Baldur's Gate II

Today, I'll talk about another great game that is on many people's list of Best of All times: Baldur's Gate 2.

The funny thing ... is that Baldur's Gate 2 is the sequel to a game I've never even played, guess what, Baldur's Gate. But the first game never stood a chance against what the second one did for a multitude of factors the second have against the first.

Using the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons system, you create a 7th lvl character, who is promptly thrown out on a cage and tortured by an unnamed villain... luckily, you half sister Imoen manages to escape that little horror prison and releases you once he gets distracted and stops "playing" with you.

What part of "half" does your sister have in common with you? You both have the same father... Bhaal, the God of Murder, who perished long ago during an ancient time known as The Times of Trouble, where gods who forsakken the faith put on them had to walk on the earth, beeing mortal as their brethen.

Bhaal, however, devised a plan to come back - and that plan includes you. And his infinite spawn who are now walking Toril, the world you live in.

But that is not what you'll encounter in this game. In this game, your objectives are simple: save your sister, who ends up getting caught by that Misterious Man when you 2 were both on your way to escape.

And then the real adventure starts: to get to your sister, you will have to gather allies. Become stronger, accquire items of wondrous power, face great challenges. And then comes what I'd call the funnier parts of this game: choosing and interacting with your group members.

You can choose from a chaotic and hungry for destruction dwarf to a lawful do-gooder human paladin. And have both on the party and see how they bicker themselves, stopping just to watch the chaos - and laugh upon it. And when they ask for your help, you can do so... destroying their lives or saving them from their unwise decisions.

Which doesn't mean the rest of the game isn't up to the ensuing chaos you can bring to your party just for fun - you will travel across the city of Amn, visit other minor cities spread on their coast, and even travel on the Underdark, a vast and mysterious territory filled with dark creatures and secrets.

And the quest to free your sister ends up to unveil an even dark secret, the dark secrets one who has the taint of the God of Murder holds, and the ones held by your enemies who captured you and her.

The game has a huge replayability because of the ammount of possibilities you have to make up your party and do the quests. Will you choose to become a do-gooder, or feed the dark powers that lie hidden inside you? What happens if you feed the divine spark inside you, even if that spark is from a God of Murder? All a matter of choice...

I must have finished this game what, 5 times? And each time it was unique and different from before. An instant classic for those who like big adventures seconded only by big stories.

Speaking of which, it's been quite a while since I last played it...