Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn

aka: BG2, Baldur's Gate II: Cienie Amn, Baldur's Gate II: Schatten von Amn, Bode zhi Men 2: Anmu de Yinying
Moby ID: 2465
Windows Specs
Note: We may earn an affiliate commission on purchases made via eBay or Amazon links (prices updated 3/27 9:02 PM )

Description official descriptions

Some time after the events described in Baldur's Gate, the protagonist and his friends Imoen, Minsc and Jaheira have been captured by an elven mage called Jon Irenicus. His intentions and connection to the heroes unknown, Irenicus conducts experiments on them, holding them in cages somewhere in his vast underground complex. During his absence, the heroes manage to escape, and soon find themselves in the city of Athkatla in the country of Amn, where they confront Irenicus. However, at that moment several wizards arrive and arrest both Irenicus and Imoen for unlicensed use of magic. The first task at hand is to raise the money needed to rescue Imoen, before facing Irenicus again and unraveling his true goals.

Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn is a party-based role-playing game using the AD&D rules. The basic gameplay is similar to that of its predecessor: the player navigates a party of up to six active combatants over isometric environments, conversing with non-playable characters using branching dialogue, and fighting enemies in real-time, free-movement combat that can be paused to issue specific orders to the characters. World traveling now occurs by selecting locations on a map rather than exploring wilderness areas to reach the destination. However, the game world is larger than in the previous game, with more individual locations to visit and side quests to perform.

Being a direct sequel to Baldur's Gate, the game lets the player control stronger, higher-level characters from the onset. The main character can also be imported from the previous installment. Three new classes (sorcerer, monk, and barbarian) are available along with those that were present in the original game. Characters can also acquire specializations within most of the classes: a paladin, for instance, can become a dragon slayer or an inquisitor. Weapon proficiencies are more specific: for example, instead of just specializing in blades, the player can choose between proficiencies in long swords, two-handed swords, bastard swords, katanas and scimitars. There are many new types of weapons, armor, and magic spells in the sequel.

Sixteen characters may join the party during the course of the story. Each of them has his or her own motivations, sometimes conflicting with those of other characters. Scripted events and interaction with playable as well as non-playable characters have been noticeably increased in the sequel. The main character can also romance some of the companions by choosing appropriate behavior and dialogue lines. The game allows the player to make many moral decisions and pursue character-specific side quests unrelated to the main story. Many of the companions bring their own quests, and unique tasks are available for the main character depending on his or her class.

Spellings

  • Baldur's Gate 2: Тени Амна - Russian spelling
  • 博德之门2:安姆的阴影 - Simplified Chinese spelling
  • 柏德之門II安姆疑雲 - Traditional Chinese spelling

Groups +

Screenshots

Promos

Videos

See any errors or missing info for this game?

You can submit a correction, contribute trivia, add to a game group, add a related site or alternate title.

Credits (Windows version)

384 People (376 developers, 8 thanks) · View all

Dedicated to the memory of
Executive Producer
Line Producer
Producer
Director of Writing and Design
Lead Design
Design
Scripting and Data Entry
Additional Design
Original Baldur's Gate Game Design
Lead Programmer
Programmers
[ full credits ]

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 93% (based on 74 ratings)

Players

Average score: 4.2 out of 5 (based on 285 ratings with 9 reviews)

A Great Sequel!

The Good
The game took the elements of the original Baldur's Gate and made them better. The AI was improved so that when one member of your party is going to pick up treasure, other members will move out of his way. The 800x600 graphic size was a welcome improvement (though you can still play 640x480 if you wish). The ability to make notes in the journal was great for tracking important things like a specific place to return when a quest was completed. Also, now your party gets XP for doing things like picking locks and disarming traps. Conversations with NPCs are better done.

The Bad
What I didn't like was the repetitive music. Don't get me wrong, the music sounds great. It's just that after a while I was sick of hearing it (but I'm always like that). Also it seems that the number of quests gets to be a bit much. Granted doing all these things build experience points but most of them have nothing to do with the main storyline. So at times I would feel like "Ugh! Another tedious quest to do but hey, it will gain me XP and maybe a higher reputation).

