Forgotten Realms: Baldur's Gate II - Shadows of Amn (Video Game 2000)

During his adventure in Baldur's Gate, the main character has discovered he is the descendant of an ancient god. But he is not the only one who knows that...

Director:

Feargus Urquhart

Writer:

Lukas Kristjanson

Stars:

David Warner, Charles Adler, Dee Bradley Baker

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
David Warner	...	Jon Irenicus (voice)
Charles Adler	...	Kalah / Teos / Rielev / Rejiek Hidesman (voice)
Dee Bradley Baker	...	Dawnbringer Sain / Nallabir (voice)
Michael Bell	...	Haer'Dalis / Vittorio (voice)
Jeff Bennett	...	Xan / Drizzt Do'Urden / Saemon Havarian / Gaelan Bayle (voice)
Gregg Berger	...	Simyaz / Isaea Roenal / Oisig (voice)
Cam Clarke	...	Aran Linvail (voice)
Jonathan David Cook	...	TorGal / Lavok / Sassar (voice) (as Jonathan Cook)
Jim Cummings	...	Minsc / Lord Jierdan Firkraag / RedDragon / Kahn Zahraa / Ogres / Genie (voice)
Grey DeLisle	...	Nalia de'Arnise / Viconia DeVir / Bubbles / Raelis Shai (voice)
Melissa Disney	...	Imoen / Surayah (voice)
Bill Farmer	...	Garren Windspear / Demson / Dermin (voice)
Michael Gough	...	Solaufein (voice)
Wayne Grace	...	Elhan (voice)
Jennifer Hale	...	Mazzy Fentan (voice)

Storyline

During his adventure in Baldur's Gate, the main character has discovered he is the descendant of an ancient god. But he is not the only one who knows that...

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Plot Keywords:

sequel

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy

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Certificate:

T

Details

Official Sites:

BioWare Corp. Interplay (publisher)

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 December 2000 (Poland)

Also Known As:

Baldur's Gate II - Shadows of Amn

Filming Locations:

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bioware, Black Isle Studios, Interplay Productions

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of the characters in the game is named "Minister Lloyd Wainwright". Lloydminster and Wainwright are the names of communities in Alberta, Canada, east of Edmonton where BioWare is headquartered.

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Quotes

Viconia: He dropped to his knees to beg for mercy, which offered me height advantage as I smashed in his skull with a sledgehammer.

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Connections

Follows Forgotten Realms: Baldur's Gate - Tales of the Sword Coast (1999)

User Reviews

Amazing

I once read that there are three kinds of gamers; the patient, the persistent and the in-betweens. This game is the wet dream of any dedicated and patient player, as well as being the most enjoyable Infinity Engine game, next to the more story-oriented Planescape: Torment and the original Baldur's Gate.

Try reading some negative reviews about it. Most of them will tell you that the story is bad or rant about how the game is too difficult or complex for them. The latter two traits are integral to why the game succeeds: it does not hold your hand and offers a zillion things to do along with quests, romances and dialog trees. It's always challenging and tough, but there is a way around everything! To get through this game on Core Rules difficulty or above requires thinking, planning and tactics. You are required to get the most out of your equipment and spells, and this alone makes the game too hard for those who call themselves RPGers these days, used to breezing through console rpgs by mashing the X button. Once you understand how the system works, which may take days of trying and failing, the challenge comes down to two things: planning ahead and quicksaving/reloading until you win a battle.

It's beyond me how the story could be considered poor: unlike Morrowind, which is perhaps the most open-ended and expansive CRPG, it has a cohesive storyline that runs as an undercurrent through all the sub-quests. The main thing about the game is that it isn't an interactive movie or a Final Fantasy game where everything is laid out for you to play in sequence. That's not how it works. The plot of Baldur's Gate 2 isn't about saving Imoen or stopping Irenicus, it is a multitude of different stories and plot lines that are there to add the immersing experience of the world. With this game, I've seen a lot of people just speed-click through all the dialog of the sub-quests and then complain that the story isn't interesting. It just doesn't compute. Yeah, you show me another game that offers four or five different dialog choices in conversations with an insignificant NPC, significant story branches based on what you do, all the while leaving you free to do whatever you want, make your own character and bring along the ones you want.

The game-developers obviously realized the importance of sound and ambiance: each place is armed to the teeth with unique ambiance like merchants shouting in the streets or prostitutes peddling their bodies. This works in conjunction with Michael Hoenig's excellent score, which triggers two-minute snippets from time to time (so you don't get sick of the music), along with bombastic brass during the battles. Anyone who's ever heard some of his work on other movies or TV-series should know that Baldur's Gate 1 & 2 are basically the pinnacle of his career as a media composer. It's like he was born to do it. Speaking as someone who's heavily into classical music and knowledgeable in music theory, the music in this game is really, really, really good. Wherever you are, whatever you do, the piece that is playing always fits the on-screen action perfectly.

Even if the graphics may be a bit dated by today's standards, Baldur's Gate 2 stands at the zenith of Bioware's achievements in CRPGs. They managed to make a game with an enormous depth that still managed to be interesting as a narrative storyline. It offered you massive freedom to do as you pleased, but managed to avoid player apathy and disinterest. Seeing what passes for RPGs today (linear affairs with minimal depth and dialog), we may never see another game like it.