''Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn'' is a
role-playing video game developed by
BioWare
BioWare is a Canadian video game developer based in Edmonton, Alberta. It was founded in 1995 by newly graduated medical doctors Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk and Augustine Yip, alongside Trent Oster, Brent Oster, and Marcel Zeschuk. Since 2007, ...
and published by
Interplay Entertainment
Interplay Entertainment Corp. is an American video game developer and Video game publisher, publisher based in Los Angeles. The company was founded in 1983 as Interplay Productions by developers Brian Fargo, Jay Patel, Troy Worrell, and Rebecca ...
. It is the sequel to ''
Baldur's Gate
''Baldur's Gate'' is a series of role-playing video games set in the Forgotten Realms '' Dungeons & Dragons'' campaign setting. The game has spawned two series, known as the ''Bhaalspawn Saga'' and the ''Dark Alliance'', both taking place mostl ...
'' (1998) and was released for
Microsoft Windows in September 2000. Like ''Baldur's Gate'', the game takes place in the
Forgotten Realms
''Forgotten Realms'' is a campaign setting for the '' Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers alike as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as ...
—a fantasy campaign setting—and is based on the ''
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons
Several different editions of the '' Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') fantasy role-playing game have been produced since 1974. The current publisher of ''D&D'', Wizards of the Coast, produces new materials only for the most current edition of the ...
'' 2nd edition rules. Powered by BioWare's
Infinity Engine
BioWare is a Canadian video game developer based in Edmonton, Alberta. It was founded in 1995 by newly graduated medical doctors Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk and Augustine Yip, alongside Trent Oster, Brent Oster, and Marcel Zeschuk. Since 2007, t ...
, ''Baldur's Gate II'' uses an isometric perspective and pausable real-time gameplay. The player controls a party of up to six characters, one of whom is the player-created protagonist, while the others are certain characters recruited from the game world.
Set in the fictional Forgotten Realms, much of ''Baldur's Gate II'' takes place in and around
Athkatla, a city in the country of
Amn. Opening shortly after the events of ''Baldur's Gate'', the game continues the story of the protagonist, Gorion's Ward, whose unique heritage has now drawn the attention of Jon Irenicus, a powerful and sinister mage. The storyline revolves around the machinations of Irenicus and the player's encounters with him.
Development began in January 1999. BioWare set out to improve upon the first ''Baldur's Gate'' in every way possible. From a list of constructive criticism—compiled from the suggestions of fans, reviews, and internal suggestions—a list of features to be added to the game was distilled: some of these were 800 x 600 resolution, 3D support, and character kits. In ''Baldur's Gate'', the game's engine and content were being developed at the same time; whereas in ''Baldur's Gate II'', the engine was running from the start. Having a completed engine meant they could direct their efforts towards producing content, instead of focusing on basic functionality.
''Shadows of Amn'' received critical acclaim, being praised for its gameplay, artwork, and voice acting, and is often regarded as
one of the best video games ever made. GameSpy, GameSpot, and IGN awarded it their "Role-Playing Game of the Year" awards for 2000, and the game has sold more than two million units. An expansion pack, ''
Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal'', was released in 2001. Besides adding a large dungeon and enhancements to the game, this well-received expansion concluded the Child of Bhaal saga. ''Shadows of Amn'' and ''Throne of Bhaal'' have also been included together in various compilations. In 2013, an enhanced version of ''Baldur's Gate II'' was released, bearing the title ''
Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition'' and using an updated version of the Infinity Engine. A sequel ''
Baldur's Gate III
''Baldur's Gate III'' is an upcoming role-playing video game developed and published by Larian Studios. It is the third main game in the ''Baldur's Gate'' series, which is itself based on the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' tabletop role-playing syste ...
'' is in development by
Larian Studios
Larian Studios is a Belgian video game developer and publisher founded in 1996 by Swen Vincke. It focuses on developing role-playing video games and has previously worked on educational games and a number of casino games. It is best known for dev ...
.
Gameplay
''Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn'' is an
''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' 2nd edition computer role-playing game
A role-playing video game (commonly referred to as simply a role-playing game or RPG, as well as a computer role-playing game or CRPG) is a video game genre where the player controls the actions of a character (or several party members) immers ...
. The central quest of the game consists of about 50 to 60 hours of play, while the full game, including all
side quests
A quest, or mission, is a task in video games that a player-controlled character, Party (role-playing games), party, or group of characters may complete in order to gain a reward. Quests are most commonly seen in Role-playing video games, role- ...
, is estimated to be between 200 and 300 hours.
The player controls a party of up to six characters, one of whom is the protagonist;
[ if the protagonist dies, a saved-game must be loaded, or a new game begun. The game begins with ]character creation
Character creation (also character generation or character design) is the process of defining a game character or other character. Typically, a character's individual strengths and weaknesses are represented by a set of statistics. Games with a ...
through a series of configuration screens, choosing such things as class
Class or The Class may refer to:
Common uses not otherwise categorized
* Class (biology), a taxonomic rank
* Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects
* Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differentl ...
, ability scores, appearance, and alignment
Alignment may refer to:
Archaeology
* Alignment (archaeology), a co-linear arrangement of features or structures with external landmarks
* Stone alignment, a linear arrangement of upright, parallel megalithic standing stones
Biology
* Structu ...
. Alternatively, an existing character from ''Baldur's Gate
''Baldur's Gate'' is a series of role-playing video games set in the Forgotten Realms '' Dungeons & Dragons'' campaign setting. The game has spawned two series, known as the ''Bhaalspawn Saga'' and the ''Dark Alliance'', both taking place mostl ...
'' or its expansion '' Tales of the Sword Coast'' can be imported.[ Once in the game world, the player may recruit certain ]non-player characters
A non-player character (NPC), or non-playable character, is any character in a game that is not controlled by a player. The term originated in traditional tabletop role-playing games where it applies to characters controlled by the gamemaster o ...
(NPCs) to travel with him or her, though only five may do so at a time; and, depending on who is present in the group, bickering, romance, and side quests can result. NPCs in the party often converse with the player or with one another, and at times interject into the player's conversations with others.
The game is played from an isometric perspective
Isometric video game graphics are graphics employed in video games and pixel art that use a parallel projection, but which angle the viewpoint to reveal facets of the environment that would otherwise not be visible from a top-down perspective o ...
