough. By contrast, BG2 basically forces you to be an expert in casting and dispelling magic and make this the forefront of your approach. Consequently, a number of character classes, like single class thieves, are made to feel badly nerfed or relegated to a niche role - a very crippling blow to the RP aspect of the game IMO.
Well, that's my rant for now. Your thoughts?