Baldur’s Gate

_Baldur’s Gate_ was released in 1998, a long time ago. I remember seeing it reviewed in a games magazine and being fascinated by the description of a vast fantasy world with a great storyline. I managed to get my hands on the game a year or two later and have been playing it sporadically ever since.

Compared to modern RPGs, _Baldur’s Gate_ can seem quite arcane. There is no magical path
or map marker helping you to find quest objectives and death in combat doesn’t just mean you
respawn and carry on. If you want an easy RPG with plenty of hand-holding, then this isn’t it.
With hundreds of hours of gameplay, _Baldur’s Gate_ is a big investment and one that rewards
practice and patience.

You play a fostered child who is looked after by an old man named Gorion. Right after the tutorial-style quests at the beginning of the game, Gorion is killed by a mysterious creature who is very interested in you. You run away from the fight and awaken in the morning just south of the battlefield. It’s a dramatic start and drops you straight into the story; this can be a bit overwhelming as the combat is very unforgiving.

Once you start to get used to saving very often and cautiously moving around the map, you will have some time to take in the world. By today’s standards the graphics are terrible, but the Infinity Engine is responsible for a number of Black Isle’s best RPGs. The 2D isometric graphics are distinctive and suit the gameplay well and the pre-rendered backgrounds are remarkably detailed for their age. The main problem with the graphics is the low resolution.
640×480 pixels does not help make the game look any less aged. A number of fan-made mods
exist that convert the Baldur’s Gate content into a form that can be run on the _Baldur’s Gate 2_ engine, providing slightly better aesthetics for this aging game.

As I have said, combat is hard but satisfying. Like many RPGs, players who choose one of the
magic classes may have a tough time at the start of the game, but after a few levels will dominate nearly all opponents. Other classes are slightly more rounded, with an easier time at the start, becoming tougher as they progress. With weapons, combat is a simple point-and-click affair, but using magic can get tricky and needs judicious use of pause (conveniently mapped to the space bar). Spells must be selected and cast one at a time and it can be difficult picking out targets in the middle of a battle, especially with the fixed isometric camera.

Deciding to play _Baldur’s Gate_ again after a two-year hiatus revolves around two things: the
fantastic storyline and an involving world filled with things to do. Coming back into the game
evokes nostalgia and it’s easy to get lost in the world all over again.