, and the screen, which does not need to remain centered on the protagonist, can be scrolled with the mouse or keyboard. Areas are revealed as they are explored by the player's characters. A fog of war
The fog of war (german: links=no, Nebel des Krieges) is the uncertainty in situational awareness experienced by participants in military operations. The term seeks to capture the uncertainty regarding one's own capability, adversary capability, ...
effect hides explored areas when the player's characters move away from them. The player can also change the formation in which the party moves. Clicking an area exit, such as a doorway or staircase, causes another area to be loaded. Clicking on the edge of an outside area causes the party to travel there; the game then presents the player with the World Map, from which the player may select a destination.
The player interacts with characters and objects by clicking on them. Clicking on the ground causes the player's selected characters to move. The gameplay, though in real-time, can be paused, whereupon commands may be issued to controllable characters, who will attempt to execute them when the game is unpaused. The game can also be set to pause automatically at certain times. Dialogue is started by NPCs at certain scripted times, or by the player's clicking on NPCs who are not immediately hostile. When speaking to an NPC, the player must often choose what to say from a list of responses. The dialogue may lead to quests or important information. When the player clicks on a hostile being, the currently selected characters will advance to attack it. Information about characters, creatures, items, and buildings in the game environment is shown on a tool tip, which appears when the mouse pointer is held over game elements.
When a character in the group gains the necessary experience points, he or she gains a level. Experience points are awarded for certain player actions, such as killing enemies or completing quests. The party also has a reputation, which is affected by the player's moral actions, and which, along with the party leader's charisma attribute, influences how NPCs in the game world react to the player. The characters in the party will also complain if the party's reputation conflicts with their alignment. Resting heals the characters in the party and refreshes those who are fatigued; also, resting allows a character to memorize spells. The game contains over 300 spells available for memorization.[ With the exception of sorcerers, magic-users must memorize spells before they can be cast. Spell-casting takes time and may be disrupted by attacks or other spells.
The player can access sub-screens through the interface: area and world maps; the journal, which tracks important information, such as quests and the game's plot; the inventory page, which is used to manage and equip items; the record screen, which is used to view information about, as well as level up, characters in the party; the mage book and priest scroll screens, where spells can be inspected and memorized; and the options screen, where settings may be altered, saved-games loaded, or the game saved or quit.
]
Classes and kits
During character creation the player chooses a class: fighter, ranger
A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to:
* Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...
, paladin
The Paladins, also called the Twelve Peers, are twelve legendary knights, the foremost members of Charlemagne's court in the 8th century. They first appear in the medieval (12th century) ''chanson de geste'' cycle of the Matter of France, where ...
, thief
Theft is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shorthand term for some ...
, bard, mage
Mage most commonly refers to:
* Mage (paranormal) or magician, a practitioner of magic derived from supernatural or occult sources
* Mage (fantasy) or magician, a type of character in mythology, folklore, and fiction
*Mage, a character class in s ...
, cleric
Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...
, druid, barbarian, monk
A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...
, or sorcerer (the last three of which are new for the game).[ Different classes have different special abilities and restrictions; a thief character, for instance, can find and remove traps, but thieves have limitations on which weapons and armor they may use, and cannot be of lawful good ]alignment
Alignment may refer to:
Archaeology
* Alignment (archaeology), a co-linear arrangement of features or structures with external landmarks
* Stone alignment, a linear arrangement of upright, parallel megalithic standing stones
Biology
* Structu ...
. Most classes also have a subset of ''kits'', or specializations within a class, to choose from. Kits have special advantages and, usually, disadvantages; for example, the cavalier
The term Cavalier () was first used by Roundheads as a term of abuse for the wealthier royalist supporters of King Charles I and his son Charles II of England during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration (1642 – ) ...
—one of the kits of the paladin class—specializes in fighting monsters such as dragons
A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...
and demons, but cannot use missile weapon
A ranged weapon is any weapon that can engage targets beyond hand-to-hand distance, i.e. at distances greater than the physical reach of the user holding the weapon itself. The act of using such a weapon is also known as shooting. It is someti ...
s. At some point in the game, the player may join or take over a ''stronghold
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere' ...
''. The type of stronghold is determined by the protagonist's class.
Multiplayer
The game also has a multiplayer
A multiplayer video game is a video game in which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time, either locally on the same computing system ( couch co-op), on different computing systems via a local area network, or ...
mode, in which up to six human players can adventure through the game, controlling player-made characters as well as recruited NPCs. The content of the game is otherwise the same, and one player controls the protagonist.
Plot
Setting
The Forgotten Realms
''Forgotten Realms'' is a campaign setting for the '' Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers alike as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as ...
, the high fantasy
High fantasy, or epic fantasy, is a subgenre of fantasy defined by the epic nature of its setting or by the epic stature of its characters, themes, or plot.Brian Stableford, ''The A to Z of Fantasy Literature'', (p. 198), Scarecrow Press, ...
campaign setting
A campaign setting is usually a fictional world which serves as a setting for a role-playing game or wargame campaign. A '' campaign'' is a series of individual adventures, and a ''campaign setting'' is the world in which such adventures and c ...
in which ''Baldur's Gate II'' is set, is a fictional world similar to a medieval Earth, but with its own peoples, geography, and history. In the Realms, as its inhabitants call it, fantastic creatures and magic are common.
''Baldur's Gate II'' takes place mainly in Amn, a country on the subcontinent of Faerûn
Faerûn is a fictional continent and the primary setting of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' world of ''Forgotten Realms''. It is described in detail in several editions of the ''Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting'' (first published in 1987 by TSR, Inc. ...
. This country, known commonly as the Merchant Kingdom, lies south of Baldur's Gate
''Baldur's Gate'' is a series of role-playing video games set in the Forgotten Realms '' Dungeons & Dragons'' campaign setting. The game has spawned two series, known as the ''Bhaalspawn Saga'' and the ''Dark Alliance'', both taking place mostl ...
; wealth and trade are the chief concerns of the region. The capital city of Athkatla, around which a fair portion of the game revolves, is the most important in Amn and is ruled by the anonymous Council of Six. The local thieves' guild, the Shadow Thieves, also has considerable power. The group, which operates all along the Sword Coast
A sword is an edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter blade with a pointed tip ...
