Quite possibly the best game ever made! A deep, compelling experience. To say this is now an 11 year old game is astonishing, as nobody has managed to make a better game yet! The only other contender for best RPG would arguably be Planescape Torment, another amazing game but with a less "epic" story and more personal one. Baldur's Gate is a game that, if you can get past the (by todays standards) steep learning curve, hard to use interface and unforgiving nature will become one of the best games you've ever played.… Expand

10 for story. 10 for replayabilty. 10 for combat. 10 for characters. 10 for graphics at the time of release. 10 for entertainment. 10 for addictiveness. 10 for timelessness. 10 for the modding community. Nothing but nothing is in this game's league and I suspect people will be saying the same thing after another 10 years.

The first time that two members of my party, NPCs, started bickering with each other, I knew I had something special. When one of the NPCs left the party after I told her to stop whining, my jaw dropped. Before Mass Effect, before any of the many other BioWare masterpieces, this game made NPCs interesting. For that I give them a 10/10. Also, the rest of the game was outstanding in almost every way. "Minsc and Boo stand ready. Meep-eep-eep"… Expand

After playing this game on and off for over 10 years, I still can't think of a single bad thing about it. I still have yet to play a better game. The style over substance, gimmicks, and lowest common denominator boys should look and study where this game was coming from. They may make something half decent then. Games that you go back to again and again are very few and far between these days and most new games are about as durable as tissue paper. This game is till standing and will continue to do so for a while yet. Unbelievably good and the easiest 10 I'll probably ever give. Absolutely unmissable.… Expand

This is the best RPG, in my opinion. Great plot, excellent characters and very interesting gameplay. Just play it and you'll see for yourself. Unfortunately, right now Bioware is unable make something like it. We can say thanks to EA.

Sequel to the start of one of the most epic RPG tales ever. Compared to today's graphics the game is obviously very lacking, but like its predecessor the art itself is beautiful. Gameplay and mechanics is complicated, but like its predecessor the story, world, and basic exploration properties overcome this. Did I like it? Yes!

Best game ever made. 12 years passed and no game is better than BG 2. Hell, no game is even near to be equal to BG 2. Epic story, side quests sending you to deepest dungeons where dragons rule, to another planes of existence, to dark forests and to old ruins under the city of Amn. Each of these places takes several hours to beat, contains epic dialogues and fights, and lets you decide how your actions will afflict the world. You really feel like you are the main hero, you will love or hate your companions, you will wish death to your enemies for all what they've done to you or anyone else. Progression of your party is a masterpiece. Stats, special abilities based on characters history and heritage, hundreds of unique items. Everytime you find something more powerful than you are wearing at the moment, you will be happy. Why are you still reading this and not playing?… Expand

The best RPG ever, and quite possibly the greatest game ever made. Rather than a 'game' it's an experience that will suck you in and change your perception of gaming forever. I guarantee it will become the standard you judge other games by.

Even now, after nine years, there is no hardcore RPG game that will be better, or only equal to this little diamond... Best RPG ever.... And even one of the best games ever made...

Every now and then i feel the urge to replay the whole baldur's gate story. every now and then i feel how much work and how much time that game needed to be build. every now and then i feel the masses of detail and art within this game. every now and then i feel ... minsc should STFU! but still i like him. reminds me of giving him that sword with verbal diarrhoea.

I have been playing RPG's forever. Have all the DND CRPG's. This is the best by far. Even new releases can't compare depth wise, NWN2 comes to mind. Anyone rating this low is doing so just to be different.

After seven years after its release, I still play this game compulsively. A compelling plot, a huge, extremely well detailed and varied gameworld, amazing tactical depth, non-linear structure, great freedom of action and a stunning attention for particulars make Baldur's Gate 2 skyrocket to the Olympus of videogames: the best CRPG to this day.

