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Baldur's Gate (Mac) | 
 enlarge | From: Graphic Simulations
Category: Video Games
Buy Used: $24.95
Used (6) from $24.95
Rating:  30 reviews
Sales Rank: 8657
Format: Cd-rom
Platform: Macintosh
Genre: role_playing_games
ESRB: Teen
Media: CD-ROM
Age: 12 - 20 years
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.8
Dimensions (in): 9.6 x 7.9 x 2.4
Model: GRAFGR80-CD
UPC: 740569000195
EAN: 0740569000195
ASIN: B00002CFA0
Release Date: July 28, 2000
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: Fast Order Processing. In original box, No manyal, Some wear on the discs, plays fine
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com Review
Baldur's Gate is a near-perfect adaptation of the classic tabletop, role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons. Six separate races and eight core character classes, from which the player can create a completely original character, are available. The game world is well painted, and players are free to explore this wonderfully textured game environment in any way they see fit, all against the backdrop of a thoughtfully conceived and versatile plot. You begin the game as a young orphan living with your stepfather within the safe confines of a scholarly community. It is a happy and idyllic life until your stepfather is killed and it becomes clear that you are intended to be next. You, as the young protagonist, then set out to discover just what kind of a mess you're in. During the adventure, you recruit a number of personable allies, battle foes, delve into dungeons, trek across wilderness, solve puzzles, and complete a plethora of epic quests that are seamlessly sown into the fabric of the overall plot. The story line unfolds in response to your choices to reveal your character's true identity as well as the nature and motive of your enemies. If the Lord himself were to ask me what games he should have in his home game collection, the first two words out of my mouth would be Baldur's Gate. This 1998 Role-Playing Game of the Year is a masterpiece and the standard by which all such games will be judged for the foreseeable future. Groundbreaking 32-bit graphics, 3-D sound, multiplayer options, and a friendly real-time game engine are blended with a depth of plot in a way that redefines the genre. --Joshua B. Coombs Pros: - Versatile and responsive plot
- Entertaining character interaction
- Huge game world
- Friendly game engine
Cons: - Nonplayer characters exhibit little free will
Amazon.com Product Description
The game's large, nonlinear plot line is broken down into chapters (manageable miniplots to solve), with lots of subquests and small adventures thrown in for variety. The plot involves the regions around the cities of Baldur's Gate and Amn. These cities are plotting to destabilize the entire Sword Coast and precipitate a war. The state of Amn is under siege to the south, the High Moor is being overrun in the north, and the region around Baldur's Gate is in turmoil. In an area known for its ample resources, a crippling shortage is slowly developing for the metal that is used throughout the Realms for everything from swords to forks: iron. The armed factions in Baldur's Gate can scarcely keep themselves armed, and the commoners are suffering all the more. Without iron they cannot mend their tools or purchase plows--and if they cannot farm or craft, they will starve come winter. Some blame Amn for the chaos, others the trading cartels, and still others suspect even the Dukes of Baldur's Gate. Yet, this contagion may be an early omen of some greater evil. It's up to the player to determine the machinations behind this struggle for power--and to prevent the war that threatens to engulf the region (or, if playing an evil character, to try and assume more power in the process). Throughout, your main character's origins are mysterious; your search for your identity has links in the game's planned sequels.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 25 more reviews...
 No. 1 Best RPG on the Mac June 11, 2007
Miki Montcalm
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Like many of the other reviewers here, I received a 5-CD "Tales of the Sword Coast" expansion set without the BG1 installer CD--I sent an email to Graphic Simulations explaining the situation and got a quick response with an apology, followed in a few days by a package in the mail containing the installer CD, completely free of charge--The kind of experience I've come to expect from Mac developers, and the Mac community in general.
NOTE: This is an OS 8/9 game, but the gamer community has come up with a hack, "BG1tutu," which allows you to play it in OS X, using the BG2 engine (BG2 CDs required). (You may have to google around for awhile to find the Mac BG1tutu files, because the old site which was hosting them has shut down.) In OS X it runs much more smoothly than in the Classic Mac OS, with essentially NO crashes or hangs...
I tend to rate games first on their "personality," then gameplay, and lastly, graphics. Think of quirky, character-rich games like Myth II or Gex the Gecko. BG1 has far and away the most memorable characters of any game I have ever played, along with a great storyline, monsters, weapons, spells, and abilities. I avoided this game for years because of all the talk online about how much trouble the whole dice-rolling, character-building, turn-based D&D thing was to learn for a "hack & slash" Diablo fan like me--But that aspect of the game can be essentially automated so that you don't even really even think about it.
At this point in time the 2D graphics are definitely old-school, but I find the meticulous, lovingly hand-painted artwork of BG1 to be far more enjoyable than the blocky, impersonal, polygonal 3D forms of Neverwinter Nights or Dungeon Siege. With "non-MMO" RPGs for the Mac almost extinct (with the exception of Jeff Vogel's Geneforge and Avernum series), BG1 is a must-play for any fan of this genre. I know that BG2 is often rated higher than the original, but the first one is still my favorite...
 Read the bad reviews!!! February 2, 2006
Irma Rae (Mountain View, CA)
2 out of 5 found this review helpful
If I had only read the reviews that said the game has no installer, I would have saved myself a bundle of money on this garbage.
This is my story: A friend gave me Baldur's Gate II as a gift and I'm the type of person that has to do #1 before #2 so I bought this... without reading the reviews.
This "game" has no installer. They call this a "game" and Tales of the Sword Coast the expansion pack. But that is a lie. This is an expansion pack - you can NOT play it unless you buy the other! I wrote the company requesting either an installer or my money back and they didn't even give me the simple courtesy of a response. On principle, I refuse to buy the so-called expansion pack now. Their false advertising tricking me into buying this will not be rewarded by me buying the other now.
BTW, I went ahead and played Baldur's Gate II: Shadow of Amn, and it is awesome.
There Will be no Installer July 29, 2005
Flame Lord
8 out of 10 found this review helpful
There is no installer included!!! If you buy this you will be forced to buy Tales of the Sword Coast expansion, just to be able to install it. If you are looking to buy this game, then buy the BG/Tales combo pack. Please listen to my words and do not be as dissapointed as i was.
No installer included January 15, 2005
J. Legne (New Jersey)
8 out of 15 found this review helpful
This is a complete rip-off! If you buy this game you will not be able to install it unless you buy "Tales of the Sword Coast." But they don't tell you this on the box or on this web-site. Don't buy this game!
 Classic game April 12, 2004
L S THOMSON (Porirua, Wellington New Zealand)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This classic game, was first in the series and one of the most enjoyable. Good game play. Good strategy The draw back is the cap on experience. I have replayed it a couple of times and enjoyed it each time.
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