Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn

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Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00005AG2L
• Item Weight: 12 ounces
• Media: CD-ROM
• Release Date: October 25, 2001
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #9,745 in Video Games (See Bestsellers in Video Games)

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  Video Games > Mac Games > Role-Playing

• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Platform: Mac | Edition: Standard

Amazon.com Review

It's not easy being a child of a god. Your character quickly comes to this conclusion after being imprisoned and tortured by a wizard with an unhealthy interest in your parentage. So begins Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn, an ambitious role-playing game based on the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons game.

Shadows of Amn is not really a sequel to Baldur's Gate. Instead, Baldur's Gate was merely a prelude to Shadows of Amn. Shadows of Amn develops the plot lines, characters, and events introduced in the first game into a mature, genuinely interesting fantasy tale. Players who thought the original game shallow will be pleasantly surprised by Shadows of Amn's bold story arcs. Major events are afoot, and the characters' choices have a real impact on the Forgotten Realms.

In the same way, Baldur's Gate served as a proving ground for the refined game mechanics evident in Shadows of Amn. The game's artificial intelligence has been vastly improved, and players have many more choices for NPC AI scripts and party communication. Keeping with Shadows of Amn's more mature theme, the party interaction even includes possible love interests for your character.

Those who played through the original Baldur's Gate can import their character into Shadows of Amn, or can choose to create a new character. Character kits such as the Mageslayer and Swashbuckler add variety, and the game even includes the Monk, Sorcerer, Barbarian, and Half-Orc options from the new Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition rules. Whether you import an old character or create a new one, you'll begin the game as a fairly advanced character--unlike most RPGs, you won't have to spend hours slaying puny critters and instead are plunged into a high-stakes plot against powerful foes.

A strong plot backed by strong technology makes Shadows of Amn stand out as one of the best RPGs we've ever played. Fans of AD&D will love the classic AD&D feel, and fans of the popular Forgotten Realms setting will delight in the people, places, and politics found in Shadows of Amn. --Michael Fehlauer

Pros:

• High-level power gaming
• Quality voice work
• Improves the already great Baldur's Gate interface
• Character kits and D&D 3rd Edition races and classes add variety
• Advances the plot begun in Baldur's Gate

Cons:

• Based on obsolete AD&D 2nd Edition rules
• Character animations are stiff
• Player's character starts out less powerful than other party members

Amazon.com Product Description

In Baldur's Gate 2: Shadow of Amn, you face an uncertain future, with a lineage that tempts the unscrupulous to use you and the ignorant to fear you. You will face a foe that views you as no more than chattel and that toys with you at every turn; a villain whose goals go beyond a quest for power and who threatens to use a lost companion as a tool for unparalleled destruction. The choices to be made will not be easy, and you may have to align with the lesser of evils, even though all evils cannot help but seem equal. In the end you will have mourned lost loves, celebrated new ones, and had adventures that profoundly shaped the Realms.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As good as it gets ..., March 25, 2002

By	HLB (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews

It had been a long, long wait for the original Baldur's Gate to come to the Mac, and when it finally did come, it proved to be a fine RPG, albeit with a few too many more or less empty areas to traverse (unless you consider killing wild dogs and wolves highly thrilling). However, where the game truly disappointed was in its buggy performance--unexpected quits were frequent before the first patches arrived, and during the exceedingly long save & load times you could basically go to the kitchen and fix yourself a sandwich (and eat it, too).

All of this has changed in BG II. Loading & saving is swift--if you are in a tough battle and have to try different approaches (or avert disaster), you will find frequent reloads fast and feasible. If you have enough hard disk space to perform a full install, these processes will execute even faster. The game is also blissfully stable, at least in Mac OS 9 (I was able to run it well enough in OS X, but didn't like the screen resolutions it offers for this game). Also nice is the option to play BG II at 800x600 resolution, making for a nice, wide view of the areas or battlefields. As far as gameplay is concerned, one very noticeable improvement is in the pathfinding--characters will now squeeze past their fellow party members to get to their destinations. No longer will your frail mages who happened to end up in the front line get pounded in tight spots, while the burly warriors are stuck in the back.

