BG1, BG2, PS:T, IWD1, IWD2 - how would you rank them in order from your favorite to least favorite?
My list:
1. BG1 - While it used the most prototypical and limited version of the IE, I still believe that BG was the fundamentally best game of the bunch. IMO, it has the most well-balanced mix of story and combat. While challenging, it's balanced in such a way that someone could potentially beat the game using any number of approaches if they're just developed well enough - which greatly enhances the RP aspect of the game, since it allows you the freedom to choose party members as much for their "likability" as for their efficiency. Thanks to subsequent mods and eventually EE, BG1's technical limitations are much less of an issue and it's fundamental greatness can now be even better appreciated.
2. IWD1 - Ideal for anyone who wants a change of pace from BG1 (which happens to be exactly what I'm in the mood for right now, LOL), this visually and musically fantastic game also offers you the chance to create your own custom party without having to worry about RPing any particular personality or background.
3. BG2 - I've already expressed some of my criticism with BG2 in this (somewhat controversial) thread here: http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/32657/ive-come-to-feel-that-bg2-is-very-overrated-as-an-rpg/p1 In a nutshell, while BG2 is unquestionably visually/technically superior to BG1, I feel that it also sacrificed much of the fundamental freedoms and RP aspect of the original game. IMO, in sharp contrast to BG1, BG2 is very poorly balanced, with far too much bias toward casting and dispelling magic - it basically forces you to be a magic-oriented powergamer. Perhaps my memory of IWD is a bit hazy, but despite being almost entirely action-oriented, I seem to remember it as being better balanced in this regard. The fact that BG2 basically forces you to outright "cheese" or metagame at certain parts - i.e: when encountering the lich before you can even leave the first city - is also very frustrating for me. Also, despite the pretense of available subquests early in the game, much of BG2 actually feels only slightly less lineal than IWD IMO, since you spend about two-thirds of the game "imprisoned" somewhere and looking for an escape route (i.e: Irenicus' dungeon, Spellhold, the fish city, the drow city, etc.).
4. PS:T - I have to put an asterisk next to this one, because I probably haven't devoted enough time to this game to properly rank it. While it has my favorite music of all the games on this list (Deionarra's theme almost brings tears to my eyes - I've never said that about any other RPG's music), and the most unique setting and characters IMO, the sheer volume of the story's content simply became overwhelming for me. Still, I've been left with an unquenched desire to give the game a more thorough try, but my preoccupation with the current EEs has prevented that. Hopefully, there'll be a PST:EE in the very near future. ;-)
5. IWD2 - Simply put, I just can't get into any 3rd Ed D&D game (which also includes NWN), as I feel that it unnecessarily complicates what (at least in this case) should be a more straightforward action game.
My list:
1. BG1 - While it used the most prototypical and limited version of the IE, I still believe that BG was the fundamentally best game of the bunch. IMO, it has the most well-balanced mix of story and combat. While challenging, it's balanced in such a way that someone could potentially beat the game using any number of approaches if they're just developed well enough - which greatly enhances the RP aspect of the game, since it allows you the freedom to choose party members as much for their "likability" as for their efficiency. Thanks to subsequent mods and eventually EE, BG1's technical limitations are much less of an issue and it's fundamental greatness can now be even better appreciated.
2. IWD1 - Ideal for anyone who wants a change of pace from BG1 (which happens to be exactly what I'm in the mood for right now, LOL), this visually and musically fantastic game also offers you the chance to create your own custom party without having to worry about RPing any particular personality or background.
3. BG2 - I've already expressed some of my criticism with BG2 in this (somewhat controversial) thread here: http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/32657/ive-come-to-feel-that-bg2-is-very-overrated-as-an-rpg/p1 In a nutshell, while BG2 is unquestionably visually/technically superior to BG1, I feel that it also sacrificed much of the fundamental freedoms and RP aspect of the original game. IMO, in sharp contrast to BG1, BG2 is very poorly balanced, with far too much bias toward casting and dispelling magic - it basically forces you to be a magic-oriented powergamer. Perhaps my memory of IWD is a bit hazy, but despite being almost entirely action-oriented, I seem to remember it as being better balanced in this regard. The fact that BG2 basically forces you to outright "cheese" or metagame at certain parts - i.e: when encountering the lich before you can even leave the first city - is also very frustrating for me. Also, despite the pretense of available subquests early in the game, much of BG2 actually feels only slightly less lineal than IWD IMO, since you spend about two-thirds of the game "imprisoned" somewhere and looking for an escape route (i.e: Irenicus' dungeon, Spellhold, the fish city, the drow city, etc.).
4. PS:T - I have to put an asterisk next to this one, because I probably haven't devoted enough time to this game to properly rank it. While it has my favorite music of all the games on this list (Deionarra's theme almost brings tears to my eyes - I've never said that about any other RPG's music), and the most unique setting and characters IMO, the sheer volume of the story's content simply became overwhelming for me. Still, I've been left with an unquenched desire to give the game a more thorough try, but my preoccupation with the current EEs has prevented that. Hopefully, there'll be a PST:EE in the very near future. ;-)
5. IWD2 - Simply put, I just can't get into any 3rd Ed D&D game (which also includes NWN), as I feel that it unnecessarily complicates what (at least in this case) should be a more straightforward action game.