, is based in Athkatla. Another powerful organization in Amn are the Cowled Wizards
''Forgotten Realms'' is a campaign setting for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers alike as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a ...
, who regulate the use of magic in the region. The Shadow Thieves, the Cowled Wizards, and the Harpers, a semi-secret conglomeration of good organizations,[ all factor prominently into the story and provide side quests.][
Besides Athkatla, other places the player will pass through include: an island, on which stands both the port town of Brynnlaw and the asylum Spellhold; the ]Underdark
The Underdark is a fictional setting which has appeared in ''Dungeons & Dragons'' role-playing campaigns and ''Dungeons & Dragons''-based fiction books, including the Legend of Drizzt series by R. A. Salvatore. It is described as a vast subterra ...
; the city of Suldanessellar; and the Astral Plane.[ There are also other places, which may be explored: the Umar Hills,][ where people have been disappearing; a temple ruins,][ fallen under the shadow of the Shade Lord; the de'Arnise Keep, home of the de'Arnises but recently overrun by trolls; the town of Trademeet, under attack by animals; a druid grove connected to Trademeet's woes; the Windspear Hills, where the player becomes entangled in the intrigues of Firkraag, a dragon; the underwater Sahuagin city; and the Planar Prison.
''Baldur's Gate II'' is set in the year 1369 DR (Dale Reckoning), and thus takes place not long after the ]Time of Troubles
The Time of Troubles (russian: Смутное время, ), or Smuta (russian: Смута), was a period of political crisis during the Tsardom of Russia which began in 1598 with the death of Fyodor I (Fyodor Ivanovich, the last of the Rurik dy ...
(1358 DR), when the Tablets of Fate, powerful magic items which maintain a balance between good and evil, were stolen. Lord Ao
''Forgotten Realms'' is a campaign setting for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers alike as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a ...
, the Overdeity, forced the gods to become mortal until the Tablets were found;[ some gods died while in this mortal state.][
]
Characters
Bhaal, the God of Murder, was one such god, slain by an adventurer named Cyric, who himself became a god. But Bhaal foresaw his destruction and walked the land before the other gods. He left behind him "a score of mortal progeny," whose later deaths, when they were slain by heroes, would fuel his rebirth. The game's protagonist is one of these offspring; but, through the choices of the player, may be either good or evil.[ The character grew up in the library fortress of Candlekeep, watched over by the mage Gorion.] Imoen, who grew up there as well, became a close friend. The story of the first ''Baldur's Gate'' followed their adventure along the Sword Coast, where the hero learned of their heritage and defeated their half-brother Sarevok, a fellow child of Bhaal.
Some notable characters in ''Shadows of Amn'' include: Gaelan Bayle, who offers the party the help of the Shadow Thieves; Aran Linvail, the leader of the Shadow Thieves; Saemon Havarian, who sails the party to an island; Adalon, a silver dragon whose eggs have been stolen and given to drow
The drow ( or ) or dark elves are a dark-skinned and white-haired subrace of elves connected to the subterranean Underdark in the '' Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy roleplaying game. The drow have traditionally been portrayed as generally evil a ...
; Elhan; and Queen Ellesime, the ruler of Suldanessellar. Jon Irenicus and his sister Bodhi are the chief antagonists, Irenicus being the main villain of the game. Celebrated Forgotten Realms character Drizzt Do'Urden
Drizzt Do'Urden () is a fictional character appearing in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game. Drizzt was created by author R. A. Salvatore as a supporting character in the ''Icewind Dale ...
also makes an appearance; and if the player solicits his aid, he and his companions will later help the player.
In ''Baldur's Gate II'', several characters from the first game reappear, of which the following can join the player's party: Imoen, who grew up with the protagonist in Candlekeep; Jaheira, who, with her husband Khalid, was a friend of Gorion's; Minsc, a warrior who carries with him a hamster named Boo; Edwin, a Red Wizard of Thay; and Viconia, a dark elf cleric. There are also many new NPCs who may join the party: Aerie, a winged elf who has lost her wings and was sold to the circus by slavers at a young age; Keldorn, an older paladin and a powerful and respected member of the Most Noble Order of the Radiant Heart; Mazzy, an honorable halfling
Halflings are a fictional race found in some fantasy novels and games. They are often depicted as similar to humans except about half as tall, and are not quite as stocky as the similarly-sized dwarves. Similar to the depiction of hobbits in the ...
fighter and "the nearest thing to a paladin that a halfling can aspire to"; Nalia, who is of the upper class, but, though conscious of class distinction, tries to help those less fortunate than herself; Valygar, who is of a family noted for its talented magic-users, but hates the art; Anomen, a member of the Most Noble Order of the Radiant Heart, and whose wish is to become a full knight; Cernd, a druid; Haer'Dalis, a tiefling bard and one of the actors of an acting troupe; Jan, a gnome, of the Jansen family; Yoshimo, a thief from the land of Kara-Tur; and Korgan, an evil dwarven fighter.
Story
Shortly after the events of ''Baldur's Gate'', the hero and companions are overcome and taken captive. When the game opens, the player character awakens in a cage and is then experimented on by a wizard, who is aware of the player character's heritage and speaks of "untapped power". The wizard is distracted as his complex is attacked by Shadow Thieves, and disappears to fight them. Imoen, appearing from a side room, frees the player character. Jaheira and Minsc are also held in cells close by. Minsc reveals that his witch Dynaheir was killed sometime after their capture, while Jaheira's husband Khalid is later found tortured to death, leaving Jaheira emotionally devastated. The characters fight their way through the underground complex, learning more and more of their captor's despicable character and that his name is ''Irenicus''. At length, escaping the complex, they emerge into the city of Athkatla and witness Irenicus fighting off some of his attackers, whom he destroys. An argument then ensues, during which Imoen angrily attacks Irenicus using magic. The Cowled Wizards
''Forgotten Realms'' is a campaign setting for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers alike as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a ...
appear and, after a fight, arrest both Irenicus and Imoen for the unsanctioned use of magic, and teleport both of them away.
