Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn
| Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn | |
|---|---|
| File:BGII cover.png | |
| Developer(s) | Bioware |
| Publisher(s) | Black Isle Studios, Interplay |
| Engine | Infinity Engine |
| Platform(s) | PC (Windows), Macintosh |
| Release | 2000 |
| Genre(s) | Computer role-playing game |
| Mode(s) | Single player, Multiplayer |
Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn is the second computer role-playing game in the Baldur's Gate series, which takes place just a few months after the events of Baldur's Gate. The player character wakes up alone in a cage, and soon discovers he or she has been stripped of all money and equipment, and made prisoner by a mysterious mage named Jon Irenicus. Shadows of Amn was followed by the expansion pack Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal.
Gameplay
Players can assume control of six characters (the protagonist and five others) and direct them in their movement, actions, spells, inventory composition etc.
All along the gameplay, the player has to make crucial choices, not all of them detrimental as they are vital in dictating the method as to how the story would unfold for the player. Briefly, the more important choices to make would be to work for the vile Shadow Thieves with charmeur Aran Linvail at the reigns, or to work for a more secretive organization with a deeper vendetta towards bloodshed — vampires and their enigmatic leader, Bodhi. Regardless of the choices, the player would have to turn on either of the rivalling factions rooted in the heart of Athkatla.
Shadows of Amn is different from the first installment as the player can also 'manage' an actual stronghold which depends solely on the selection of their character kit at the beginning of the game. For example, as a fighter class, the player may successfully complete the quest at the de'Arnise Keep and begin to take over the stronghold in their control. It is not much of macromanagement at this level, but adds an interesting segment to the game when constant fighting and spellcasting become too much of a routine. Similarly, a mage may take over a magical Planar Sphere, whereas a thief character may choose to manage the other branch of the thieves' guild in the Docks district. A mod available also allows a character, regardless of class, to adopt all the different strongholds.
Prominent characters
| Name | Race | Class(es) | Alignment | Voice Actor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adalon | Dragon | Silver Dragon | Lawful Good | Diane Pershing |
| Amaunator | Avatar | Lawful Good | Frank Welker | |
| Aran Linvail | Human | Shadow Thief/Mage | True Neutral | |
| Bodhi | Vampire | Chaotic Evil | B.J. Ward | |
| Ellesime | Elf | Magic user | Lawful Good | Kath Soucie |
| Firkraag | Dragon | Red Dragon | Chaotic Evil | Jim Cummings |
| Jon Irenicus | Elf | Mage | Neutral Evil | David Warner |
| Kangaxx | Demi-lich | Chaotic Evil | ||
| Lilarcor | Sentient sword | Two-handed sword | Chaotic Evil | Jason Marsden |
| Phaere | Drow | Cleric | Neutral Evil | Charity James |
| Renal Bloodscalp | Human | Shadow Thief | Lawful Evil | Maurice LaMarche |
| Ribald Barterman | Half-Elf | Fighter/Mage | Chaotic Neutral | David Prince |
| Rillifane | Avatar | Chaotic Good | Maurice LaMarche | |
| Saemon Havarian | Human | Swashbuckler/Mage | True Neutral | Jeff Bennett |
| Solaufein | Drow | Fighter/Mage | Neutral Good | Michael Gough |
Several characters from the first game make a comeback, some of which are NPCs who can (re)join the player's party. These are Imoen, Minsc, Jaheira, Edwin and Viconia. (Imoen has dual classed to a Mage/Thief.) Other NPCs appear only in sub-secondary roles, mostly to supply the player with quests. Because Baldur's Gate II doesn't check the status of these characters at the end of the first game, they appear even if they perished in the course of the previous adventure (often prompting the player character to ask: "Aren't you dead?" — which can be disconcerting, if they didn't die — or if they survived it presents the player with the opportunity to ask the ubiquitous "Can you remember me? etc." when the NPCs probably do not even have an inkling as to the player character's dark history.)
