"Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn" Review

Publisher:  Black Isle/Bioware

Genre:  RPG

Summary:  You must undertake quests and make chancy bargains to pursue an evil mage.

Gameplay:  As before, the gameplay is based on 3rd edition Dungeons and Dragons.  There are new classes, Barbarian and Sorcerer, plus optional "kits", sort of sub-classes, for most classes.  Levels are higher than the previous game, allowing for more spells and abilities and subsequently greater variety in strategy (although you'd always best have some sort of way to remove mage defenses.)  Likewise, difficult new enemies await, including annoying level-draining ones and, finally, some dragons. 

Style:  The game is similar in design to the first, with icons set off in bars to the side, but they're a little more rounded and golden to fit the setting of a city of trade.  The graphics are similar as well, but more exotic realms and creatures are featured.

Story:  The epic story offers memorable settings and characters.  The villains are complex, as are your companions.  The quirky Bioware party members interject comments and concerns and can sometimes even be romanced.

There are still distinct chapters that start with a cutscene and narration, but these lack the strength of the previous game's as they don't really add anything.  I enjoy the game most in the earlier chapters, when a multitude of quests and options spreads before your character (although many admirably manage to tie into the theme of "shadows.")  There are enough for many playthroughs (I think there are several quests I still haven't yet done, after years of playing) and that's just the way I like it.  Later the game is more linear and the combat grows more difficult and tiresome, but the strength of the story covers some of these woes.

Conclusion:  Shadows of Amn (the "Baldur's Gate" part is a bit of a misnomer, since that location was the focus of the first game and isn't revisited here except dialogue reminiscence) offers a strong story and characters in a rich setting with some fun combat, to which many mods have only added over the years.  I do wish there were more options and quests in the later part, but it's still a great game.