In the slums of Athkatla, a man named Gaelan Bayle offers the party the help of a powerful organization, who can find Imoen or Irenicus for the large sum of 20,000 gold pieces. The party is approached by and offered the help of another rival guild headed by Bodhi; it is the player's choice whom to side with. Meanwhile, Imoen and Irenicus have been removed to an asylum called Spellhold, which is situated on an island. Irenicus soon breaks his bonds and prepares to experiment on Imoen.
Back in Athkatla, the party raises the money necessary and receives assistance from whichever organization it has decided to work with, and gains passage to the island on a ship sailed by the dubious and treacherous Saemon Havarian. The heroes then manage to get inside Spellhold, but they are captured by Irenicus, who has taken control of the prison and had planned all along to bring the protagonist there. Irenicus then subjects the protagonist to a ritual, taking the latter's soul. Imoen, who turns out to be a Child of Bhaal as well, had earlier undergone Irenicus's ritual, and her soul has gone to Bodhi, Irenicus's sister. Bodhi then abandons the party to the maze beneath Spellhold, so that she can hunt them after a span of time, saying also, as bait, that Irenicus may yet be foiled. When they face her, the now soulless protagonist loses control and transforms into a creature called the Slayer, one of the avatar
Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appeara ...
forms of Bhaal. Bodhi, quite taken aback, retreats to tell Irenicus of it. The player character returns to their normal self after a short while. Soon, with the aid of Spellhold's inmates, the party battles Irenicus, forcing him to retreat. The party follows, and reaches the surface via the Underdark
The Underdark is a fictional setting which has appeared in ''Dungeons & Dragons'' role-playing campaigns and ''Dungeons & Dragons''-based fiction books, including the Legend of Drizzt series by R. A. Salvatore. It is described as a vast subterra ...
.
Upon reaching the surface, the party encounters the army of the elven city of Suldanessellar. The elves cannot return to the city, for Irenicus has magically hidden it. To gain access to it, the party secures the Rhynn Lanthorn from Bodhi, who has stolen the artifact; upon Bodhi's death, Imoen's soul is restored. The Rhynn Lanthorn lights the way to Suldanessellar, which has been invaded by Irenicus and his minions. The party proceeds through the city and, at the Tree of Life, learns that Irenicus is draining the power of the Tree, which will doom Suldanessellar. The heroes defeat him, but because Irenicus still has the protagonist's soul, the protagonist is dragged with the wizard into Hell, and the rest of the party are dragged along also. When they defeat Irenicus, they return to life and are honored by the elves of Suldanessellar.
Development
''Baldur's Gate II'' was developed by BioWare
BioWare is a Canadian video game developer based in Edmonton, Alberta. It was founded in 1995 by newly graduated medical doctors Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk and Augustine Yip, alongside Trent Oster, Brent Oster, and Marcel Zeschuk. Since 2007, ...
and published by Black Isle Studios
Black Isle Studios is a division of the developer and publisher Interplay Entertainment that develops role-playing video games. It has published several games from other developers.
Black Isle is based in Irvine, California. The division was fo ...
, a division of Interplay Entertainment
Interplay Entertainment Corp. is an American video game developer and Video game publisher, publisher based in Los Angeles. The company was founded in 1983 as Interplay Productions by developers Brian Fargo, Jay Patel, Troy Worrell, and Rebecca ...
. The game uses the same Infinity Engine
BioWare is a Canadian video game developer based in Edmonton, Alberta. It was founded in 1995 by newly graduated medical doctors Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk and Augustine Yip, alongside Trent Oster, Brent Oster, and Marcel Zeschuk. Since 2007, t ...
as ''Baldur's Gate
''Baldur's Gate'' is a series of role-playing video games set in the Forgotten Realms '' Dungeons & Dragons'' campaign setting. The game has spawned two series, known as the ''Bhaalspawn Saga'' and the ''Dark Alliance'', both taking place mostl ...
'' (1998), but with many improvements. Other games that used this engine were Black Isle Studios' '' Planescape: Torment'' (1999) and ''Icewind Dale
''Icewind Dale'' is a role-playing video game developed by Black Isle Studios and originally published by Interplay Entertainment for Windows in 2000 and by MacPlay for the Macintosh in 2002 (both the Classic Mac OS and OS X). The game takes pl ...
'' (2000). BioWare dedicated ''Baldur's Gate II'' to Daniel Walker, who died in 1999 and was the company's second employee.
Though a success, both commercially and critically, ''Baldur's Gate'' was the first role-playing game designed by BioWare, and they applied what they learned in the process to ''Baldur's Gate II''. They also felt they did not have enough time to reach their design goals with the first game, due to developing both the content of the game and the Infinity Engine at the same time. In ''Baldur's Gate II'', it was determined that the designers should be allowed "adequate time" so that the game might "reach its full potential". Throughout its development, BioWare focused "on ensuring that ''Baldur's Gate II'' is significantly better than ''Baldur's Gate'' in every way possible, and to make it appeal not only to fans of the original game but also to make it accessible to new fans who never played the original game".
Development of ''Baldur's Gate II'' began in January 1999. From the suggestions of fans on message boards and newsgroups, reviews of ''Baldur's Gate'', and internal suggestions, a list of constructive criticism was compiled; from this list, a slightly shorter one of features to be added to the game was made. Some of the items on this list were: support for higher resolutions, such as 800 by 600 pixels and above; 3D support; non-pausing dialogue in multiplayer; drop off panels in the interface; character kits; dual-wielding of weapons; a streamlined journal and annotable map; deathmatch; and inclusion of famous ''AD&D'' monsters such as the dragon. Not many features had to be cut, and they kept as many as they could. Because of the engine's mature state of development, most features were fairly easy to add. Co-Lead Designer James Ohlen
James Ohlen is a video game designer. He was Senior Creative Director of BioWare where he worked for 22 years prior to starting the publishing company Arcanum Worlds in 2018. In 2019, Ohlen became the lead of a new internal development studio Arc ...
wrote that having a completed engine meant they could direct their efforts towards producing content, instead of focusing on "basic functionality". Producer Ben Smedstad said that "the engine was up and running since day one, which is a huge morale booster. When a monster is complete, we put it into the 'override' directory and it appears in the game! This is a huge change from working on the original". Late in the project, deathmatch was removed, while non-pausing dialogue, which proved "the most problematic feature", was removed early on before being reintroduced in early 2000.
