Baldur's Gate 2: The Shadows of Amn - Reception

Reception

Baldur's Gate II met with worldwide critical acclaim upon its release, and Metacritic lists it as the sixth highest-scoring PC game on the site as of April 15, 2012. GameSpot said that, while it is a very long game, its fine points are what make it so great, and "the only reason it can't be called the best game in its class is because in a sense there's nothing available that compares to it." IGN said, "It's not overbearing in its creativity, and it's not paper thin. In the end, it's simply a superb role-playing experience—one of the best. There's not much you can compare it to. Baldur's Gate II has no peers." GameSpot would later say, "all in all, Baldur's Gate II is a towering achievement in the history of role-playing games." Computer Gaming World's reviewer said, "Even though I think of this as Game Of The Year or even Hall Of Fame material, I won't trap myself with the 'best RPG ever' phrase. But it certainly ranks up there with greats like Fallout, Planescape: Torment, and Betrayal At Krondor." He also said, "While it doesn't have the emotional or philosophical resonance of Planescape: Torment, it isn't the light-adventure fare of Icewind Dale either." In a 2007 Gamasutra article on the "Platinum and Modern Ages" of computer role-playing games (CRPGs), Matt Barton wrote, "Contemporary reviewers fell over themselves praising the game and giving it the highest possible marks; it didn't take an orb of true seeing to know this game was platinum. For what it's worth, I consider it the finest CRPG ever designed."

Baldur's Gate II's gameplay was called "addicting" by GamePro. RPGamer said, "the game plays pretty much the same Except for combat. Here we've taken a big step up from the frustrating ordeals in Baldur's Gate. The enemies are no longer quite so cheap, and more strategies are viable." Computer Gaming World said, "you'll definitely put more thought into preparing and executing your battle plan." Some reviewers, however, felt the non-player characters in the game were not as powerful as player-made characters. GameSpy said the game is much more difficult than Baldur's Gate, and requires more strategy and planning than the original does. GameSpot felt the opening level of the game "falls flat," but that it gets much better once the player reaches Athkatla. IGN said, "The beginning sequence alone can take hours and it's entertaining, but to be truthful, it's nothing outstanding. Get past the first area and you emerge in the great city of Athkatla, the capital of Amn. This is where it starts getting really superb."

The game's plot was met positively by reviewers, with GameSpy saying, "The plot can be summarized in one word: Epic. The developers bent over backwards to make you feel like you were making a difference in the game world, as well as provide some very 'awesome' enemies and quests." IGN said, "it's always clear where you need to be, whom you need to speak to, and what you need to accomplish." RPGamer's reviewer, on the other hand, felt the plot was "very straightforward" and "pretty plain," but approved of the side quests, which, he said, "can spin out into minor epics."

The game's graphics were well received. GamePro praised them, saying, "the backdrops are stunning and the spell effects are impressive with or without 3D acceleration." IGN echoed this statement by stating "The comparison between Baldur's Gate and Baldur's Gate II is astounding—like looking at a still oil painting, and then turning to see the scene in living motion on a big screen TV." GameSpot said, "the game's prerendered maps are highly detailed and generally look very good, while the characters and monsters are fluidly animated." FiringSquad said the game's artwork surpassed that of Planescape: Torment, and called the background artwork "fantastic." FiringSquad also praised the voice acting of Baldur's Gate II, saying, "Characters sound alive and vivacious (or depressed, crazy—whatever suits them), bringing a whole new level of depth to game's immersion factor." IGN said, "Outstanding voice acting has been a hallmark of RPGs produced by Bioware and Black Isle, and of course, Baldur's Gate II is no exception. The characters that join you throughout your journey all have a distinct style and voice, and it's the phrases, arguments, and battlecries of the party that get you so attached to them. The only major disappointment is the lack of many more new voices for use with character creation." Reviewers generally found the game's music to be well-done; though RPGamer felt it was "inoffensive but unimpressive."

Gameplanet criticized the game's poor support for online multiplayer, saying it was "unstable and quite frustrating." Jakub Wojnarowicz of FiringSquad felt the lack of communication between players in combat during online games was problematic, but that Local Area Network play would be "a lot more fun and less stressful." PC Zone said, "As in BG, multiplayer is a bit of a disappointment. Come on guys, let's have some multiplayer maps or something." IGN, however, felt that "multiplayer play is still strong and enjoyable." Criticism was also directed at bugs in the game, such as frequent crashes when trying to access certain locations. According to Tim McConnaughy from GameSpy, Baldur's Gate II is "not 100% stable." GameSpot noted that the game's loading times were somewhat long and that the game crashed on occasion, but said these problems are not significant. IGN, though noting that the game slowed down "a bit in intense battles involving a lot of spellcraft or dazzling backgrounds", said, "bugs were nearly nonexistent." GameSpot also felt the small number of character portraits to choose from was a disappointment, and that it was "somewhat unfortunate that the game recycles some of the special effects and miscellaneous sounds and graphics from the first Baldur's Gate."

According to GameSpy, "this is easily one of the finest CRPGs ever made and an experience that no RPG fan should miss".