Now thats exactly my view. Even though nwn maybe a 3d engine, i personally think the flat, warcraft look of the game made it worse than those before it. You may have liked nwns graphics, but they were flat, uninteresting and uninspired. Just because they were graphic sprites doesn't mean they were less realistic than those in nwn. The enviroment was easily better than anything created in nwn. The Towns, Cities underground areas were easily better.
I still go back and play the baldurs gate and icewind dale games, but i've only ever completed nwn and the expansions once, and i won't be going back to them. To say i play baldurs gate, a gate which is now 7 years old is testament to the game. I like many others love them to bits.
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Agreed. 2D or not, BG2 still looked a 1000 times better than NWN. I think the transition to 3D should not have been made that soon, even if other games were doing it. The 3D technology at the time was just not that great. Only now is it reaching a stage where things are becoming more believable.
Not only that, but the artwork in BG2 was far more awe-inspiring and realistic than NWN's. Every area was unique, and looked well thought out. (I could point out hundreds of things in NWN where the artwork was really shoddy.)
Couple all that with a superb story, and you have a true classic. I'm yet to find any real problem with any of the BG series, the original was equally brilliant. You really felt like you were part of something greater. It was also challenging, whereas NWN was an uberfest with virtually no chance of dying no matter how badly you played.