Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn - Gameplay

Gameplay

Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn is an Advanced Dungeons & Dragons computer role-playing game. The "core" game consists of about sixty hours of play, while the full game, including all side quests, totals around 300 hours. The player controls a party of up to six characters, one of whom is the protagonist; if the latter dies, a saved-game must be loaded, or a new game begun. It is played from an isometric perspective, and the screen, which is not locked to the main character, as in games such as Diablo or Neverwinter Nights, is scrolled with the mouse or the keyboard. The player interacts with characters and objects by clicking on them. Clicking on the ground causes the player's selected characters to move. The gameplay, though in real-time, can be paused: in which state commands may be issued to controllable characters, who, upon the game's being unpaused, will attempt to execute them. The game can also be set to pause automatically at certain times. Dialogue is started by non-player characters (NPCs) at certain scripted times, or by the player's clicking on NPCs who are not immediately hostile. When speaking to an NPC, the player must often choose what to say from a list of responses. Dialogue may lead to quests or important information.

The game begins with character creation, where, through a series of configuration screens, the player creates a player character protagonist, choosing such things as class, ability scores, and alignment. Alternatively, an existing character from Baldur's Gate or Tales of the Sword Coast can be imported. Once in the game world, the player may recruit certain NPCs to travel with him or her, though only five may do so at a time; and, depending on who is present in the group, bickering, romance, and side-quests can all result. They often converse with the player or with one another, and at times interject into the player's conversations with others. When a character in the group gains the necessary experience points, he or she gains a level. Experience points are awarded for certain player actions, such as killing enemies or completing quests. The party also has a reputation, which is affected by the player's moral actions, and which, along with the party leader's charisma attribute, influences how NPCs in the game world react to the player. The characters in the party will also complain if the party's reputation conflicts with their alignment. Resting heals the characters in the party and refreshes those who are fatigued; also, resting allows a character to memorize spells. The game contains over 300 spells available for memorization.

As noted above, clicking on the ground causes the player's selected characters to move. Areas are revealed as they are explored by the player's characters. Of the explored sections, a fog of war is in effect where the player's characters are not present. The player can also change the formation in which the party moves. Clicking an area exit, such as a doorway or staircase, causes another area to be loaded. Clicking on the edge of an outside area causes the party to travel there. When they reach it, the player is presented with the World Map, from which a location to travel to may be selected. Travel between locations is abstracted; though the game, after loading, immediately switches to the new location, within the game world some time has elapsed. When travelling between locations, there is some chance the party may be ambushed.

When the player clicks on a hostile being, which has a red circle round it, his or her selected characters will advance to attack it. The hostile character's or creature's state of health (Uninjured, Barely Injured, Injured, Badly Injured, or Near Death) is shown on a tool-tip, which appears when the mouse pointer is held above it. With the exception of sorcerers, magic-users must memorise spells before they can be cast. Spell-casting takes time and may be disrupted by attacks or other spells.

From the interface can be accessed the area and world maps; the journal, which tracks important information, such as quests and the game's plot; the inventory page, which is used to manage and equip items; the record screen, which is used to view information about, as well as level up, characters in the party; the mage book and priest scroll screens, where spells can be inspected and memorised; and the options screen, where settings may be altered, saved-games loaded, or the game saved or quit.