Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn (Collector's Edition)

The Good
Unlike most other games where your party members(you you select to join you) are just there to help in combat, the characters in Baldur's Gate 2 have a life of their own, with a number of them dragging you into THEIR problems if they are in your party for any length of time. They also will come to YOU to initiate a conversation, and it's up to you how you want to respond. This depth and initiative on the part of the group members that join you are what make BG2 different from the original. The game is also a bit darker than most, with the evil that you fight being more than just an enemy, you get to see some of the really twisted things he has done and is doing. The development of your character is also well done. The game engine has also been refined from the well done Infinity engine used in the original Baldur's Gate and other games like Planescape: Torment. There is finally an option to run in resolutions higher than 640x480. This is a very worthy sequel to the original. Because of the LARGE number of NPCs you can select from, there is also a good level of replayability, just to discover some of the more amusing things about your group members. Most dialog also lets you really be negative, you arn't forced to act like a hero who is virtuous all the time. One nice feature in the game is that you can get a stronghold based on the class you are playing. This stronghold has a few quests associated with it, as well as storage space for all the stuff you don't want to sell but don't want to keep with you all the time. There are also artifacts and items that you can get that grow more powerful as you get more pieces.

The Bad
Some of the side quests are a bit annoying when you find your party members going off suddenly(dropping the equipment they are holding on the ground in the process), and a number of them lack depth(though it's at an acceptable level)

The Bottom Line
Baldur's Gate 2 is the sequel to the original Baldur's Gate. It features a similar play perspective as Diablo, but is NOT a click-fest game, falling more toward the RPG side of things, with a multiple choice dialog interface for interacting with NPCs in the game. The graphics are good for their time, but they lack the ability to zoom in, or rotate the view. You choose(or create) a single main character, either created fresh, or imported from the original Baldur's Gate, and lead this character through the game. You have the option to add people to your party(up to 6 at once), or to tough it out yourself. And so, you start the game. You start out in what most would call a "starter dungeon", and it shows that your enemy in the game goes beyond just being a "bad guy", and has a bit of depth. As a result, those who play a "good" character will appreciate having a desire to rid the world of someone that evil, and those who play evil will just want to remove a real problem from their lives. If you enjoy role playing games, and are tired of click-fest action games more suited to a console than a computer, then I strongly recomend BG2, as well as the expansion pack.