''Baldur's Gate II'' reused the Infinity Engine, which had powered ''Baldur's Gate'', but the engine was improved in many ways since development on ''Baldur's Gate II'' began: optional 800 x 600 resolution as well as the old 640 x 480 resolution. Drop-away side panels were implemented; and for spells and special effects, 3D support was added. Pathfinding had been improved in '' Tales of the Sword Coast'' (the ''Baldur's Gate'' expansion), and was improved further in ''Shadows of Amn'' through a feature called "bumping", which allowed a character to move another one out of the way if the path was blocked. Also, to aid pathfinding even more, paths in dungeons were widened, so that characters would get stuck less often. The interface was also refined a bit.
To avoid some of the design mistakes made in ''Baldur's Gate'', guidelines were drawn up for each department; the level designers had the longest set of guidelines. These lists continually changed and evolved as the development progressed. The main design guidelines for the entire project were that the players should feel like their actions have an effect on the game world, and good versus evil options should be available depending on which path the player takes. Guidelines for the story were to keep the focus on the player's character, keep the player updated on the activities of the game's villain, add a significant plot twist, and make the ending of the game open enough so that there would be room for more sequels. Environment guidelines were to break the game into chapters, make some locations key to the central plot, keep areas interesting and easy to quickly navigate, and showcase areas before they were available to explore to capture player interest. For the game systems, guidelines focused on character customization and a well-crafted reward system. The writing guidelines were concerned mainly with dialogue: limiting the number of sentences NPCs spoke at a time, keeping the number of player response choices at three as often as possible, avoiding profanity and accents, and having a small set of random dialogue for unimportant NPCs. Many early design decisions did not follow the guidelines, and programming constraints were not always followed by other departments, such as design and art, leading to slowdowns in some parts of the game that were difficult or impossible to fix.
The process for creating levels was long and complicated. It began with the creation of a general layout of the area to be built by designers. They would pass this concept map to the artists, who added models to it, beginning with the largest objects and ending with small items such as individual pieces of furniture. After everything was put in place by the art team, designers took over again, inserting graphical enhancements, effects, and collision detection
Collision detection is the computational problem of detecting the intersection of two or more objects. Collision detection is a classic issue of computational geometry and has applications in various computing fields, primarily in computer grap ...
code. With a functional level, creatures, items, traps, and triggers were added last, then script
Script may refer to:
Writing systems
* Script, a distinctive writing system, based on a repertoire of specific elements or symbols, or that repertoire
* Script (styles of handwriting)
** Script typeface, a typeface with characteristics of handw ...
s were written for everything to control behavior. The team found it quite difficult to keep track of changes made to levels, and there were sometimes communication problems between different parts of the team, such as the artists and designers, resulting in inconsistencies between their work. Co-executive producer Ray Muzyka
Raymond Alexander Muzyka is a Canadian investor, entrepreneur and physician. Originally trained as a medical doctor and practicing as an emergency department and family physician after graduation, he is the co-founder of video game developer Bio ...
wrote, that "they learned to make sure all elements of the team are talking to each other and working as a group, rather than as a bunch of individuals!" They did feel they had done a good job automating the level creation process, as levels were rapidly designed. Muzyka also said that "a designer, might submit a level description and receive it, art complete, a month later ready for scripting, but missing some key features (almost always a door). We would then have to determine whether the omission was important enough to have the art piece redone, or whether we could simply tweak the design of the level to fit the finished art". Areas were made more compact than before, the amount of "dead space" being curtailed, facilitating faster travel between key areas because less distance has to be traveled.
Marcia Tofer, Art Director for ''Shadows of Amn'', worked with a team of 8 to 12 people to create the game's artwork, such as the backgrounds, monsters, etc. Tofer observed that the city of Baldur's Gate had been their first attempt at city building and what they learned there served to make Athkatla "far more diverse and interesting". City renders took from 18 to 24 hours, though they used hardware that was powerful for those days: multiple Dual Pentium IIIs at 500 MHz, coupled with 512 MB of memory.
In traditional mediums like text or film and television, what is read or seen is effectively controlled by the creators. Games are a visual medium, wrote Luke Kristjanson, one of the writers and designers on ''Shadows of Amn'', but they are unlike the traditional ones of film and television. For ''Baldur's Gate'', the developers knew what would be seen on the critical path, but not ''when'' players would see it, or whether the right amount of significance would be placed upon it. Kristjanson noted that the character of Imoen was unexpectedly popular with players of the first game, in spite of the fact that she was a late addition during development and was undeveloped as a character. Kristjanson remarked that her lack of interactions with other characters in the first game projected an impression of closeness to the player character, although this was not intended by the developers; this led to her being revealed as the player character's half-sister in its sequel and an integral character to its plot.
In ''Shadows of Amn'', several tools were used to remedy these shortcomings. One of these were in-game cutscenes, which were like small plays, "adding suspense and depth to the world and overall story". Cutscenes had been used in ''Baldur's Gate'', but were employed "more effectively" in ''Shadows of Amn''. Another technique was to increase, to a greater degree than ''Baldur's Gate'', the interactivity of the characters that travel with the player. While the characters in ''Baldur's Gate'' possessed "banter", there was a very great increase of this in ''Shadows of Amn''. However, it was not merely an increase in the amount of dialogue and text. NPCs interject, reinforcing "the importance of events ndcontributing their own motivations". They recognize critical junctures in the game, since those are of significance to them as well. They even make comments to each other, as Kristjanson put it: "If Imoen thinks that Jaheira is being too strict she'll say so, and if Jaheira thinks Imoen is being immature she'll counter, and if Minsc thinks the both of them would benefit from getting hamsters of their own ..he won't hesitate to offer that little nugget of wisdom".
Producer Ben Smedstad, speaking of "crunch time" during the latter stages of a game's development, noted that it was important to begin it at the right time, not too early, nor too late. By July 2000, ''Shadows of Amn'' had entered its second phase of crunch, where the hours ran from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays to Fridays, and from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays. Their first crunch phase had been a normal working week, but hours of 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays. "As long as it takes" would be the philosophy of the last phase, encompassing the last week of development. Smedstad said that the second phase, which they were working under in July 2000, is where the stress really begins, and that the third phase is actually not as bad as one might think, because by then people are used to the lengthy hours.