The Bottom Line
Basically this game picks up where Baldur's Gate ended and goes from there. There are all kinds of new monsters to challenge your party as you become more powerful. Plenty of new items, spells, etc. in this game. If you like RPG games or D&D, you'll really enjoy BG2.

Windows · by AstroNerdBoy (35) · 2002

It improves on the original, but loses something in the translation

The Good
Graphics went up to 800x600. Quests were easier to follow and track. You practically start out fighting. Some new character classes and abilities. You got to start out at a higher level, with more abilities to play with. The story was still engrossing, the music was still good, and there are still characters to pick up along the way - each with his/her own goals.

You get to play truly evil parties, and it isn't impossible! In fact, Vicconia actually likes you this way... .

The Bad
The entire series seems to suffer from ADD (Attention Deficeit Disorder). You simply cannot complete one quest without being offered four or five more along the way.

Another thing this series of games suffers from is mage-overkill. At the end of every quest there's a spell caster with some spell which is going to make your life miserable.

I found the graphics to be distracting. They were sharper and clearer, but something about them just didn't work for me. Maybe it was too many of the same hue.

Magic items seemed to abound in this game. Arguably, that's the way it should be for higher-level games, but other than my party and the people we were trying to kill, everyone was low-level. If Bob the salesman had +4 armor and weapons, why wouldn't he be out adventuring?

The Bottom Line
Overall, it's a good game. It will probably go down as one of the greats, but for me, it was too much. Part of that may be because I played the original, then immediately started playing this one.

Still, it's challenging (in a good way), and the story is really good. Just stay away from some unnecessary side quests and you should be OK.

Windows · by Cyric (50) · 2001

Cover your nose, Boo! We'll leave no crevices untouched!

The Good
I loved the first Baldur's Gate. It was a beautifully crafted game that pulled AD&D out of stagnation and helped revitalize the entire RPG genre. It was one of those rare games that become classics the moment they are released. Baldur's Gate II is, technically speaking, a very similar game, using the same engine, battle system, and continuing the same story - but it also greatly improves upon many of the predecessor's features.

Baldur's Gate II is a perfect example of how to make a sequel to a great game. Basically, it takes its well-working formula and refines it, expanding possibilities and ironing out rough edges. Undeniably, the single most impressive aspect of the game - and one that instantly propelled its creators to stardom - is the way it manages to combine freedom of decision and exploration with high-quality scripted material. In a way, it is to the first game what Serpent Isle was to Black Gate - but it feels even more independent, more confident in the path it has chosen.

Baldur's Gate II brilliantly turns familiar filler material into meaningful content: it takes purely gameplay-related concepts and weaves them into the narrative, thus making the game world more credible and greatly enhancing our immersion in it. It is the zenith of BioWare's quest design. Instead of "I forgot my purse on the table, can you bring it to me?" type of missions, there is a stunning variety of interesting and exciting tasks. You'll solve personal dramas, plunge into political conspiracies, side with religious orders, make tough choices in questionable moral disputes, manage a castle, investigate crimes, and much more. You'll get attached to certain characters and hate others. Everything in this game is hand-crafted, and while it cannot compete with the likes of Elder Scrolls in quantity, it more than makes up for it in quality.

That is not to say that Baldur's Gate II is too small or too linear. Quite on the contrary: it offers a large, generously designed world with a great variety of locations. Much of the content here is purely optional - you can choose yourself which quests to tackle and which not. A good example is the first major task in the game - collecting a certain sum of money. While the goal itself is clearly set, the game doesn't in the least tell you how to achieve it. It gives you a few hints and then, after a bit of investigation, you are faced with several highly divergent options for completing the task. All of those have their ups and downs, but none is dull and you'll want to explore them all. Or, you can just try to steal the money somewhere or gain it by selling loot - but that's anything but easy, since the sum is large. Though a few sections in the middle of the game are fairly straightforward, you'll be given this kind of freedom most of the time.

