A true classic. Open ended exploration, unforgettable characters, and addictive gaming. Fun combat, and true RPG-ing.
The graphics in this game use the infinity engine, with 800x600 available unlike the lower resolution in BG1. The engine was just a litte dated when it was released, but not bad at all. The reason I rated the graphics so high is because of the detail! Great detail has been put into the outdoor areas, and indoor areas. Each area is uniquely furnished, this game is truly the King of 2D sprite games!
Sound
This game has near-perfect sound. Great voice acting, and superb music. The battle music is appropriately hectic, and ebbs out nicely at the conclusion of combat. The exploration music is nice, and has a variety of themes (preparation for an epic confrontation, exploration, wonder) etc. It is slightly inferior to Icewind Dale 1's superb music, but that is like comparing ice-cream with chocolate topping to ice-cream with chocolate topping and sprinkles. Gameplay
The gameplay is the whole crux of what makes this game a classic. After the adventures of BG1, your character is captured by a twisted wizard, who wishes to use your essence in some way. Your pc must find his/her way to the truth and further unravel the mystery about his/her background. The starting city of Athkatla is superb, a wide open, bustling city. There are many side-quests and main quests around every corner, and many nooks and crannys to explore. Quests have many different ways to solve them, and many different dialogue options. There is something intangible about the way the quests are handled, they are always exciting. There is always something new around the corner. The quests and areas are planned exquisitely. The strenghts of this starting area DO continue for the rest of the game. The companions that can join your party are a major part of the experience. Each has his/her own background, personality, comments and side-quest (mostly). They will react to your reputation and your deeds, and inject comments during your conversations with npcs. They will inititate conversations with you, and your responses will have real effects on your relationship with them. Keeping one set of pcs for the whole game is immensely rewarding, as you see the pc's relationship with them grow and change.
The story is absolutely tantalising, with many twists and turns. It is deeply personal, it is impossible not to care about what happens to your pc. The combat is just as good. It is integrated and timed very well with the talking. There is very little respawning. There is a lot of combat in the game, but it is very enjoyable. The monsters and creatures that you fight make sense in the context of the game. The monsters have their own interesting abilities to challenge your character. There is a perfect pacing of extremely hard, hard, medium and slightly challening combats. The combat never gets boring, and is custom-tailored to provide each pc with a good challenge, and different methods to win. Even as your pc approaches godly levels of power, you must always be prepared. The combat is challenging, but do not worry, you will not get stuck. Experimenting and trying different strategies will enable you to win. The combat is not hard-core, you do not need to choose the most power-player pcs and abilities to win. You will be sufficiently prepared for the foes that will face you, but they will also be prepared for you. The abilities and kits add a great deal of fun to this game. There are many interesting character types to try, as well as items/strategies etc. The strongholds are excellent, as they are different for most classes (example, the mage sphere, bard hall, warrior's castle and so forth). They provide very interesting quests, but do so much to involve the player in the game. The D&D rules are implemented in a great way, for example the multi-class and dual-class options can be used to create an interesting and powerful character.
Interface
The interface is great. You can control your pc and each companion completely, accessing their inventory and moving them around. You CAN pause while in the inventory screen thankfully. There are containers for every type of common item (gems,scrolls,etc.) and some bags of holding that can hold anything. There is AI that you can set for your pcs, although I never use it, the thrill of controlling them is too great. There is also a 'basic' AI button which controls whether the pcs react to attacks. This is a nice touch, as there are moments where you may want your companions to be sedentary. What can I say? The game has a classic, you can tell just by playing it. The pacing of the story, role-playing and combat is addictive and substantive. If you like deep RPGs, this is your Holy Grail.