I have played Wiz7 repeatedly, and kinda got bored with it since it was REALLY REALLY OLD! the ideas were really cool, but the roleplaying was kinda weak, in addition to the "maps" being truly obscure. Is Wiz8 better? is Wiz8 better than BG2? is it worth the investment? Furthermore, is the plot easier to follow? can i import my awesome items like the cane of corpus and excaliber? any help would be appreciated.

is Wiz8 better than BG2?
That dipennds on what type of game you like i did not like BG2 because of the bird wiev Wizardry 8 is first person and i think you will NEWER get bored in this game i am sure about that, it is the best RPG game i ever played after Wizardry 7

can i import my awesome items like the cane of corpus and excaliber?
No but you will find them in this game to! :D

So it is no problem with it buy it!!!!!

Well, I think the two games are hard to compare. The story in BG2 is by far one of the very best outside of Planescape, as far as the classic RPGs go (by classic, I mean all the ones that have been around for the last ten years.. D&D PC games, Wizardry, Ultima, etc..)

BG2 is focused on following the D&D rules and tactical battles. Wizardry 8 also has tactical battles, but from a first person point of view. Your party's placement in the group is important. The battles in Wizardry 8 can be long, so if you don't like that aspect, you might not like W8.

Also, the graphics (outside the character models) really are very impressive, especially for a game that started development so many years ago. It didn't come out looking dated at all. I know graphics aren't as important in RPGs, but I must say, W8's are excellent.

There are a LOT more class/race combos to pick from. I am the type of person that really only plays a game once through, but I have found myself wondering what it would have been like to play with a different set of characters. It's funny, but BG2 is also the only other game that I have done this with.

W8 is pretty long. I have been playing for a few months, logging probably 7-10 hours a week off and on. Total time? You COULD spend hundreds of hours in W8, or probably whip through it in a week or two. It's somewhat non-linear, but there is always a main set of quests to follow as well, but some of these even are optional.

There is also that whole good/evil path thing, much like Might and Magic VII had. You can choose your path (and later there is even a bonus path to take, which I won't spoil). It's a little like playing Might and Magic 4 + 5 together to make the World of Xeen, to a lesser degree.

W8 is a huge game, and well worth the price. I enjoyed BG2 to the last drop, and will so with W8.

I hope this helped some.. I may have babbled on a bit.

hI,

BG2 and WIZ8.. it's difficult to say which i liked more.
I would now certainly opt for Wiz8 but that's just because i am playing it now.

BG2 was great, great story and lot's of depth but character development was not that good.
That's the big bonus of Wizardry 8, the way you can develop your character and that's what RPG's are all about!

Tactical fighting i think was better in BG2 but then you didn't need to as the game was far to easy. (accept if you installed the ascension mod)

I think overall i like Wiz8 more.

Sleipnir

I think BG2 and Wiz8 are two different styles of RPG's. Some people prefer the 1st person view rpg's and other prefer the top down view. As mentioned above, BG2 follows D&D rules and restrictions. One thing that they do have in common is that they're both non-linear. I like both games, but i have to admit that i like wiz8 more. the day that i finished wiz8 for the first time was also the day that i started playing it a 2nd time and still loving it! BG2, on the other hand, didn't really inspire me to jump into it again the same day. i had to take a break from it.

Download the demo.
You will soon know if Wiz8 is your sort of game.
SIR-TECH had heaps of probs getting this game to the public as it is not a game that follows the current trend of isometric view and real time battles.
Seeing that you played "wiz7 repeatedly" I would be so bold to say that you will totally enjoy wiz8.
Nearly all aspects of wiz8 are well done. You will apreciate the thought that went into the interface as soon as you start playing. Dont listen to the so called "expert reviews" when they say that wiz8 has about 40-60 hrs gameplay. To fully cover the whole game will take you a lot longer than that.
Even when you manage to finally beat the game you will want to start out again with a new team and try different tactics.
When I said that "nearly all aspects of wiz8 are well done" I was refering to the automap. Unfortunately a big minus in my eyes. On multi-levels you will get lost.
Still, if you like 1st person turn based combat CRPG's Wiz8 is the game for you.
Dont compare Baldurs Gate to Wiz. They are two totally different types of games. :D

Knip

Once again, it all comes down to personal preference. Personally, I love wiz 8..it's one of my favorite games I've played. I love the character voices, and the different ways that you can build your characters and parties. And I liked it better than the BG games, though those were fun, too. I think that by the time I'm done, I will put well over 200 hours of gameplay into it, making it well worth the 50 bucks i put in at the start. :D

Until Wiz8 I thought the BG series was the epitome of the RPG genre, the best of the best. The storyline, humor and depth of characters was/is the finest I've ever experienced. The graphics are awesome and I've always loved the overhead view for multi party playing...I have't finished BGII yet because I've been spending so much time playing Wiz8. The humor and depth of character is about equal(and awesome!), but the character DEVELOPEMENT is outstanding, it's how BG should have been done. The only other first person game I've liked is the ElderScrolls series so it's quite surprising that I'm so addicted to Wiz8. Like the others here before me, I find myself wondering what my characters will be in my next party...something only Daggerfall has moved me to do before. The only doubt I had about this game was all the random encounters(waay too many at first), but after I developed enough strategies to handily defeat most types of monsters...it went away.

thanks, guys. Maybe i'll go out and buy Wiz8 now. Any other advice/comments would be greatly appreciated, since i'm so cheap i probably won't buy it for a while. kinda seems pointless to have spent months babying my faerie ninja until i got the cane of corpus and then lose it just by hitching a ride on vi's spaceship. :( Oh well.

correction, Phoonzang's spaceship. By the way, does good 'ole Phooney make any appearances in Wiz8 (spoil me, i am weak and cheap :D )