During the game's development, a quality assurance department was added to BioWare, and the game's publishers lent their assistance in testing. Muzyka wrote that "because of its immense size, ''Baldur's Gate II'' was a tester's nightmare - this was compounded by the fact that we didn't do enough testing as areas were being developed". The game contained about 290 quests, each of which had to be tested in both single- and multi-player modes. BioWare used a method, introduced to them by Feargus Urquhart
Feargus Urquhart is a Scottish-American video game designer and CEO of Obsidian Entertainment.
Career
Urquhart is best known for his work at Interplay Entertainment, particularly as leader of Black Isle Studios, Interplay's internal ro ...
, Douglas Avery, and Chris Parker of Black Isle Studios, in which the game's quests were listed on whiteboards, with a cross placed beside each quest. Pairs consisting of a designer and tester worked their way through the quests, each pair covering about 6 quests per day. When a quest was verified, its cross was removed.
Muzyka wrote:
In the final days of working on ''BG2'' there was a strangely serene feeling in the office. We didn't experience the headlong panic that is sometimes prevalent while finishing a game, but we certainly did experience considerable stress as we built 21 final candidates in 3 days. After a few long nights with the whole team playing the game over and over again, we reached a point where we built a good final candidate. Then it was sent to the duplicators!
Audio
The game's music was composed by Michael Hoenig
Michael Hoenig (born 4 January 1952) is a German composer who has composed music for several films and games, in addition to two solo albums, including the highly acclaimed 1978 album '' Departure from the Northern Wasteland''. In 1997, he was ...
, a German composer who played with Tangerine Dream
Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music band founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The group has seen many personnel changes over the years, with Froese having been the only constant member until his death in January 2015. The best-known lineup ...
. He also composed the music for the first ''Baldur's Gate''.
Release
''Baldur's Gate II'' was announced in November 1999. The game went gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...
on September 14, 2000, and shipped on September 21. Also released was a Collector's Edition, which included the game, a cloth map, eight character-trading cards, a Black Isle Studios writing tablet, and an additional CD containing unique armor and weapons as well as music from the soundtrack. A Macintosh
The Mac (known as Macintosh until 1999) is a family of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc. Macs are known for their ease of use and minimalist designs, and are popular among students, creative professionals, and software en ...
version was ported by MumboJumbo
MumboJumbo, LLC was an Independent game developer, independent developer of games for personal computers, game consoles and mobile devices. MumboJumbo Mobile, LLC publishes entertainment software for Android and iOS devices.
History
The company ...
and released in September 2001.
Expansion pack
''Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal'', an expansion pack for ''Shadows of Amn'', was developed by BioWare and published by Black Isle Studios, and released in June 2001. ''Throne of Bhaal'' takes the protagonist's history further, and, being the final chapter, concludes the ''Baldur's Gate'' saga. It also added a variety of features to the base game: a new dungeon called Watcher's Keep, which can be accessed from both ''Shadows of Amn'' and ''Throne of Bhaal;'' new features and enhancements, such as high-level class abilities, a higher experience point cap, and the Wild Mage character class; and new items and spells. ''Throne of Bhaal'' was well received: it holds a Metacritic score of 88 and a GameRankings score of 88.73, and won the "PC Role-Playing" award at the 2002 Interactive Achievement Awards. Reviewers generally praised ''Throne of Bhaal'' and thought it a spectacular conclusion to the ''Baldur's Gate'' saga.
Re-releases
''Shadows of Amn'' was re-released, along with its expansion, ''Throne of Bhaal'', as ''Baldur's Gate II: The Collection'' in 2003. In 2004, they were bundled with the original ''Baldur's Gate'' and ''Icewind Dale'' as ''Black Isle Compilation Part Two''. In 2006, they were re-released with ''Baldur's Gate'' and ''Tales of the Sword Coast'' as ''Baldur's Gate: 4 in 1 Boxset''. They were also included in ''The Forgotten Realms Deluxe Edition
''Forgotten Realms'' is a campaign setting for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers alike as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a ...
'', ''Ultimate Dungeons & Dragons'', and ''Dungeons & Dragons Anthology: The Master Collection''. In 2010, ''Baldur's Gate II Complete'' was released in digital format on GOG.com
GOG.com (formerly Good Old Games) is a digital distribution platform for video games and films. It is operated by GOG sp. z o.o., a wholly owned subsidiary of CD Projekt based in Warsaw, Poland. GOG.com delivers DRM-free video games through it ...
. This version includes both ''Shadows of Amn'' and ''Throne of Bhaal''. Bundled with it are the game manuals in PDF format, high-definition wallpapers, artwork, avatars
Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearanc ...
, and the ''Shadows of Amn'' and ''Throne of Bhaal'' soundtracks.
''Enhanced Edition''
''Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition'' was released on November 15, 2013. Developed by Overhaul Games
IdeaSpark Labs Inc. (trade name: Beamdog) is a Canadian video game developer founded in 2009 by BioWare co-founder Trent Oster and former BioWare lead programmer Cameron Tofer. Beamdog's distribution service was launched in July 2010.
History
...
, it is an enhanced version of ''Baldur's Gate II'' and uses an updated version of the Infinity Engine. The PC version holds a Metacritic score of 78 and a GameRankings score of 77.26; and the iOS version a Metacritic score of 70 and a GameRankings score of 71.25.
Reception
Sales
In the United States, ''Baldur's Gate II'' entered PC Data
PC Data was an American market research and point of sale tracking firm founded in 1991 and based in Reston, Virginia. Its founder, Ann Stephens, had worked previously as the head researcher for the Software Publishers Association. Initially, t ...
's computer game sales charts at #5 during the September 17–23 period. It rose to second place the following week, behind '' The Sims: Livin' Large'', while its Collector's Edition captured the seventh position. In its first 14 days, ''Baldur's Gate II'' drew in revenues of $4 million across all SKUs in North America, a sales record for an Interplay computer title. The game and its Collector's Edition were ranked 11th and 19th, respectively, on PC Data's monthly chart for September. Entering its third week, the game fell to fifth place on the weekly chart. However, it remained in the top 10 throughout the October 5–28 period, and finished seventh for the month. Afterwards, it was absent from PC Data's weekly top 10 and monthly top 20. PC Data reported ''Baldur's Gate II''s sales at 199,914 copies and its revenues at $9.2 million in the United States by the end of 2000. The game's success in the country continued during 2001, when it finished 15th for January and sold another 103,144 units between February and the first week of November alone. It tallied 225,763 domestic sales for the full year, which drew $9.63 million in revenue.
