Baldurs Gate, Icewind Dale, and Diablo 2... (Also, hi)

[MrEco]

Heya Racketboy! It's been a while since I was an active member (Or even made a single post) but I'm finally back. I kinda wonder if any of you even remember me, but eh whatever. Suffice to say I was sort of burnt out on video games, new or retro, and only recently have gotten back in the mood for them. Anyway, on to the point of this thread!


I'm gonna be getting some spending money soon. I don't know exactly how much, like $20 or $30 maybe. Anyway, I'm in the mood for some classic cRPG's and those in the title are the ones I'm interested in. My questions for each are as follows:

Baldurs Gate: This one, being that it's a genre defining classic that I've heard nothing but good things about, is one I know without a doubt I want to get. But should I get the first or second? As I understand the differences aren't very big between the two so I don't know which I should start with. Keep in mind of course that it could be quite a long time before I get the other.

Icewind Dale: Honestly, I don't know much about the series. Like, almost nothing. What I -do- know is that they are quite popular classic cRPG's. Past that I'm blank. I'd like to know, similarly to my question about Baldur's Gate, whether the first or second game in the series is the one to go with. Also, does the series' quality compare favorably to the other games I mention in this post?

Diablo 2: Quite simple question for this one. Is the expansion pack worth it? I mean, it's the same price as the base game AND the same price as many other quality games on GoG.com (It and the expansion are $10 off of the Blizzard store) such as the two I've already mentioned or Planescape Torment (A game I didn't even bother asking about because like BG I know I want to get it). So if I got the expansion I'd be giving up an entire game essentially.

Thank you all in advance for your help. And have a good day. ;D

[Ivo]

1. Baldurs Gate: This one, being that it's a genre defining classic that I've heard nothing but good things about, is one I know without a doubt I want to get. But should I get the first or second? As I understand the differences aren't very big between the two so I don't know which I should start with. Keep in mind of course that it could be quite a long time before I get the other.

2. Icewind Dale: Honestly, I don't know much about the series. Like, almost nothing. What I -do- know is that they are quite popular classic cRPG's. Past that I'm blank. I'd like to know, similarly to my question about Baldur's Gate, whether the first or second game in the series is the one to go with. Also, does the series' quality compare favorably to the other games I mention in this post?

3. Diablo 2: Quite simple question for this one. Is the expansion pack worth it? I mean, it's the same price as the base game AND the same price as many other quality games on GoG.com (It and the expansion are $10 off of the Blizzard store) such as the two I've already mentioned or Planescape Torment (A game I didn't even bother asking about because like BG I know I want to get it). So if I got the expansion I'd be giving up an entire game essentially.

Welcome back.

1. I think you should skip this one for now, there is an Enhanced remake in the works which will have BG1 + BG2 - it releases very soon in fact. Although I think it may be download only. Regardless, even if you don't want the remake, once released the price of the originals is bound to go down I think.

2. Icewind Dale is, as far as I remember, sort of Baldur's Gate (uses same engine etc.). I would start with BG1 + BG2, then Planescape, and only then go for ID in principle, but there is the risk of starting with the enhanced remake and not adapting well to the older versions of the newer games in the "series".

3. The Lord of Destruction expansion pack is pretty much worth it I think. It increases the maximum resolution (I think from 640x400 to 800x600), adds two new classes (which is almost 50% over the unexpanded game), a 5th chapter (considering chapter 4 is on the short side of things, and the 5th is full sized it is quite significant). The mercenaries you can hire are upgraded and become considerably more useful. You get a lot more stuff, new runewords, new recipes, gems, charms... It really is a significant improvement over the original. Nonetheless, you could just get D2, play it to the end and if you really get into it then get the expansion pack. I mean, that is how most of us experienced it back in the day (although possibly at a different patch version than you will ).

Ivo.

[Nemoide]

If you're going to play Baldur's Gate, start with the first one. The story directly continues and you can even import your character into the second one. But I wasn't a big fan of it TBH, I remember playing for what seemed like quite a while but never getting to Baldur's Gate itself - instead just killing bandits, more bandits, bandit-cult-leaders, and bandit allies.

Icewind Dale is another one I haven't finished (or played the sequel for) but I liked it more than Baldur's Gate. To me, it felt like the story itself got going right from the start. I don't think there's an advantage to starting with the second one, so just play the first one first.

Planescape: Torment is the best of that era of AD&D games. I'd make it a higher priority than the others. But... I admit that I haven't beaten that one too.

Diablo 2: Lord of Destruction - I would say that if you like Diablo 2, you should get the expansion. I thought the new episode added a lot and I really liked playing as the assassin. I don't know how many people are still playing D2 online, but those who are probably have LoD. You have to make the call for how worth it getting it would be for yourself!

[Opa Opa]

To get more bang for your buck, buy the Dungeons and Dragons Classic Anthology.

link

It contains Balders Gate I & II, Icewind Dale I & II, The Temple of Elemental Evil, and Planescape Torment. It should keep you busy for a while.

[Menegrothx]

Well Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale are more complex and RPG-iy as far as game mechanics go while Diablo is straightforward and hack and slashing. They both have the same combat system, rule set etc (there might be slight differences, but not noticeable to a novice).
The difference between ID and BG is that ID is more combat orienated and sort of a dungeon crawler and it has very linear story progression (Town ->Dungeon->Town->Dungeon). It's very jrpg like in a sense. Baldur's Gate on the other hand is more open ended, has more and bigger towns, sidequests etc.
Baldur's Gate will keep you occupied longer and has a bigger, more elaborate and connected game world, while in Diablo and Icewind Dale you mostly use towns for selling/buying junk, sleeping and taking new quests, and after that you go running in the dungeons again untill you kill the final boss and get to move on to the next town.

Planescape: Torment is the best of that era of AD&D games. I'd make it a higher priority than the others. But... I admit that I haven't beaten that one too.

Do it. Now! The story gets better and better as you progress in the game and once you get going, it's fairly straigthforward and linear to progress in the game's main storyline. And it's not not that long of a game. The writing, the characters and the storyline make it storywise the best RPG of all time, so it's definitely worth to play it through to see the good ending (which is really satisfying and makes an impact on the player, unlike many other RPGs). You can make another character and explore and do side quests after that if you like to explore the game world more.

[MrEco]

Alright, sorry for the late reply, but problem solved.

The only game I mentioned here that I actually bought was Planescape Torment, lol. The rest of my money went on Lollipop Chainsaw and Master of Orion 1 + 2. XD


But thank you all for the help. Even though your advice has not gone into action yet, I do plan on buying Baldurs Gate 1 and 2 before the others when I next get some money. I think I'll forget about Icewind Dale for now. Thank you.

[BoneSnapDeez]

D&D Anthology
Neverwinter Nights Anthology

You will be busy for years.