Bioware hasn't given us a great graphics/gameplay game since Planescape Torment. They seem to think that more is better, cramming 200 hours of so-so, repetitive gameplay and mediocre graphics. I wish they would release another like PT, with beautiful spell effects and an engaging story line. I enjoyed the Baldurs Gate series, but after going back and playing PT, I have to wonder why they moved away from that engine and format.

I really liked Tancred's idea of a Baldurs Gate prequel, who wouldn't want to see Gorion in action or the find out more about Khalid and Jaheira's relationship with him. But then again how far back should you go?

Mebbe someone else can tell me if I saw this or not, but du ring the course of ToB (after Saradush falls I think), aren't you told that Athkatla has also been destroyed? So if there was to be a sequel they'd either have to have the towns rebuilt, or in another area I guess. And I preferred the music in SoA to ToB, but my one big gripe in the BG series as a whole is Imoen - how could she change from a pretty , fresh faced young lass to the slightly more.... *ahem* rough face of BG2?! I know she went through a lot, but sheesh [img]smile.gif[/img]

I'm only in the first part of ToB right now (doing the Yaga-Shura temple), but my impression has been: "Aha, this is BG2 meets IWD." :D Seriously...I felt like I was back in Dragon's Eye or Severed Hand, where you get swarmed with about eighty bazillion opponents and it's mainly hack and slash and battle placement rather than exploration and storyline...also extremely linear, like IWD.

Don't get me wrong...I love IWD for a cool dungeon crawl game. It's kind of weird, though, to change horses in the middle of the stream from what I saw in SoA and what I now get in ToB.

Graphics don't bother me, and the dungeons I've seen, so far, have been well-designed. More traps than you can shake a danged stick at, but my guys are so beefed up now and with such high resistances that they practically trot over them, then go back and disarm them as an aftersight. (Shades of IWD there again...so many traps everywhere!)

Overall, yes, I liked SoA better, but I am enjoying ToB. It's just taking some getting used to.