Plot
Template:Spoiler As the mage prepares to perform more 'endurance' experiments on the player character, he is interrupted by a Jailkeep Golem servant who reports a commotion in the upper levels of the dungeon, and is forced to depart as a band of thieves raid his underground complex. Not far off are old friends Imoen, Minsc and Jaheira. The main characters are bandied together with those friends (if they so choose to remain as a group) and will have to seek their way out of the dungeon where they hope to escape the clutches of Irenicus. However, as they battle their way out, the grand City of Coin Athkatla's marbled arches greet them as well as a furious battle being fought out between unidentified personnel in cloak and hood as well as Irenicus himself. Imoen grows agitated at the prospect of being captured by their captor again and casts a 'magic missile' spell; an error, as unlicensed magic is banned in Athkatla. The result is that Irenicus and Imoen are seized by the powerful mage organization called the Cowled Wizards and sent to be imprisoned in a distant detention center, Spellhold.
The story progresses with the rescue of Imoen as the primary objective for the main player character, although there are many other sub-quests which the player can choose to undertake, in order to garner invaluable experience points to upgrade their character stats, as well as to gain the amount of money to pay the shady swashbuckler Saemon Havarian for passage to Spellhold. These missions take the player through areas like the sewers of Athkatla, secret compounds in the Docks District, a multi-level tomb in the graveyard, and the town of Trademeet, battling classic AD&D creatures like beholders, dragons, as well as the Demi-lich Kangaxx.
As the game progresses, the player has the basic idea that his nemesis Irenicus would stop at nothing to realise his personal vendetta and many encounters along the way would pave way to betrayal and sudden realisation that the mage's dark history was a result of love and its many hidden detractors that could destroy the integrity of a greedy individual with an insatiable lust for power.
Selected credits
- Production (BioWare): Ray Muzyka (Exec. Producer), Andrew Nobbs (Line Producer), Nathan Plewes (Line Producer), Ben Smedstad (Producer), Greg Zeschuk (Exec. Producer)
- Lead Designer: Kevin Martens, James Ohlen (Director of Writing and Design- BioWare)
- Core Design Team: David Gaider, Brent Knowles, Lukas Kristjanson, John Winski
- Lead Programming: Mark Darrah
- Music: Michael Hoenig (Metamusic Productions)
Trivia
- The game is dedicated to Daniel Walker, the graphic designer of Baldur's Gate.
- Division Director Feargus Urquhart makes a cameo appearance in the game near the circus tent at Waukeen's Promenade.
- To complete the pantaloons easter egg the player has to import a Baldur's Gate game with a party that carries the pantaloons, and have the Throne of Bhaal expansion pack.
- In the Adventurer's Mart on Waukeen's Promenade are paintings showing characters from the old Dungeons & Dragons TV series.
- In the cage near the circus on Waukeen's Promenade are a moose and a squirrel. They are perhaps a reference to Rocky and Bullwinkle.
- Drizzt Do'Urden makes two appearances in the Baldur's Gate series. In Baldur's Gate, the cheat code "Cheats:DrizztDefends();" spawns Drizzt, who will defend the party while the cheat"Cheats:DrizztAttacks();" spawns a hostile Drizzt. The player can also encounter him in the forest and help him fight a pack of gnolls. Later, in Baldur's Gate II, the characters encounter him and his party at a certain point of the game, when the player can choose to have him help the group or fight them. If the player character is an elf named 'Drizzt' with low reputation, then the real Drizzt will challenge him for the honour of his name.
- The game features two hidden bonus merchants[1], Deidre who sells items associated with Black Isle's Planescape: Torment game (such as "Dak'kon's Zerth Blade" and "Vhailor's Helm" which are both references to characters the player would meet in that game) and Joluv who sells items linked to Icewind Dale (such as "Axe of Hrothgar" and "Jerrod's Mace", again referencing characters from the Icewind Dale game).
- Many minor NPCs in the game and its expansion were named after members of the suggestion forums provided by Bioware. Examples include Gromnir, Draconis, and Yakman
Notes
- ^ The bonus merchants were a part of the original game, but only those who bought the special edition versions of Baldur's Gate II would get an additional CD with, among other things, the means to unlock one of the two bonus merchants. It didn't take long until the files needed to unlock the merchants were shared on the internet, and with the latest patch for Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal, one of the merchants have been unlocked. It is possible to find the means to unlock both merchants here.