The game offers a very involved plot with plenty of subplots (although the availability of some of these depends on the kind of character you play), and the main storyline progresses a little more tightly than in the first BG. A very nice touch is the strong interaction with--and among--your party members. They will bicker, flirt, and even fall in love with you or one another. This is no mere atmospheric touch--when a character really doesn't get along with the others, you may have to consider sending them off on their own way because the infighting can get pretty ugly. Anyone who has had Viconia, Jaheira, and Aerie in their party will know what I mean. Alignment matters here in more than one way, as well: evil characters may have spells available that will specifically target good creatures (and they will in turn be harmed by some 'good' spells), so if you maintain a mixed bunch, you may have to avoid using certain magicks or some of your party members may get hurt more than wicked enemies!

Some quests are initiated by characters approaching your party members (in friendly or unfriendly ways) rather than you, although whether to accept the tasks involved is up to you--just be aware that some characters will leave if they have truly pressing business to take care off. The dialog and voice acting is superb throughout. All of this enhances the feeling of immersion in a complex world that happens all around you.

Magical items, including weapons, armour, rings, scrolls, and more, are by far more numerous than in BG II (but not as ubiquitous as in Diablo II), and after a while, your characters should have collected a choice selection of equipment.

What truly amazed me about this game is how many different ways often present themselves to deal with certain situations ... from clever magicks to brute force to diplomacy ... more than once, mercy and compassion are rewarded more than quick arrows, swords, and fireballs--making battle altogether unnecessary.

For those who feel that having equipment repaired by blacksmiths in Diablo was already a tedium, BG II may prove too fussy as far as character maintenance goes (not to mention that combat is also a pretty complex affair--the space bar, which pauses the action, will become your best friend) ... but if you think micro-managing a diverse party of adventurers with widely different talents is to die for, BG II will have you in a swoon. Oh, by the way, it looks pretty as the night sky in August, too!

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Baldur's Gate: Bigger, Longer and Uncut, September 27, 2001

By	B. Baber "phonics monkey" (Wisconsin) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Forget about Sophomore slump; this is a game in which the sequel outdoes the original. Think Aliens, think Wrath of Khan, lump this into the category of second-hand genius.

I played this game a good way through on the PC before discovering that MacPlay was bringing it to Mac. Knowing that I would have a chance to experience Baldur's Gate 2 on my favored platform, I gave a friend the PC version and hunkered down to wait. From playing the original about 2/3 through, I can tell you the following:

* Character creation is fabulously deep, and the dialogue trees with the NPCs are hilarious. Your actions really seem to have repercussions, which goes a long way to making you feel involved.
* The number of FedEx quests (go get this thing and bring it back) have been greatly reduced, and those that exist have fun twists.
* Combat is much better. The auto-pause feature, if used wisely, will save you from a lot of savegame reloads.
* The management of high-level quests and adventures boggles the mind. It's an interesting dilemma: how does one make a super-high-level quest exciting? When killing orcs loses all challenge, how do you keep hitting the player with problems that seem both appropriate and dangerous? The Black Isle team manages quite well.
* The writing is not on the level of a good novel, but it's better than most films, and superior to 99% of television. People have compared BG2 to a novel, but I think they're responding to the length and immersive nature of the game. It's good, but it ain't exactly Charles Dickens.

On the downside (since I'm obligated to give at least one), this game has the potential to hurt your marriage, relationships, children, friends and/or pets. Try to budget your time when this hot little number shows up on your doorstep.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very addictive, October 16, 2004

By	Glynn Clapsaddle "[e-mail]" (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

I originally bought this game for my PC. Then, when I converted, I looked at all the games on the Mac. Dungeon Siege didn't have the same type of game play, and Icewindale was just too outdated. However, I loved Baldur's Gate so much...that I bought it again, only the Mac version. The graphics are not the latest and greatest compared to what is out now, but they are very attractive. The big thing for me is the gameplay. The newer games are designed around the user playing only one character. In BG2, I had more fun creating different parties and combinations on my own. The only complaint I had, really, was that this has an experience point cap, so you can't get all the highest level spells and abilities. But, if you buy the BG2, Throne of Baal, it removes that cap and adds even more spells. I recommend this to anyone who loves the original feel of the D&D game.

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