On Media Control's computer game sales rankings for the German market, ''Baldur's Gate II'' debuted at #3 in October 2000. It climbed to second place the following month, before dropping to 12th in December. The Verband der Unterhaltungssoftware Deutschland (VUD) presented it with a "Gold" award by the end of 2000, indicating sales of at least 100,000 units across Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Media Control proceeded to rank the game 10th, 17th and 23rd during the first three months of 2001, respectively. In the United Kingdom, ''Baldur's Gate II'' claimed #2 for its release month of November 2000, according to Chart-Track
GfK Chart-Track is a market research company that monitors music, videos and software sales in the United Kingdom and was formed in 1996. In July 2008, GfK took a majority stake in the company.
In the UK the company produces the Official UK Soft ...
. It fell to tenth place in December, and exited the top 10 in January 2001.
The combined global sales of ''Baldur's Gate'', '' Baldur's Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast'', and ''Baldur's Gate II'' surpassed 3.5 million copies by March 2001. ''Baldur's Gate II'' alone reached almost 1.5 million sales by December 2002, and more than 2 million by November 2005. According to the NPD Group
The NPD Group, Inc. (NPD; formerly National Purchase Diary Panel Inc. and NPD Research Inc.) is an American market research company founded on September 28, 1966, and based in Port Washington, New York. In 2017, NPD ranked as the 8th largest mar ...
, the game totaled 480,000 sales ($19.6 million) in the United States by August 2006. At that time, ''Edge
Edge or EDGE may refer to:
Technology Computing
* Edge computing, a network load-balancing system
* Edge device, an entry point to a computer network
* Adobe Edge, a graphical development application
* Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed ...
'' declared it the country's 31st-best-selling computer game released since January 2000.
Critical reviews
''Baldur's Gate II'' received critical acclaim upon its release, and is listed as the seventh highest-scoring PC game on the review aggregator Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
(). GameSpot
''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
's reviewer stated that, while it is a very long game, its fine points are what make it so great, and that it was in a class by itself. IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
concluded with a similar sentiment, saying that the game was incomparable and without peers. Though extolling the game immensely and finding only small issues, '' Computer Gaming World''s reviewer noted that he would not trap himself with the "best RPG ever" phrase, but conceded that it "certainly ranks up there with greats like ''Fallout'', ''Planescape: Torment'', and ''Betrayal at Krondor''". Eurogamer
''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 and owned by alongside formed company Gamer Network. Its editor-in-chief is Martin Robinson.
Since 2008, it is known for the formerly eponymous games trade fair EG ...
lavished much praise upon ''Baldur's Gate II'', and noted that "the story and quests are captivating, the gameplay tried and tested, and the overall feel is professional and entertaining".
GameSpot and IGN felt the game was superior to its predecessor, ''Baldur's Gate''. '' Computer Games Magazine'' and Gameplanet noted that it improved upon ''Baldur's Gate'' in almost every way. "Polish" or "polished" was a description applied to the game by some reviewers. RPGamer, somewhat more critical of the game than others, concluded: "Maybe it's a bit thin in some areas, but it's still an exemplary game that is well worth the time invested".
''Baldur's Gate II''s gameplay was called "addicting" by '' GamePro''. RPGamer said that while the game was generally the same as the original ''Baldur's Gate'', the combat was much improved, with less frustration and more strategic options. ''Computer Gaming World'' agreed, saying players would put more consideration into designing and implementing combat plans. Eurogamer noted that the interface was "incredibly easy to use". IGN's reviewer observed that many a time the game posed tough decisions that made him think, and also praised the clarity of the quests and ease of moving from one goal to the next. Some reviewers, however, felt the non-player characters in the game were not as powerful as player-made characters. GameSpy said the game is much more difficult than ''Baldur's Gate'' and requires more strategy and planning than the original does. GameSpot felt the opening level of the game fell flat, but that it got much better once the player reached Athkatla. IGN noted that the introductory section of the game, while good, was nowhere near as fun as the adventures in Athkatla.
The game's plot was met positively by most reviewers, GameSpy calling it "epic" and GameSpot a "great story". Eurogamer felt the story quite outdid the original. ''Computer Gaming World'', too, observed that it was much improved, adding that the plot style was reminiscent of ''The Lord of the Rings
''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's b ...
''. He felt the story was somewhere between ''Planescape: Torment'' and ''Icewind Dale'' in terms of depth. RPGamer's reviewer, on the other hand, felt that the plot was lackluster, but approved of the side quests, which, he said, could turn into "minor epics" of their own.
The game's graphics were well received. ''GamePro'' praised them, saying, "the backdrops are stunning and the spell effects are impressive". IGN echoed this statement, calling the difference between ''Baldur's Gate'' and ''Shadows of Amn'' "like looking at a still oil painting, and then turning to see the scene in living motion on a big screen TV". Eurogamer, too, commended the artwork. GameSpot thought both the pre-rendered backgrounds and the animations for characters and monsters were well done. FiringSquad said the game's artwork surpassed that of ''Planescape: Torment'', and called the background artwork "fantastic". The voice acting of ''Baldur's Gate II'' was also praised by FiringSquad, who said that "characters sound alive and vivacious (or depressed, crazy—whatever suits them)" and that the quality of the voices drew the player more deeply into the game. IGN called the voice acting "outstanding" and said the variety of personalities would cause players to become "attached" to the characters, only noting with disapproval the dearth of new voices for the player's protagonist. Reviewers generally found the game's music to be well-done; though RPGamer felt it was "inoffensive but unimpressive".
