[quote name='Greater Malison']The BG series truly is the greatest set of games ever. To all those buying when you get your games make sure to head over to bioware and patch everything, these games were so large that there were plenty of glitches to fix. Also there are huge online communities that have almost endless add ons and portraits even nps that can join your party. Icewind Dale is also a great game in its own right it plays exactly the same as BG only you create each of the 6 characters in your party.[/QUOTE]
I'd suggest you install the following:
BGT (combines BG1 and BG2 together for a massive RPG experience)
Widescreen mod (essential for high resolutions/widescreen monitors)
BG2 Fix Pack (bug fixes and game balances)
BG2 Tweak Pack is optional for experienced players who know what the tweaks do.
BG2 is my #3 game of all time, and easily BioWare's best title. It is like Dragon Age x 100, and a playthrough could easily reach 200 hours, which is amazing on its own, but when you realize you'd have to play through the game several times to experience all the different paths and thus different quests, the replay value is insane.
Icewind Dale is good, but not on the same level as BG2, and certainly not for players who's never played a Dungeons & Dragons game.
Another game I would HIGHLY recommend if you like the Baldur's Gate games is Planescape: Torment (My #5 of all time). It's in the same style, but not in the D&D universe. That game has some of the best writing I've ever seen in a video game, as well as some very memorable characters. The game REALLY makes you care about them, to the point of being connected to them emotionally. Check it out!
