Best RPG: Baldur's Gate
The Advanced Dungeons & Dragons license could well have been named "Most Abused License of All Time" prior to this year. There really hasn't been an AD&D-licensed product that added to the gaming experience since the old SSI "gold box" games. Then along came Baldur's Gate. Interplay promised us that its developer, Bioware, would be faithful to the spirit of AD&D while providing an up-to-date, technologically advanced engine. We were, to say the least, skeptical.
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We are skeptical no more. From character creation through character interaction and on to party management and combat, Baldur's Gate is an exceptional product. We've never seen character alignment and character attributes handled as well as they are in BG. Put characters of opposite alignments in the same party and you're asking for internecine warfare. Put a character with high charisma in the lead and you're likely to get optimal discounts from the local merchants and more information than you'd expect from nonplayer characters. Bioware must be commended for the detailed character sketches behind each character.
The runner-up, New World Computing's Might and Magic VI, was a gigantic, addictive hack-'n'-slash and not much in the depth department. Still, for 80 hours or so, it was a definite hoot to play.
Runner-up: Might and Magic VI, New World Computing.
Other Finalists: Fallout 2, Black Isle/Interplay; Return to Krondor, Sierra Studios; Final Fantasy VII, SquareSoft/Eidos Interactive
Next: Simulation of the Year
