Which game comes next?

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I have just played BG1 several times, BG2 SOA once and I am close to finishing BG2 SOA+TOB for the first time. (Just about to kill Yaga-Shura) I did the Aerie romance and took the thieves side. At some point I want to do BG 2 SOA+TOB again with the Jaheira romance, taking the vampire side, and use as many different NPC's as possible. And some time in the future I also want to finish BG1 with my evil party then do BG2 with an evil party. But I am not sure I want to tackle BG2 again right away. It is a very long game to do. At least for me it is, I see some talk about people being able to rush through it. I have no idea how they can do that. Maybe I just kinda suck at games ;( I also have Doom 3 sitting here waiting. I may take a D&D break and do it next. I think Doom 3 will not take anywhere near as much time as BG2.

Anyway - to the point: When I play more BG I am interested in following the story line as much as possible.

I assume Neverwinter Nights is the game to do next after BG2. What about Icewind Dale? Does it continue the BG story or is it a completly seperate story? There are multiple expansion packs to BG2. Would doing some of them first before NWN be better to the story development?

 

NWN IWD and BG all have their own stories, each is independent of and has no bearing on the others.

My personal opinion? Don't expect much from NWN, I found it very boring. As for IWD, it's more of a hack 'n slash than an rpg imo, but it's worth playing through at least once.

Do you mean mods? Because afaik, ToB is the only official expansion (and it was "supposed" to conclude the BG series).

But there's going to be a BG3, though iirc it's going to be a prequel to the 1st 2 BG games (Check the BG3 forum in the unreleased games section)

 

Yes I ment to say mods. I saw a posting that had the subject "BG2-NWN NPC continuity" or something like that. I did not read it because I did not want any spoilers. But I assumed then that NWN did continue BG. And in BG2 it says that you can continue your character in NWN. But I did read some info on NWN that says they never mde the importer work - you must start with a new character. So the imbedded ad in BG2 lies!

I have always played hack'n Slash before BG2 (Diablo, Diablo 2, FPS's) so I know nothing about the D&D world.

Where is a good article to read to explain the "D&D world" that BG2 and NWN, etc are all supposed to be a part of?

 

The stories of the games you mentioned don't really flow together although there are one or two vague linkages. The decision on what to play next depends on how you like playing. In IWDII you get to form your own party of up to 6 characters, whereas in NWN you are solo (with a henchman). Both these games use a more recent version of D&D rules so they are different from that perspective. Plus NWN is 3-D as opposed to 2-D.

 

NWN: boring.
IWD2: slightly interesting if you are into HnS.
TToEE: clumsy.
P:T: almost as good as BG.

Pick your poison, for there are NO other AD&D games that would come even close to what BG2 is.

 

I dunno... From a characterisation/storyline point of view, I think PS:T is, if anything, better than BGII. Ok, Combat's not as good, IMHO, but how can you argue against NPCs like Dak'kon? Probably my favourite in-game character ever. The whole thing, with the way the quest progresses, is just superb from a rolelaying perspective. I'd go to Sigil next, Chas.

 

Definitely do Planescape next. It is so unbelievably fun, and has at least as much replay value as the BG series. Then you should play IWD I and II. Then Planescape again. Then Planescape one more time. Then go back to BG. Then give NWN a try and form your own opinion about it.

And to answer one of your questions, IWD actually takes place about a century before the BG series, with IWD II about thirty years after that.

 

PS:T obliterates the BG series - especially if your interest is in writing, plot, and characters.

 

Odds are that if you love PS:T, you won't care much for IWD2 - I haven't played IWD but I'd assume it's pretty much like it, although I've also heard that the story is better. IWD2 is a linear dungeon crawl though. "Kill, kill, kill" sums it up. PS:T is highly storydriven and deep on interaction with (and somewhat between) very interesting NPCs but the combat isn't very good.
I picked NWN up sometime in the past but got bored VERY quickly, I've heard the expansions are more interesting but it's commonly agreed upon that the NWN OC blows.
And as said, the diferent D&D titles are set in the same universe, share some mythos, maybe a few 'notable figures' but otherwise they are seperate.