Baldur's Gate II is colorful, with exotic locations hidden underneath the European medieval world. You'll travel to enchanted forests, catacombs of the undead, celestial abode of the elves, mysterious drow dwellings, and picturesque city of a strange sentient reptile race. What's great about those areas is not just their aesthetic appeal, but their design: they are tight and busy, teeming with places of interest, items, people, and activities. There is something to discover in every corner. There are quests waiting for you when you least expect it.

Already in the first game you could recruit interesting companions who would travel with you. The sequel improves and builds upon this feature, presenting more characters who could join the party and fleshing out their personalities quite a bit more. Companions would comment on your actions, talk to each other, and develop feelings for you depending on how you treat them. My protagonist was in a pretty good position trying to capture the heart of a charming innocent elf, but at a certain point he couldn't refuse a tempting offer from a certain female drow, and the elf couldn't forgive him this infidelity. This kind of detail enriches the game even more. Well-written, witty conversations are a pleasure to read or (when the occasional voice acting kicks in) listen to.

On top of that, there is so much traditional RPG goodness that you'll have fun even without all those other possibilities. Since everybody are at higher levels now, you start actually feeling some power behind your party, especially the mages. Combat is more satisfying than ever, with the excellent real-time-with-pause system carried over with more options, classes, races, weapons, proficiencies, spells, and what not. You'll destroy huge iron golems and slay dragons, outsmart sly spell-casting beholders and mind flayers with psychic powers. And when you've had enough of combat, you can always return to being a greedy owner of an estate and repress the population with high taxes to get more money, or engage on a chivalrous quest of saving your beloved one from turning into a vampire.

The Bad
There is less than a handful of minor issues, such as the absence of music in most locations - I wish the magnificent track that plays during character creation would be actually heard in-game. A few humorous elements and anachronisms ruining the strict medieval atmosphere may not be everyone's cup of tea. The overarching story is not particularly dynamic and somewhat lacks the initial emotional attachment we had in the first game.

My only real complaint is the lack of a continuous world. Much of the action takes place in a large city divided into several districts, but you can't simply exit it and walk in all directions. Once quests start piling up, locations will appear on your map; there are quite a few, and many of them are optional. But I really missed the traveling aspect of the first Baldur's Gate. I liked just going somewhere way before I was supposed to be there, wandering through the wilderness in search of loot and outposts of civilization. I've never had any sympathy to the kind of disjointed and immersion-breaking map design the sequel uses, and I think it's a pity the first game's more seamless exploration was not carried over.

The Bottom Line
Baldur's Gate II is a gem of an RPG. It is BioWare at the top of their game - full of creative power channeled into the most important design components, inventive and magnanimous at once. There is so much to do here, and all of it feels right - fighting, questing, romancing, and living an exciting adventure in a brilliantly crafted virtual world.

Windows · by Unicorn Lynx (181788) · 2014

[ View all 9 player reviews ]

Trivia

1001 Video Games

Baldur's Gate II appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

German version

In the German version the gore option is set to off by default and removed from the options menu. This results in missing blood and splatter effects.

Novel

Wizards of the Coast published a novelization of this game in 2000, written by Forgotten Realms series editor Philip Athans.

References

  • Ever wonder what happened to the kids from the animated Dungeons and Dragons television show? In the back of the Adventurer's Mart, there are two portraits on the wall of these "Adventures far from home" with rather snide descriptions and the speculation that they ended up in the belly of Tiamat.
  • In the Rangers cabin in Umar hills, you can find a book labeled "The Umar Witch Project", which clearly is a joke referring to the famous Blair Witch Project movie.
  • In the Bridge district of Athkatla, on the third floor of an inn in the western part, you can find a picture of Elvis on the wall!

