IWD 1, IWD 2, or BG 2?

[LoneWolf16]

I've got all three of these games just sitting here, in their respective boxes, collecting dust. I already got tired of Bloodlines, Half-Life 2, and Kotor 2...so...a little help on deciding which of them I should pop in and give a go would be appreciated.

 

Played the IWDs a bit, and sorta liked them, but only tried BG 2 for about 15 minutes or so, then I got confused and quit...

[mr insomniac]

Get Planescape: Torment, if you're gonna play an IE game.

[Tigranes]

Not if you're confused with BG, though... Torment will just seem like a bunch of calculus on screen.

[KungFuFerret]

I wasn't overly fond of IWD and didn't even bother getting IWD2.

 

 

BG2 is quite good though, as is PS:T.

 

 

I'm still tinkering with Bloodlines myself. It's not often that you see someone do a World of Darkness game and actually do Malkavians in an excellent way.

[T.A.M]

Get PS:T if you want another RPG, but as your not getting on with BG2 you might want to try IWD as it's far less story orientated.

[mr insomniac]

Lot of reading to do in PS:T, no question, but that's no reason why it can't be enjoyed by anyone. I wouldn't say it's any more confusing than any other game... it's just different.

[LoneWolf16]

Heh, maybe I should have been clearer. BG 2 is confusing to me, in that I couldn't tell what the hell I was supposed to do in that first area. I love a good story, and if its more story-oriented, I may be installing it some time soon. That is, if the gameplay is any good compared to the IWDs...

[Darth Ysuran]

Play all of them I'm currently playing: Icewind Dale 2, Baldur's Gate 2 and KoTOR 2.

[Phosphor]

If you haven't played BG2 yet it's well worth the playing. I'm not overly keen on the game, but it's certainly good enough to play once. It's a pretty big game, so you ought to be prepared for a lengthy adventure.

[Sargallath Abraxium]

...as much as I's slagged BG: SoA o'er the years, it's not cuz it ain't a good game; well worth a play-through it is...it jus' ain't great...IWD is a great game, imho...an' I's agrees wit' the others; git PS:T, ya won't regret it...greatest o' all the IE games an' arguably the best cRPG out there...

 

 

...WHO LUVS YA, BABY!!...

[Monte Carlo]

As long as you are prepared for the fact that PS:T plays like part adventure game, part interactive novel. In a very, very small font.

 

I vote for IWD. Old-skool dungeoneering goodness with an interesting backstory, exciting combat and much homage to the classic pen-and-paper D&D modules.

 

Cheers

MC

[ShadowPaladin V1.0]

Id suggest IWD. Because not only is it fun it's own right. It will also make clearer the higher level rules BG II uses.If you can get the hang of IWD then BGII will be less intimidating.

[Phosphor]

IWD was the more interesting out of the three games in question, I won't argue that. But BG2 is worth playing if one hasn't played it at all.

That said, playing through IWD first would be fantastic "training" for playing BG2. I found that after playing IWD, I had a much greater grasp of the IE and it's implementations of the AD&D rules. In BG2 you really need to know how to work those rules/engine to have success, or at least that's what I found.

 

Edit: Seems SP and myself were thinking the same thing at the same time. Scary.

[Torpar]

The Icewind Dale series are more of a hack-and-slash RPG. If you're inclined towards a more roleplaying-oriented game, then BGII is your choice. It's not uncommon to be a bit confused at first, but you'll get used to the system after several hours of gameplay. And as many of the above posters have said, the game is certainly worth playing through, so don't give up!

[Monte Carlo]

Yeah, BG2 (and especially ToB) revolve very much around understanding some key concepts, mainly the use of mage spells/ buffing/ de-buffing. IWD will, in the later stages, introduce you to a few of these.

 

Saying that, IWD remains a pretty melee-heavy game where a mage is not completely essential (I completed it with a Fineous Fingers* themed party of two fighters and a thief (Fred, Charlie and Fineous).

 

In BG2, you are entering a world of pain without one, unless you are a bit of a savant. Like myself, of course.

 

Cheers

MC

 

 

* If you can remember who Fineous Fingers was then you win extra gold stars for being a very old grognard, indeed.

[~Di]

You quit BG2.... which is probably the best party-based RPG on earth... after 15 minutes??

