This statement could be attached to BG2, certainly not to BG1.

Combat in BG1 is first and foremost unbalanced with insanely difficult encounters popping out of nowhere. This is made worse by the fact that the game is about lower levels and you spend a good portion of it below level 5. This is made EVEN worse by the AD&D rules which are, IMHO, atrocious, convoluted and, most importantly, leave little to no customization of characters at lower levels. This is VASTLY improved by the 3.5 ruleset which introduced various perks and much more clear rules (the person that invented THAC0 should be kicked in the butt).

As for characters I was baffled by their lack of depth. Khalid and Jaheira exchange one or two sentences with the protagonist before joining up, skipping fluidly over Gorion's (their alleged friend) death. This is true for most of the cast. . In most cases I had to inspect their character profile to get some actual information about them. If character's portraits and voice responses give you more insight into a character than his dialogue, then we have a serious problem. At one point you meet a Rogue (pardon me but I didn't even note his name), who tries to kill you by tricking you into service with to boss - a mage. You can then proceed to murder said mage when her shady side comes to light and the Rogue will casually offer you his allegiance and you also can casually accept him - everything in TWO SENTENCES

Baldur's Gate 2 is a great game, Baldur's Gate 1 is mainly a bootstrap which made the sequel possible. Give me BG2 with 3.5 DND and 3D, neatly animated low-poly character models (TOEE style) and I will give you my eternal love!

I've said I' read a couple of reviews from the time BG1 was released, and nobody actually complained about difficult combat. Maybe games were more difficult back then? :P

But yeah, it's really random at the beginning, when a lone kobold with fire arrow can kill you with one shot :P

On the day it was released, I went into game to buy a FPS and the sales clerk talked me into buying BG1. it was my first RPG, so I didnt realise it was "difficult" I just thought I sucked and hadn't built my character correctly, but it wasn't that bad.

I even gave it to a couple of work colleagues, it was also their first RPG (they may have played Diablo 1 prior, I forget) and again, they didnt see anything too difficult, maybe it was just ignorance on our parts, but its the game that turned me towards what is now my favourite genre.

Only thing I really want from this is the zoom feature (since HD res is too far away but normal res is too close) and the new cutscenes. Neither is worth $20. Hope to see this in a Steam or GOG sale someday though, after it has been patched.

I think most people that struggle with combat in Baldur's Gate just aren't using magic properly or are hoarding buffing potions, scrolls and summoning wands instead of actually using them. Use wands, scrolls and potions, actually memorize and cast useful spells (Magic Missile is fairly worthless early on, get something like Sleep or Blindness instead), have your thief backstab... The game is really pretty damn easy.

I actually prefer Baldur's Gate 1 to 2. In SoA I miss the feeling of traversing and exploring the wilderness on the way to my destination. Also, I found the bulk of the characters in the sequel to be outright annoying, I really don't see their appeal.

Agreed.

Guys, I am not saying that the game is difficult, I am saying that there are some crazy spikes. It's either a total pushover or an instant death for my protagonist. Just yesterday I reached an encounter where my protagonist was getting one shotted by an enemy mage, who ALWAYS picked the hero for his target. I managed to beat him, after some tries, due to lucky attack rolls. It's just isn't fun for me when something like that happens.

That is the biggest downside for me of 2, but story and mechanics and presentation are all superior.

I think D&D based games need to remember that. That it's not just about the dungeons, it's about the exploration. The journey TO the dungeon. The DISCOVERY of the dungeon.

Good review here: http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2012/12/baldurs-gate-enhanced-edition-review-a-flawed-classic/

Seems to summarize the pros and cons of the release that others have identified.

I've not yet played any of the old DnD games (the "classics") and I'm planning on buying BG:EE over BG1+2 and modding (just to ease some compatibility issues/i know people will mod it) and plan on buying BG2/PS:T. So reading Ars' review made me a bit upset because it stated a lot of what I would consider spoilers in the review. Though I understand the game has been out forever in the original form, I still think no spoilers/partial spoilers should have been made since this is a way to bring new faces to the series it seem. (The biggest thing I noticed was related to the start of the game).

Good review. I'll stick with the original. I was hoping that they would make the combat a bit more player-friendly, sadly it looks like the same mess that shipped back in the day. This (along with the brain-dead Neverwinter Nights 2 A.I.) is the sole reason why I never made a pledge for the "Project Eternity" kickstarter.

You can set the widescreen mod to a medium res. e.g. for a 24" monitor try something like 1280x720 (16:9) or 1280x800 (16:10).

There's a mod to allow you to merge the two games into one seamless one, but I don't think it works with the EE yet (if ever). You may want to look at that to see if you want it first.

I do that but it still looks a little fuzzy from not being in native res. It would be cool to run it in 1920x1200 but zoom in when I need to.

OK, I got the game working.. the launch page crashes in full screen, but the actual game runs fine, so I had to tweak the .ini to make the game launch windowed, and then change to full screen in game. Just have to remember to switch back to windowed before I quit. Maybe this'll help anyone else.

I must say the zooming doesn't look that great, by the way. It seems as if there's no zoom level where things look actually sharp.

I actually considered getting a refund because of the launch and stability issues and the underwhelming `enhancements', but I decided to give these guys another chance. I still support the idea (though I repeat that the price is ridiculous), but I have no desire to participate in this beta test. I'll just get back to it in 6 months and see if they managed to iron out the bugs and if the modding community has picked it up at all. If so, great, that means BG2:EE will be fine as well. If not, Beamdog goes on my blacklist of companies to never support again.

Thanks for the heads up, I was definatly going to get this, but I think I'll leave it until its in better condition.
Cheers :)