Sales

In 2001, Baldur's Gate II won the Gold-Award from the German VUD (Verband der Unterhaltungssoftware Deutschland - Entertainment Software Association Germany) for selling more then 100,000 (but less then 200,000) units in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Awards

  • Computer Gaming World
    • April 2001 (Issue #201) – Role-Playing Game of the Year
    • November 2003 (Issue #232) – Introduced into the Hall of Fame
  • Game Informer
    • August 2001 (Issue #100) - #89 in the "Top 100 Games of All Time" poll
  • GameSpy
    • 2000 – RPG Game of the Year
    • 2001 – #37 Top Game of All Time
  • GameStar (Germany)
    • Issue 02/2001 - Best RPG in 2000
    • Issue 02/2001 - Best Gameworld in 2000
  • PC Player (Germany)
    • Issue 01/2001 - Best Game in 2000
    • Issue 01/2001 - Best RPG in 2000
  • Verband der Unterhaltungssoftware Deutschland
    • 2001 - Gold Award

Information also contributed by ClydeFrog, Emil Kraftling, Marko Sošić, Pseudo_Intellectual and Xoleras

Analytics

MobyPro Early Access

Upgrade to MobyPro to view research rankings!

Related Games

Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal
Released 2001 on Windows, 2003 on Macintosh
Baldur's Gate III
Released 2020 on Windows, Macintosh, Stadia...
Baldur's Gate II: The Collection
Released 2002 on Windows, 2014 on Macintosh, Linux
Baldur's Gate: The Original Saga
Released 1999 on Windows, 2014 on Macintosh, Linux
Baldur's Gate: 4 in 1 Boxset
Released 2006 on Windows
Baldur's Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast
Released 1999 on Windows, 2001 on Macintosh
Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition - Deluxe Edition
Released 2021 on Macintosh, Windows
Baldur's Gate III: Digital Deluxe Upgrade
Released 2023 on Windows, Macintosh, PlayStation 5

Related Sites +

  • Baldur's Gate Forum
    The biggest German forum about Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn and other Infinity Engine games.
  • Baldurdash
    A site by Kevin Dorner of Bioware containing hundreds of unofficial bug fixes for both Shadows of Amn and Throne of Bhaal that weren't corrected by any of the official patches.
  • Baldurs Gate Trilogy
    A German Fansite - with tons of detailed informations, walkthrough, and many files, including the unofficial german text-patch
  • Gamasutra: The Anatomy of a Sequel
    A post mortem article by Ray Muzyka (May 2, 2001)
  • Hints for Baldur's Gate 2
    These hints might help you solve the game.
  • Planet Baldur's Gate
    Another Planet, this one covers Baldur's Gate and Tales of the Sword Coast, Baldur's Gate II and the Throne of Bhaal, Icewind Dale, and Planescape: Torment. Files, forums, articles, help, walkthroughs, news, and links populate it. A typical Planet site.
  • Pocket Plane Group
    Pocket Plane Group publishes a number of detailed mods for Baldur's Gate 2 and other Infinity Engine games. BG2 Mods include Kelsey NPC, Quest Pack, the BG1Tutu converter, Banter Packs, and Ashes of Embers.
  • Spellbound Studios
    Spellhold Studios (or SHS) is a community committed to creating mods for different CRPGs, especially Baldur's Gate II and other games using the Infinity Engine, but also Neverwinter Nights and Knights of the Old Republic.

Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 2465
  • [ Please login / register to view all identifiers ]

Contribute

Are you familiar with this game? Help document and preserve this entry in video game history! If your contribution is approved, you will earn points and be credited as a contributor.

Contributors to this Entry

Game added by -Chris.

Macintosh added by Kabushi.

Additional contributors: Dr. Elementary, PCGamer77, Unicorn Lynx, Jeanne, phlux, Corn Popper, JRK, FloodSpectre, Xoleras, Silverblade, Jason Compton, Klaster_1, Paulus18950, Patrick Bregger, FatherJack.

Game added October 1, 2000. Last modified March 20, 2024.