[Stratos]

Some of my opinions:

Baldurs Gate 1: If you've played Baldurs Gate 2 you almost have to play the original as it's the same story. Just remember that BG2 starts close to where BG1 ended (story-wise) and frankly BG2's intro is kinda spoilerish. But if you want to know exactly what happened before BG2 it's a good buy. Not as good as BG2 though.

Icewind Dale 1&2: In the Icewind Dale games there are no joinable NPC or interraction between party members as you create your own party, instead they focuses on battle. IWD1 uses the same rules as the BG games, 2nd edition, while the IWD2 uses the 3rd edition rules so that means learning a whole set of new rules. Personally I prefer the 3rd edition ones. The setting for IWD1 is in Icewind Dale far north of where BG2 takes place. It got a fairly linear but decent story. I have bought IWD2 some time ago but have not found the time to play it yet so I can't give any insight into the game but I assume that's it similar to IWD1 just with new rules. You should be able to find at least IWD1 in the bargain bin as it's a couple of years old.

Planescape: Torment: This game is all about story, character interaction and quests. Or rather the focus is on these things. It got one of the best main plots ever in any game and it's the heart of the game. There is some interaction with your fellow party members that can give you insight on their past and even teach you a spell or two. The main character is set though, since he is so connected with the plot, and there are only three playable classes for you: fighter, thief and mage. If you're love playing a mage you will love this game as playing one arguably get you most out of the game. PS:T can be a little tricky to find I have been told so you might have to search.

Neverwinter Nights NWN uses the 3rd edition rules and it's main focus is on multiplayer. The single player Official Campaign that come with the game is decent although you'll most likely only play it through once. There is alot of combat and sometimes it feels like it never ends. No what makes NWN a good game is it's multiplayer capabilities. You can play online with your friends at no charge any time of the day, it ships with a Toolset so you can create your own 'games' called modules with everything the Official Campaign contains and you can download other modules for free. Some of these modules are plain lousy and some are more or less brilliant. If you don't intend to play online NWN hasn't got much to offer and in that case I woulnd't bother with this game if I were you.

Fallout 1&2: These games are very different from D&D and are not set in a fantasy world. Instead they take place on future Earth after a global nuclear war that have completely destroyed the civilisation. They have completely different rules than D&S and there's no magic but alot of guns, both 'normal ones' and more exotic one like laser rifles and plasma rifles. You create and play one character but there are NPC's that can join you during the course of the game. Their AI are pretty limited though. Further there are no classes like in D&D so you are free to create the character you want. Both this games are somewhat old but very good ones.

Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind: This game is alo different than the D&D games but they still takes place in a fantasy world. It doesn't have the over-head view that is so common for CRPG's but instead uses a first-person view as a default. There are classes but that is a very loose term and only applies for which skills the characters focus on in the beginning. All skills are available to all characters and all can be increased and trained by you. Morrowind is a very non-linear game to such an extent that some people don't like it be´cause the feel lost and they don't know what to do. It boasts a very good graphics, better than any of the above mentioned and it has gotten good reviews.

Lionheart: I haven't played this game myself but I know that it's considered a mediocre game. The game haven't recieved great reviews so I assume it's something of a disappointment. Of what I know about the story it takes place in a alternative history where magical forces have been released in a medieval Europe. It has been released recently and it uses the same rules as the Fallout games.

Temple of Elemental Evil (ToEE): This games is to be released in the US in a couple of days so I haven't played this one either but it looks promising. It's a single player only turned-based D&D game that uses 3rd edition rules just like NWN and IWD2. There's been a new forum dedicated to this game opened yesterday(?) so you might check it out.

[ 09-15-2003, 04:48 PM: Message edited by: Stratos ]