Baldur's Gate 2: Ultimate Collection (Shadows of Amn and Throne of Bhaal)

Standing outside of Candlekeep back in 1998, stick in hand, in glorious 640x480 resolution, I wouldn't have been able to conceive of Scooteris in the present day. How could he go from tree-hugging halfwit to dragonscale armor–clad warrior wielding weapons of instant decapitation and able with but a single thought to instantly teleport himself to a secret fortress that floats in another dimension? Yet that's what he's become in Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal.

ToB is the expansion to BGII, but more importantly, it's the climax of the entire Baldur's Gate saga, in which everything comes full circle for your avatar. It's a tightly focused work that has you constantly topping yourself in terms of "deeds to brag about." You take on entire armies, meet liches as frequently as goblins, and even face off against Demogorgon himself. I thought Demogorgon was just some Really Big Guy until my more AD&D-attuned compatriots clued me in to the fact that he's "the Prince of Demons" and the AD&D equivalent of Sauron—someone so powerful that people spend more time talking about him than attempting to fight him.

With such mighty deeds to be done, everything in the game gets ramped up. Your characters can attain obscenely high levels—into the mid-30s. Imoen gets the ability to summon comets, dragon heads, and divine beings (a far cry from Monster Summoning I, where a couple of kobolds would be my sad attempt at "backup"). Your enemies are more powerful too. Demiliches, monks who fight with the force of dragons, and other weird interdimensional critters await you. Even the normal dragons get smart enough to do things like turn invisible and heal themselves periodically.

To attain this tone of epic conflict, the expansion is much more focused than the previous game. It adds three more chapters, which are much like playing BGII chapters three through six. Sure, occasional breaks and side quests pop up, but you're mostly moving and conversing from one epic battle to another. The only break in the action is the brilliantly designed Watcher's Keep dungeon, beckoning you with its treasures, devious traps, and even throwbacks to classic RPGs. Some may find the relentless combat daunting, and the nonlinear elements lacking. Others may think that with the new character abilities (such as thieves' obscene Use Any Item skill), the game is unbalanced.

But ultimately Throne of Bhaal is an epic ending to a sweeping saga, and gamers who've stuck with their original Baldur's GAte characters all the way through are the ones who'll be most rewarded. Yes, the plotting may need some work, the combat occasionally feels repetitive, and it could've been a little longer, but consider this: We all expect to merely slay Foozle and bathe in the accolades of whatever podunk kingdom we just saved. The original Baldur's Gate ended that way, and each successive iteration of this series has built upon that basic heroic tale, but when Throne of Bhaal concludes, the tale is transcended as it and your character truly become the stuff of myth and legend. When was the last time a saga ended so fittingly? Certainly not the train wreck that ended the Ultima series.

Throne of Bhaal is the resounding ending that the Baldur's Gate dynasty and its fans deserve. You owe it to yourself to play it.



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