grinding implies a repetitiveness. it was a joy to level up in BG. if you go off the beaten track and you complete quests then gaining experience points is a product of that. at no point (for me) was there ever a feeling of "right just another hundred hobgolbins to kill before i level up" i just went off and did another quest and through the killing swathes of enemies along the way i gained XP.
you have to look at where you are though in BG. there was a lot of wilderness on the map, not everywhere is going to have dragon masquarading as lord trying to steal land. to me that made BG feel more real because it wasn't as built up or populated as BG2 except in the obvious places like baldurs gate which is an enormous city.
plus mages kick ass.
and it doesn't take all that long to even get to baldurs gate. i guess it depends how you play the game. i enjoy leaving the main quest for a while to explore, therefore it never felt like forever getting to baldurs gate, because when i got make to the main quest i was well levelled enough to get through the dungeons without much of a struggle
doesn't every quest basically boil down to retrieve something/someone or kill something/someone? i can name as many similar quests in BG2
you have to look at where you are though in BG. there was a lot of wilderness on the map, not everywhere is going to have dragon masquarading as lord trying to steal land. to me that made BG feel more real because it wasn't as built up or populated as BG2 except in the obvious places like baldurs gate which is an enormous city.
plus mages kick ass.
and it doesn't take all that long to even get to baldurs gate. i guess it depends how you play the game. i enjoy leaving the main quest for a while to explore, therefore it never felt like forever getting to baldurs gate, because when i got make to the main quest i was well levelled enough to get through the dungeons without much of a struggle
doesn't every quest basically boil down to retrieve something/someone or kill something/someone? i can name as many similar quests in BG2
You pretty much need to just go out into the wilds and kill stuff or find random sidequests if you want to have the experience and gear to actually further the plot. And low level Mages are ridiculous dead weight, playing a Warrior class is clearly a major advantage in that game.
I also find that the plot takes a long time to actually get interesting - everything between Nashkel and Baldur's Gate is a boring sequence of "there's a guy at the end of the dungeon. You kill him. He was taking orders from this other guy at the end of that other dungeon. Repeat. And this is also the period where you'll be doing most of the sidequests. I'm not really sure what you're talking about with the side story thing, I'd rather say the opposite, Shadows of Amn had sidestories, Baldur's Gate has sidequests. Mostly just wander around find someone who asks you to kill something or retrieve an item carried by a monster. Or kill mercenaries, bounty hunters and bandits in the wilds.
Incidentally, I have to give special mention to Gullykin. That sidequest is ridiculously poorly developed.
I also find that the plot takes a long time to actually get interesting - everything between Nashkel and Baldur's Gate is a boring sequence of "there's a guy at the end of the dungeon. You kill him. He was taking orders from this other guy at the end of that other dungeon. Repeat. And this is also the period where you'll be doing most of the sidequests. I'm not really sure what you're talking about with the side story thing, I'd rather say the opposite, Shadows of Amn had sidestories, Baldur's Gate has sidequests. Mostly just wander around find someone who asks you to kill something or retrieve an item carried by a monster. Or kill mercenaries, bounty hunters and bandits in the wilds.
Incidentally, I have to give special mention to Gullykin. That sidequest is ridiculously poorly developed.
So I gotta know if this is happening to anyone else...
- 30/04/2011 01:22:24 AM
921 Views
you must gather your party before venturing forth
- 30/04/2011 10:16:34 AM
597 Views
oh god....I hope that narrator makes lots of money. He DESERVES it
- 30/04/2011 10:01:01 PM
581 Views
This behaviour must not continue. Feel the burning stare of my HAMSTER and change your ways!
- 30/04/2011 11:43:38 PM
662 Views
the best. Particularly since follow-ups having come CLOSE :rollups:
- 01/05/2011 12:25:01 AM
567 Views
To me, yes, but then I'm currently playing it, so not as odd. 
- 01/05/2011 12:25:17 AM
577 Views
- 01/05/2011 12:25:17 AM
577 Views
live by the sword live a good long time!
- 01/05/2011 01:30:21 AM
686 Views
I've never played the first one - sounds like there are some good lines there too. *NM*
- 01/05/2011 09:44:48 PM
276 Views
...how could you play the follow-ups without playing the first one?
- 02/05/2011 01:18:12 AM
606 Views
I never played BG1 and still REALLY enjoyed BG2. The story seemed a clean enough break to "get it."
- 02/05/2011 01:14:23 PM
530 Views
Yeah, exactly... I don't really feel the loss.
- 02/05/2011 10:50:04 PM
673 Views
to put it simply, you're wrong about the gameplay.
- 03/05/2011 01:42:10 PM
645 Views
It might clarify things a bit if I say I've never played tabletop RPGs.
- 03/05/2011 10:21:34 PM
727 Views
Baldur's Gate requires level grinding though.
- 03/05/2011 11:47:30 PM
835 Views
you don't grind
- 04/05/2011 08:36:12 AM
680 Views
Depends on your perspective I guess.
- 04/05/2011 06:49:52 PM
645 Views
so does every game, honestly. LIFE is level grinding.
- 04/05/2011 10:15:26 AM
647 Views
That's not true, and you know it's not true - you've talked about playing games that don't have it
- 04/05/2011 01:18:51 PM
567 Views
No. Specifically, I was commenting on Baldur's Gate compared to Shadows of Amn.
- 04/05/2011 07:04:55 PM
684 Views
I wasn't aware you were specifically comaring BG to SoA.
- 04/05/2011 07:43:32 PM
564 Views
Ah, sorry then. Yes, it was in reply to the improvements of BG2 to BG1.
- 05/05/2011 12:45:55 AM
655 Views
Re: Ah, sorry then. Yes, it was in reply to the improvements of BG2 to BG1.
- 05/05/2011 01:16:04 AM
598 Views
Re: Ah, sorry then. Yes, it was in reply to the improvements of BG2 to BG1.
- 05/05/2011 02:41:11 AM
634 Views
Re: Ah, sorry then. Yes, it was in reply to the improvements of BG2 to BG1.
- 05/05/2011 03:16:08 AM
599 Views
I do have the impression that SoA (and certainly ToB) swings a bit the other way regarding mages.
- 04/05/2011 09:40:12 PM
710 Views
Yes. It's not the fault of the games though, they're using D&D rules, so it comes with the territory
- 05/05/2011 12:25:21 AM
670 Views
Diablo 1 is vastly superior to Diablo 2. Just saying. *NM*
- 03/05/2011 02:22:44 PM
396 Views
*NM*
- 03/05/2011 02:22:44 PM
396 Views
As I said I haven't played the former, but I really rather doubt it. *NM*
- 03/05/2011 10:22:07 PM
277 Views
*NM*
- 03/05/2011 10:22:07 PM
277 Views
Diablo 1 wins in the story and atmosphere department.
- 03/05/2011 10:37:30 PM
625 Views
If you thought they both had a terrible gameplay...
- 04/05/2011 09:41:46 PM
584 Views
Because they're addicting and I'm exaggerating. I have completed both.
- 04/05/2011 10:04:40 PM
576 Views