 

Looks like it didn't take long to make Aikanaro a fan of PS:T

I've played them all except NWN and there isn't really any need to play in any particular order (not even IWD before IWD2, really).

I wouldn't want to import characters from BG2 into NWN anyway...level 40 to start? Where would you go from there?

 

PS:T is amazing. Probably even better than the BG series.

IWD is fun. It's pure hack and slash, but you have full control over the party. It's like playing BG without any plot or NPCs, and almost entirely underground. IWD2 is more or less the same, though not as good, but I think it makes up for it with the sheer number of possibilities you get at character creation.

NWN is like IWD, but with 3D graphics and no party.

There is almost no relation between any of the games, so you don't need to play them in any order. Playing IWD before IWD2 could make the latter slightly more enjoyable.

Now, if you want to get into really old D&D games, you could always play the SSI games for the late 80's Seriously, some of them were pretty good, at least for the time.

 

Thanks for all the replys. I get the impression PS:T is more of an adventure game, something like Kings Quest or Liesure Suit Larry. Is this right? I actually prefer H&S to adventure right now. I was addicted to Diablo II for a long time and I have always liked First Person Shooters, like Doom. I will buy PS:T anyway since it iis so cheap but I think I might like IWD best of all the games mentioned. I think I will order them all just to give them a try. Most are cheap now.

 

Enough about PS:T

I gotta find myself one

 

@Chas: Nope, PS:T is not an adventure game, it's a pure RPG. Let's say you rate RPGs for importance of combat versus importance of story and characterization: PS:T would be high on story/character, IWD would be high on combat, and BG would fall somewhere in-between. Diablo2 would be pure combat

Considering the games you've enjoyed, you might not like PS:T, but if you find it for cheap it's worth a try anyway. You will most probably like the IWD series though.

 

@ Chas- if you want a good H&S try 'Sacred'. Its quite good as it has a fun plot but its combat is definatley enjoyable. Its similar to Diablo 2 but on steroids, its got better story, combat, characters, graphics, music, quests, cities, voices and overall gameplay I highly recomend it if you're in that kind of games.

 

I must have been one of the rare few who really couldn't get into PS:T. BG2 is king and then BG1. I really liked Icewind Dale, mainly because of the character creation and the story. Icewind Dale 2 was terrible in my opinion with so many confusing scenes and the ending was slapped together so badly. I loved TOEE but the bugs made me want to scream at some points. NWN was really dark and was just tiresome in some points but I have to say I enjoyed it overall.

My advice:

If you are even remotely interested in Star Wars and love RPG's, pick up Knights of the Old Republic. This is the way an RPG should be with killer story, greatest plot twist since the Ususal Suspects, great lightsaber fights (especially with a good video card and computer), D&D like character advancement and so many weapons, fights and different environments I wanna see this game adapted for A D&D setting.

 

Does Knights of the Old Republic require any manual dexterity (i.e. for the fights - is it like trying to control a Tekken-style fight or just pointing, clicking, and determining tactics like a BGII fight?)

 

This is exactly how I described it to my friends too

@Harbourboy

Nope, it's just like playing BG. Pause the game then assign commands. There's even a "command queue" meaning you can assign them one after the other (i.e. attack enemy one, use life drain, switch to enemy two and throw lightsaber...)

 

KOTOR is just click on your opponent and watch the game let rip with it's own AI in the fight scenes. You can take drugs, activate specific shields for specific weapons and use Jedi powers to enhance your fight. The game lets the character do reverse light saber swings, double swings and forward somersaulting as some of the magnificently scripted action. I was blown away, especially the fight on the Bridge of the Imperial Starship. This is a must for RPG fans.

No manual dexterity involved. Sit back and watch your character perform his/her own moves that rock!