Almostttt...
There's really not much to say. In short, I saw a glimmer of a game that could've been really awesome...many years ago. Basically, I don't think the game has aged well. The combat/stats take some getting used to, but before you know it (especially if you have friends who know D&D), you'll be rolling fine before you know it. Overall though, even though the game is antiquated, it still plays fine. I enjoyed the writing, and even the combat to some extent.
The problem is, eventually, you start getting bored. My friend actually didn't try to defend the game, and said that Baldur's Gate 2 is much better. But with that said, it isn't so much that the game is bad, per se. It's just that it hasn't aged well. The story is 'decent' but it's not enough to make you want to come back to playing the game. In other words, decent, but not 'amazing'. Planescape was a different story (no pun intended); even though the graphics and battle system were pretty bad, the characters and story kept drawing me back. And frankly, if it weren't so good, I'd probably have stopped playing as well because the game is incredibly ugly and the combat is very stiff. But the story was just -that- good.
Baldur's Gate, not so much. In the year 2012, the story is a tad too generic and doesn't have 'enough' to draw you past the dull combat, bad graphics/pathfinding, etc. All in all, though it sounds like I'm bagging on this game, I'm really not. The story isn't bad, and the game itself really shows some potential. It was relatively enjoyable, and by no means, a bad game. That's why my review score is relatively high.
But with that said, because it's Baldur's Gate (like... THE Baldur's Gate), I've held it to some tough standards, and am comparing it to the experience I had with PS:T. The game is.. 'fine', but really, as a new player, it hasn't aged well, and the 'enhancements' just weren't enough to do it for me. Still overall, a decent game. Almost; not quite