Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal

Nearly the best possible ending to the greatest and most epic CRPG series of all time. Where Baldur's Gate is immense, long and superbly paced, Throne of Bhaal is fast, action-oriented and has you dealing with immense schemes, opponents and forces. Yes, its a little too short and a little too linear, but after the great deal of freedom of the first two games the tightly driven conclusion- complete with frenetic combat at god-like levels - well, it just works. God-like powers, invulnerable fire giants, elder demon lords and other ridiculous challenges await you, and after 2 long games, you've earned it. Its a hell of a lot of fun to see your party grown from struggling with kobolds and xvarts back in BG 1 to easily dispatching mariliths, hive mothers or the armies of entire nations.

As always, the tactical combat is excellent and challenging, although I suggest getting the advanced mods to up the difficulty level in many of the encounters for experienced users (while still playing on Core Rules).

And of course, you finally get a satisfying ending to the story itself, slowly built up over two and a half games. A fitting conclusion is provided for each of your party members, and you'll probably come away feeling just a bit nostalgic for all those hours you spent babysitting them.

Bioware were forced to finish the series quickly because they were apparently about to get bought out and feared they would never have the chance under their new owners.

The Throne of Bhaal extension is not too bad though. Its not as extensive in story line or sub-plots but it still concludes the main story in a satisfactory way. I always imagined the last chapter concluding at Baldur's Gate again but we can't always have what we desire. The NPCs are the same (except one new playable one) and the Bhaalspawn you have to face are tough, some more than others.

The music in this is top notch and would say the best in the series, if nothing else, this is superior to its predecessors.

Firstly I had better say that i have not played the original Baldur's Gate, only it's sequel Shadows of Amn and this expansion.

I was pleased to see that a new area is added to the conventional BG2 map as well as the expansion's map. This is Watchers Keep, where Helmites struggle to contain an ancient Evil sealed away by the god's themselves... This Dungeon was totally that, full of puzzles and cool sub-missions much like Spellhold... After that I moved on to the Expansion. I was pleased.

The numbers of the Bhaal spawn thin and the powerful have survived, hunting down all their blood brothers. There are now seven remaining contenders for the Throne of Bhaal. You and your sister Imoen are now marked for death by the five others. Once again, like it or not, Hero will be forced to act out of survival (or maniacal glee), It will never be over until there are no others.

But if peace is earned at last what of your legacy? Do the realms need a new God of Murder? Although somewhat more linear in story, and a little constricting in comparison to BG2's main quest I found it an appropriate pace for the weaving together of the loose ends of the Saga. There is still good humor spread throughout and more than a few breathtakingly powerful new items and weapons. As you near the end of this quest your character approaches mortal god-hood as levels 20+ bestow you with unbelievable powers, to expand your BG2 character or start from scratch.

Great stuff, but 2D graphics are a little disappointing in todays light. Its a Pity the 3D descendants of this series, Neverwinter etc, never really hit the mark like this one. Great Finale for a Great Tale.

Get it, its not that long (or expensive), you wont lose any friends or jobs in the time it takes to finish.