Gameplanet criticized the game's poor support for online multiplayer, saying it was "unstable and quite frustrating". FiringSquad felt that the lack of communication between players in combat during online games was problematic, but that local area network
A local area network (LAN) is a computer network that interconnects computers within a limited area such as a residence, school, laboratory, university campus or office building. By contrast, a wide area network (WAN) not only covers a larger ...
play would be more satisfying. '' PC Zone'' said that multiplayer was as unimpressive as it had been in the first game of the series and that the game needed multiplayer maps. IGN, however, felt that multiplayer play was solidly implemented and fun. Pathfinding was sometimes criticized. Criticism was also directed at bugs in the game, such as frequent crashes when trying to access certain locations. According to GameSpy, ''Baldur's Gate II'' is "not 100% stable". GameSpot noted that the game's loading times were somewhat long and that the game crashed on occasion, but said that these problems are not significant. IGN, though noting that the game slowed down during combat when a lot of animations were happening simultaneously because of spells or "dazzling backgrounds", said that there were almost no other technical problems. GameSpot also felt that the small number of character portraits to choose from was a disappointment and was displeased that the game reused special effects, audio, and graphics from the first game.
David Simkins reviewed the PC version of the game for '' Next Generation'', rating it five stars out of five, and stated that "make no mistake – ''Baldur's Gate II'' raises the bar for PC RPGs, elevating the genre to a new level".
GameSpot later called ''Baldur's Gate II'' "a towering achievement in the history of role-playing games". In a 2007 Gamasutra article on the "Platinum and Modern Ages" of computer role-playing games (CRPGs), Matt Barton noted contemporary reviewers' universal praise for the game, and said: "I consider it the finest CRPG ever designed". According to GameSpy, "this is easily one of the finest CRPGs ever made and an experience that no RPG fan should miss".
Awards
''Baldur's Gate II'' has been honored many times. GameSpot
''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
, GameSpy, and IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
awarded it their "Role-Playing Game of the Year" awards in 2000, and it won GameSpot's Readers' Choice Game of the Year award for that year. It received three "Gaming Globe" awards from Eurogamer
''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 and owned by alongside formed company Gamer Network. Its editor-in-chief is Martin Robinson.
Since 2008, it is known for the formerly eponymous games trade fair EG ...
in 2001: Best Game, Best Art Direction, and Best Male Supporting Character (for Minsc). The game won the "Character or Story Development" award at the 2001 Interactive Achievement Awards, and was also nominated for "Game of the Year", "Game Play Engineering", "PC Game of the Year", and "PC Role-Playing". IGN placed it at No. 25 on their 2005 "Top 100 Games of All Time" list. In 2006, though not ranking in the top five games, it earned an "honorable mention" in Gamasutra
''Game Developer'', known as ''Gamasutra'' until 2021, is a website founded in 1997 that focuses on aspects of video game development. It is owned and operated by Informa and acts as the online sister publication to the print magazine '' Gam ...
's Quantum Leap Awards. ''Baldur's Gate II'' was inducted into GameSpot's "Greatest Games of All Time" list. In 2009, ''Game Informer
''Game Informer'' (''GI'', most often stylized ''gameinformer'' from the 2010s onward) is an American monthly video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and associated consoles. It debuted in August 1991 w ...
'' placed ''Baldur's Gate II'' at No. 88 on their list of "The Top 200 Games of All Time", calling it "the best Dungeons & Dragons game ever made". This is up one place from their top 100 list in 2001. ''Empire
An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
'' ranked it No. 19 on their list of the 100 Greatest Games. At the end of 2009, ''Baldur's Gate II'', though not quite making the Top 12 list, received an honorable mention in Gamasutra's Game of the Decade, where readers voted for their best game of the 2000s.
In 2010, on IGN's Top 25 Modern PC Games, ''Baldur's Gate II'' clocked in at No. 2. In 2013, it was placed at No. 46 on GamingBolt's "Top 100 greatest video games ever made". IGN ranked ''Baldur's Gate II'' No. 1 on their list of "The Top 11 Dungeons & Dragons Games of All Time" in 2014. Ian Williams of '' Paste'' rated the game No. 2 on his list of "The 10 Greatest Dungeons and Dragons Videogames" in 2015. IGN ranked ''Baldur's Gate II'' No. 3 on their "Top 100 RPGs of All Time" list. In 2016, ''PC Gamer
''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games m ...
'' noted the game on their "best RPGs of all time". It was placed at No. 9 on ''Game Informers "Top 100 RPGs Of All Time" list, and was included among PCGamesN's "best RPGs on PC" as well.
Reviews
*''Pyramid
A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilat ...
''
Novel
There is a novelization of the game by Philip Athans
Philip Athans (born 1964 in Rochester, New York) is an American editor and author.
Biography
Philip Athans was born in 1964 in Rochester, New York, but was raised in Chicago. Athans grew up reading Marvel comics and '' Starlog'' magazines, and wa ...
. Published in 2000 by Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast LLC (often referred to as WotC or simply Wizards) is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for games. It is currently a subsidia ...
, it focuses solely on Abdel, the last of the Bhaalspawn. The novel is the second in the series; the first, also by Athans, is a novelization of ''Baldur's Gate
''Baldur's Gate'' is a series of role-playing video games set in the Forgotten Realms '' Dungeons & Dragons'' campaign setting. The game has spawned two series, known as the ''Bhaalspawn Saga'' and the ''Dark Alliance'', both taking place mostl ...
'', and the third, by Drew Karpyshyn
Drew Karpyshyn (born July 28, 1971) is a Canadian video game scenario writer, scriptwriter and novelist. He served as a senior writer for BioWare's ''Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (video game), Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic'' and ...
, of the ''Throne of Bhaal'' expansion.
See also
* List of ''Dungeons & Dragons'' video games
References
;Notes
;Footnotes
*
*
*
External links
Official website
(archived)
Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn (at BioWare)
(archived)
*
*
Review
in PC World
''PC World'' (stylized as PCWorld) is a global computer magazine published monthly by IDG. Since 2013, it has been an online only publication.
It offers advice on various aspects of PCs and related items, the Internet, and other personal tech ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baldur's Gate Ii: Shadows Of Amn
2000 video games
Shadows of Amn
BioWare games
Classic Mac OS games
Cooperative video games
Infinity Engine games
Interactive Achievement Award winners
MacOS games
Multiplayer and single-player video games
MumboJumbo games
Role-playing video games
Video game sequels
Video games adapted into novels
Video games developed in Canada
Video games featuring protagonists of selectable gender
Video games scored by Howard Drossin
Video games scored by Michael Hoenig
Video games set in psychiatric hospitals
Video games with expansion packs
Video games with isometric graphics
Windows games