Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn
Released: 29th September 2000
Published by: Black Isle Studios (a division of Interplay)
Developed by: Bioware Corporation
Author(s):
Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn is a party-based role-playing game using the AD&D rules. The basic gameplay is similar to that of its predecessor: the player navigates a party of up to six active combatants over isometric environments, conversing with non-playable characters using branching dialogue, and fighting enemies in real-time, free-movement combat that can be paused to issue specific orders to the characters. World traveling now occurs by selecting locations on a map rather than exploring wilderness areas to reach the destination. However, the game world is larger than in the previous game, with more individual locations to visit and side quests to perform.
Some time after the events described in Baldur's Gate, the protagonist and his friends Imoen, Minsc and Jaheira have been captured by an elven mage called Jon Irenicus. His intentions and connection to the heroes unknown, Irenicus conducts experiments on them, holding them in cages somewhere in his vast underground complex. During his absence, the heroes manage to escape, and soon find themselves in the city of Athkatla in the country of Amn, where they confront Irenicus. However, at that moment several wizards arrive and arrest both Irenicus and Imoen for unlicensed use of magic. The first task at hand is to raise the money needed to rescue Imoen, before facing Irenicus again and unraveling his true goals.
Being a direct sequel to Baldur's Gate, the game lets the player control stronger, higher-level characters from the onset. The main character can also be imported from the previous installment. Three new classes (sorcerer, monk, and barbarian) are available along with those that were present in the original game. Characters can also acquire specializations within most of the classes: a paladin, for instance, can become a dragon slayer or an inquisitor. Weapon proficiencies are more specific: for example, instead of just specializing in blades, the player can choose between proficiencies in long swords, two-handed swords, bastard swords, katanas and scimitars. There are many new types of weapons, armor, and magic spells in the sequel.
Sixteen characters may join the party during the course of the story. Each of them has his or her own motivations, sometimes conflicting with those of other characters. Scripted events and interaction with playable as well as non-playable characters have been noticeably increased in the sequel. The main character can also romance some of the companions by choosing appropriate behavior and dialogue lines. The game allows the player to make many moral decisions and pursue character-specific side quests unrelated to the main story. Many of the companions bring their own quests, and unique tasks are available for the main character depending on his or her class.
Baldur's Gate II used the same Infinity Engine that was developed for the original game, but with many improvements added including options to set the game resolution to 800 x 600 and higher, 3D support, non-pausing dialogue in multiplayer; drop-away side panels in the interface; character kits; dual-wielding of weapons; a streamlined journal and annotatable map; deathmatch; and inclusion of famous AD&D monsters such as the dragon. The AI pathfinding of your party was improved by allowing them to bump each other out of the way if their path was blocked. Given that the engine was already at a mature level from the original game's development, a lot more effort went into the story and gameplay. This resulted in Baldur's Gate II being better than its forebear in almost every way.
A special Collector's Edition of the game was released shortly after launch, which included a cloth map, eight character trading cards, a Black Isle Studios writing tablet, and an additional CD containing unique armour and weapons as well as music from the sountrack.
A single expansion was made available in June 2001 called Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal. This included a new dungeon called Watcher's Keep, new high-level class abilities, a higher XP cap, new items and spells, and the introduction of the Wild Mage character class. This expansion helped round off the Baldur's Gate saga.
Baldur's Gate II expansion disc
In 2003, both the game and its expansion were bundled in Baldur's Gate II: The Collection. Both were also released in a compilation in 2004 called Black Isle Compilation Part Two, which also comprised Icewind Dale and the original Baldur's Gate.
Just as with the first Baldur's Gate title, an enhanced edition was released in 2013, called Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition. Like Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition, the rework was done by Overhaul Games.
It was succeeded many years after its initial release with Baldur's Gate III in 2023, developed by Larian Studios.
System Requirements
| System Requirements | Intel Pentium 2, 32 MB RAM, 4 MB video memory, Windows 95, 4x CD-ROM drive, DirectX 7.0 or OpenGL. Graphics support for VGA only (locked at 640 x 480 in 256 colours) Audio support: Any sound card detected by Windows. Keyboard and Mouse required. |
|---|---|
| Original Media | One CD-ROM (later re-released on DVD-ROM) |
| Installed Size (MB) | 300 MB |
From where can it be run?
The game must be installed to your hard disk. Run SETUP from the CD (or wait until Autorun does it for you) and follow the instructions to begin the installation.
Copy Protection
Baldur's Gate II has CD copy protection.
How to Setup
Insert the CD-ROM and run SETUP:
Problems
Symptom:
Cause:
Resolution:
To Quit the Game
Supporting Documents
- Game Manual (original)
- Walkthrough - (external link to Mike's RPG Center) not updated in a long time, but still a very good resource for BG information.
Additional Files, Drivers & Utilities
Save Games
You can save your progress in the game at any time, including the Quick Save shortcut by hitting 'Q'.
Versions of the game known to exist
| Version | Date | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| 29 Sep 2000 | Initial public release on CD-ROM. |
Original Disc Contents
Here is the game disc's contents:
Disc 1 (CD-ROM):
Directory of D:\ |
|
Installed Directory Contents
Once installed, the following directory structure exists in the game directory:
Directory of C:\BALDUR2 |