 

...

...

In that case, I don't know what to tell you. BG2 gave me over 100 hours (per game) of the most intense, emotional and exhilarating gameplay ever. I felt as if I truly knew my companions as friends. I laughed with them, I cried with them, and got so annoyed with some of them that I had to stop myself from gutting them on the spot.

 

My suggestion is that you download one of the many BG2 walkthroughs if you were so confused that you couldn't even find your way out of the first dungeon (which takes considerably longer than 15 minutes), then give it another try.

 

Or take up another hobby.

[Musopticon?]

What the hell, I liked BG2 all the way to the Underdark, where it started to bug me,

add the immense irritation named Imoen, who I had to take with me, in to that and you get a pretty good idea why I prefer IWD 2 and PS:T.

 

Underdark looked great and had interesting encounters but after I played through the Elder Orb - nest and made my way to the Illithid Dungeon, the hacking'n'slashing was so tedious, that the game didn't really interest me anymore.

Other irritation, besides the constant yattering of NPCs, was the overflow of quests.

No matter where I adventured, there was a continuous stream of idiots begging me to do FedEx-quets. I was halfly waiting for that dreaded "kill some rats from my basement"-quest IWD at least gave me a sense of adventure. And BG 2 even had a more interesting atmosphere. Before playing it, I thought I loved pirates and rogues, but Brynn Law was a letdown.

 

No matter; I'm going to play again soon. I love the NPC's that much

[AlanC9]

Anyone who quite B2 because he couldn't figure out what he was supposed to be doing probably shouldn't even go near PS:T.

[Leferd]

I would play BG2 or IWD before getting into PST.

 

PST is a love it or hate it deal in the sense that not everybody is going to like it. But those that enjoy it tend to be more passionate in their love for it.

[Nightblade]

To the first poster:

 

The Infinity-engine games aren't for impatient people who want fast action.

Maybe some first person view action-RPG is more up your alley.

 

*shrug*

 

N.

[LoneWolf16]

I've had my fill of FPS games, between Halo 2, Half-Life 2, Call of Duty, and Rainbow Six 3...pretty much played the hell out of that genre for the time being.

 

Now, it isn't that these types of games are too difficult for me to grasp or anything...I just have a problem with doing algebraic equations in order to play them .

 

I'm all for story, love well done NPCs, and am partial to a bit of the hack'n'slash...so maybe I hit "Exit Game" a bit too early, without giving the game a chance to show me what it was capable of.

 

Thanks everybody, I've got time to kill, so I guess I'll give all of 'em a go. That'll take...what...a good 120 hours or so? Heh, I'm either up for limitless tedium, or a great rpg experience. Worth the gamble, I'd say... ^_^

[mr insomniac]

If you like story and well done NPCs then I'll repeat my initial recommendation.

[T.A.M]

Indeed, the PS:T NPC's have the most depth out of any RPG I've played.

[Kelverin]

I would go with IWD first. Great all around story. Make sure to read everything, especially the items. Also I hope you have a great sound system. Best music, sound effects, voice acting in any game I ever played.

 

 

BG2 next. My favorite "RPG" of all. Play through without trying to do everything. You can always go through it again. Not sure if you played BG1, but if not, make sure to play that first.

 

 

IWD2. Fantastic beginning. Kind of down hill from there.

[Azure79]

Maybe your confusion in BG2 stems from not having played the original Baldur's Gate?

 

My heart has a special place for the Baldur's Gate series, since it was the first game that really introduced me to cRPGs. I had no experience with D&D up to that point and I didn't really bother reading through the manual. I was just intrigued by that entire concept of creating a character and traveling through a world. After wondering why my armor class went down when I equipped better armor and wondering what the heck thac0 was, I finally slogged my way through the manual and had a great time.

 

I was pleased with the great story that it offered, since up to that point I was playing FPS games almost exclusively and they didn't really have that much story to them. Actually I was surprised that a game could even have a story of that magnitude.

 

The BG games turned me into a cRPG fan and its been my favorite genre ever since.

 

But uh back to the topic, my advice is you should play them all!

 

Also there are some other great RPGs out there, like Divine Divinity, Anachronox and of course PS:T.

 

Try everything!