Just superb, even today in 2007 it still holds it own in the sheer game play stakes, and by far the best RPG I have ever played. Makes you wonder what the games developers of new RPGs have been doing for the last seven years really. If you didn't get this the first time around, go get it! It doesn't cost much and will last you years (as long as you don

They don't make 'em like this anymore, more's the pity. Everything came together in this game in a way that has never been achieved again. Balance was just right, gameplay was fun without being excessively repetitive, plot was interesting, world was expansive, mechanics were sound. But all that does not really get to the essence of what it is: an alternative world experience that is totally immersive. Hardened gamers on forums reported that they literally cried at the end of this, as they would at the end of a great novel or a great movie. This had real characters doing epic things. It's not quite The Lord of the Rings, but in terms of epic scale, feel, emotion, heroism, and all out escapist joy, it's the closest thing PC gaming has ever produced. It may be ten years old now, but it's still peerless.… Expand

Baldur's Gate 2 is undoubtedly the best cRPG of all time. Even after seven years of its release, it's still ahead of its time in terms of content, depth, dialogue, non-linearity and replay value. All in all, it's an epic masterpiece of absolute perfection. If you are into RPG's and have never played this game, get it. It'll be the best deal in your life.

In short: the best game ever made. I played this when it was released and was amazed of all the detail, soul and love put into it.If you haven't played this then do it! It still feels as freshed as it was when it was released. I'm so sad BioWare has gone a totally different way and started making games such as Dragon Age II. I will quote another review:
Often imitated, never duplicated: BGII.

I mark down almost every one of my favorite games. I am HUGELY against being a traditionalist who 'only likes' games of the 'golden era'. When a game ages, I don't give it a 10/10 simply because I loved it when i first played it. I rank it against everything that has come after. That said, this game truly does defy time. A thrilling and truly epic storyline that dances around many highly regarded stories since. This game is a gem. A true gem. When it comes to this game vs planescape torment - however. Things get tricky. As a game - BGII is the winner. As a creation - Planescape torment holds all the ambition. Both tell grand stories. They just have different strengths.… Expand

The best game made ever. Dated at this point, it has the most poignant story and character interaction of any game. Dragon Age pales in comparison to this epic. The Icewind dale series is a close 2nd in this genre

The most epic RPG experience ever. I was young and didn't understand D&D rules, but I learned as I played. There's so much story in this game, it's like a 7 layer cake. The graphics are STUNNING. This is the power of pre-rendered graphics, there's no limit to poly count, though they must remain somewhat stationary. If this game was realtime 3D it would look like beetle dung. The first western RPG I've played, and it's still the best. Mass Effect, Dragon Age, etc, are all crap compared to Baldur's Gate 2.… Expand

This is a timeless piece of art that is quite simply the alpha and the omega of RPGs. The graphics are still timeless, the backgrounds and environments look like oil paintings made by a master artist pouring his vision onto the canvas. The story is free of cliches and tired conventions, and is written like a book, while still being 100% fitting with the fantasy world that the game draws you into. You will get attached to some of the characters, you will go over your spellbook and want to try new combinations of the hundreds of spells with unique effects, and you'll be surprised by huge dungeons that lay behind secret doors in the sewers that most players will probably miss. This game has not been rivaled before or since, and nobody can call themselves an RPG fan without playing and loving this masterpiece. It will always have a special place in my heart. If you haven't played it, DO IT! Play it like an RPG and enjoy it, because these days, games don't come close.… Expand

Simply beyond words as everything in this game was well-made. Every choice you make has a repercussion and the story never fails to tell. There are so many things to do in this game that it may overwhelm you when you first start but that is how adventures should feel right?

Still one of my favorite RPG's even with all the current offerings that are vastly superior in visuals. BGII brings exceptional storytelling and character development into a detailed and realized fantasy world with a great and engaging storyline. They just don't make games like this anymore.

Favourite RPG, especially with all the mods out there nowadays. The only thing I don't like about is that even though you get to choose the alignment for your PC, you're forced to play the good guy all the time since it's more rewarding and also it makes more sense storyline wise. So it's kind of hard to really build up a personality for your characters, which distracts from the overall enjoyable game.… Expand

The best game I have ever played. It turned me into a drooling BioWare fanboy.

The problem with tabletop RPGs is all the dice rolling. The problem with Computer RPGs is that they aren't as flexible as a human GM, and so story paths are relatively inflexible. BG2 Has so much divergence, that problem has now been addressed. Problems-- unstable in the Mac version, though I guess mac owners should be happy to see it at all :) Astonishingly complex, and very immersive... Extremely good overall, I'd like to see Fallout 3 done in the Infinity Engine :)… Expand

When i got the game shortly after its release, I swear i heard a choir of angels. This is easily one of the best CRPGs ever made. Not the best, but it comes darn close.

It's great!

Maybe the best RPG I've ever played. This is coming from a guy having never heard of the series then poped it in and then played it. Of course by doing that I was saying good bye to a good 2 months of my life.