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Baldur’s
Gate II: Throne of Bhaal
Travelling even further south along the Sword Coast
of the Forgotten Realms, you and your companions have
come a long way indeed from the safe confines of Candlekeep,
and the protection of your since murdered guardian,
Gorion. The exotic land of Tethyr brings promises of
adventure the likes of which your naďve self would never
have imagined, and the blood that taints your existence
ordains that you will
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Genre:
RPG
Release
Date:
Available
Publisher:
Black Isle
Developer:
Bioware
ESRB:
Teen
Requirements:
Windows
9x
Pentium II 233 MHz
32 MB RAM
1.2 GB HDD space
4x CD-ROM
4MB video card
DirectX 7.0 or higher
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take part in truly world-shattering events - after all,
you are the child of a god.
Baldur’s Gate II: Throne of Bhaal (ToB) is the
expansion pack for BG2: Shadows of Amn, and it
is the concluding chapter in the Bhaalspawn saga. Developers
Bioware and publishers Black Isle (Interplay) tie up
several loose ends, and most importantly, reveal to
you the true connotations of the blood you carry within
your veins. This is no light affair, and the expansion
can run a good 30-40 hours of gameplay, depending on
how thoroughly you choose to explore the new lands of
the south.
There are several additions made to the BG2 game experience
via ToB. Bioware chose to maintain a modified 2nd Edition
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons rule set rather than switch
over to 3rd Edition fully; such a choice would likely
have greatly increased the development time, and taken
away from their upcoming Neverwinter Nights project.
The experience cap for characters has been increased
to 8 million, meaning that several classes can now achieve
the godly heights of 40th level. In light of that, several
high level spells have been added, especially for mages
of all types, and high level class abilities have been
implemented for the first time in an AD&D CRPG. Fighter
types now gain access to such abilities as “War Cry”
and “Whirlwind” attacks, while mages and clerics get
10th and quest level spells respectively, enhancing
their already formidable powers. Thieves in particular
get some nice abilities, my favorite being the ability
to use any magical item, including those usually reserved
for specific classes. In addition, a new character kit
has been added to the mix: the Wild Mage. Anyone familiar
with the Forgotten Realms will know that wild magic
is one of the most interesting, and dangerous, changes
to the old AD&D rules set introduced in Faerun. For
those not familiar, it is basically the study of the
chaotic possibilities of magic, both negative and beneficial,
and the attempt to harness these powers. Wild Mages
can be the most powerful magic users in the realms,
but they can also end up dead - or worse - very quickly.
Still, a difficult feature to implement, and kudos to
Bioware for including this. Another small addition that
has been made to ToB since Shadows of Amn is
the introduction of potion cases. Originally seen in
IceWind Dale, it’s nice that they’ve finally
given these to the BG2 crowd; they work much the same
as the scroll cases, gem bags, and bags of holding already
present, and help greatly with your inventory management.
In addition to three new chapters in the Bhaalspawn
sage, the massive dungeon of Watcher’s Keep is included,
and it is accessible from either Shadows of Amn
or from the expansion. This is a truly magnificent creation,
with powerful enemies, magical artifacts, and an end
boss that will be familiar to anyone who has played
AD&D for any length of time. I would advise putting
off visiting this place until you’ve had a chance to
play through some of the expansion, as the extra experience
and abilities you will gain come in mighty handy.
ToB begins with a visit to a pocket plane located in
the nether regions, and a chat with an old adversary.
This is an excellent place to rest and heal up, and
contains one of the game’s most unique characters. Cespenar
is an imp, formerly the butler to your dead father Bhaal.
He has an affinity for “shiny ones,” magical items of
immense power. Throughout the game you come across various
artifacts, most of which are fairly useless at first
glance; however, if they match one of Cespenar’s recipes,
he/she/it can create truly incredible objects for your
use. The imp has a very unique voice, that some will
enjoy immensely, and others will find annoying. Personally,
I liked the little critter, and got a kick out of some
of his comments. At one point as he was going through
my things he said, “You pack-rat. You going to hell.”
A comment on cleanliness being close to godliness? Of
course, he failed to note that I was already
in hell; the subtle irony is very clever at times, and
I never tired of his commentary. In any case, once you
find a way to leave your pocket plane, the game proper
begins.
Transported to Saradush, you find yourself in a city
under siege. It seems that one of your “brothers” (on
your father’s side), has raised an army and is attempting
to take the city - which just happens to contain most
of the remaining Bhaalspawn, including yourself at the
moment. Over the course of the three new chapters you
get to meet the infamous “Five” hinted at in Shadows
of Amn, deal with new and intriguing major characters
(including a kind of “social worker” for Bhaalspawn),
and eventually learn about your destiny, and your place
in the prophecies of Alaundo the Wise. The game is full
of interesting plot twists, old characters from earlier
chapters of both BG and BG2, and enough epic battles
to leave you exhausted. But enough about the game -
I don’t want to give any spoilers.
Very
few changes have been made to the Infinity Engine, with
the same resolutions and graphical options available
for use. There are tons of new creatures and textures
for the new areas, however, and these give the expansion
a flavor all its own. In particular, the creative use
of palette in Watcher’s Keep’s environs and monsters
was a joy to see. Some of the best new effects are saved
for the spells. The first time you cast one of Bigby’s
wonderful spells, you’ll see exactly what I mean. Unfortunately,
the frenetic pace of some of the battles and the sheer
amount of magical energy being thrown about means that
ToB is pushing the envelope on some older machines.
While I never experienced slowdown on my P3-500 when
going through Shadows, I did occasionally get
jerky action in some of the bigger battles of ToB. If
you’re aware of this problem, it’s a simple thing to
turn down some of the graphics options, and still enjoy
a smooth ride.
Throughout the BG series, music and sound has been of
the highest quality. ToB is no exception, and I was
pleasantly surprised to find that it features a whole
new score. The music is sweeping and epic in flavor,
and the voice acting is, as always, of the highest quality.
Other companies should pay attention to the work Bioware
and Black Isle consistently do in this area, and learn
from their example.
Besides the occasional graphical slowdown I’ve already
mentioned, my ride through ToB was smooth as silk, with
nary a technical glitch to speak of. There have, however,
been a few system specific issues, and Bioware has released
a patch to deal with these available
here. If you’re having any problems with the game,
it’s worth a download.
Baldur’s Gate II: Throne of Bhaal provides a
fitting end to a series with such epic scope, and is
really a must have for anyone who has played the previous
games in the Bhaalspawn saga. A true measure of any
great series, whether it be books, movies, or computer
games, is that I always feel a sense of loss when they
are over; ToB gave that to me. If you’re a fan of great
RPGs or good storytelling, do your self a favor and
pick this one up.
Concept
Takes RPGs to a level not seen before. |
95
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Gameplay
New features, familiar interface.
|
95
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Graphics
The engine is getting a little long in the tooth. |
85
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Sound
Top notch voice work, sweeping score.
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100
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Technical
Some issues addressed in patch. |
90
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Overall
A
must have for any fan of the series, and a great
conclusion to the Bhaalspawn saga. |
93
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