I love bg1. the story is great, I didn't like the expansion but i would get anyway(it substatially raises the xp cap, which is great for importing characters, and let's you use dsotsc). To truly understand Imoen you need bg1.

I can't believe you've never played this, Sir G.
*scratches head and thinks*
That's right you were shackled to that Mac for a while weren't you! :D

Everyone's pretty much covered it. I found BGII better from a power gamer standpoint, it's more of a hack and slash as compared to BGI, but from a pure roleplaying (for it's time) BGI is a far superior game than BGII.
Yep, the graphics are outdated and can only be run at 640 by 480 (which really blows on a 22" monitor) but the story is superb, and very non linear (compared to BGII)
It's a real pain to have to reload a few times to get past half a dozen kobolds, but it forces you to think more about tactics and using your NPC's in battle effectively.
On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give BGII an 8, whereas BGI scores a 10!

bg has something, i dunno what but it stands above other rpgs, cant put my finger on it, i think it must just be because its superbly balanced gameplay, even the most supertanked cheat chars can still die horribly if they choose bad tactics in some fights or go into durlags tower unprepared, if you buy BG make sure you get the expansion as it improves it massively. I played and completed neverwinter nights just recently and started icewind dale so far neither of them has got close despite both being far more recent games.

Go get it + exp. set!

I played SoA, ToB and now BGI. It is .... good and cheap as well. Lot's of playing time. Go go go!

BG1 is more than worth the twenty bucks it takes to buy it. While it is annoying starting off so weak it makes you feel that much stronger when you finally do get your level up. It's never to late to enjoy a great game.

the good thing is that it balances it superbly so although your level 1 you dont have many challenges, and once outside candlekeep you can choose your fights and immediately start hiring some quality party members. Level 1 mage is nasty to get going, level 1 warrior is really easy, but once you got imoen, jaheira, khalid, montaron, xzar (quickest chars to pick up on the normal starting route) then you already got a party who can beat that ogre down.

You have not purchased Baldurs Gate 1 yet Sir G? :eek: Well go get a job and then purchase this game. :D It is enjoyable and a lot of fun. And play it through the first time WITHOUT the cheats, so then your encounters with integrated kobolds will be, shall I say, more interesting.

BGI, the best, better than the best. Better than SoA. Challenging fights, kick@$$ plotline, non BS guys, and lots of places to adventure.

hmmm and to that comment that bg1 looks ugly, no it doesnt! i think it still looks good and has aged superbly

It is great.. but BG2 has more everything (except npc´s, and that is a major letdown).

IMO, BG2 has better music, resolution -> graphics, AI, pathfinding, KITS, more spells, attributes, weapons, strongholds... SoA is a masterpiece.

But number one is still so close to the real thing (tm) that you shouldn´t die before you´ve at least tried it.