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Nineties Flashback: Baldur's Gate RPG Game

Zara Rabinowicz Writes...

Maybe it's the fact that I just flew to Oslo for the launch of the latest MMORPG game from Eidos (the Age of Conan if you must know) but it got me reminiscing about the time I first started out in RPG's. It wasn't any of your final fantasy fluff that so many people seem to start with (who wants to spend 2 minutes summoning a power?) no, it was hardcore PC action, the world of Baldur's gate. The game was released in 1998, and started me on my on/off love affair with the RPG world. I love how it sucks you into this esoteric landscape that's populated with mystical beings, and starts consuming every waking minute, and I hate it for exactly the same reasons.

I could bore you by dwelling on the fact that it was originally developed from the dungeon and dragons franchise, or talking about how the Forgotten Realms are used in the game, but instead I'll concentrate on good old fashioned gameplay. As a newbie of 16 years old (or a logie as we're called by hardcore gamers) I was totally entranced. I created by character, painstakingly adapted clothes and hairstyles and chose who could join my band according to how much money I had. I learnt all the keyboard shortcuts and many a sunny afternoon was lost cooped up inside clicking away furiously. The worst thing was when I hadn't saved for a while and I lost all my characters progress.

You start in the city of CandleKeep and learn of threats to yourself and your civilization and set on a quest to discover why people are against you, as well as exploring more territory. I loved how the dark areas of the map unfolded as I wandered through them, and I thought the graphics were amazing at the time. Sadly I never finished the game as kobolds kept killing me in a certain cave, but I still look back to those days with a certain nostalgia.

The game originally belonged to my then boyfriend, but far from him getting distracted by it, I was the one who took control of the PC, letting him having the dubious honour of watching while I played (never ever fun for anyone)

There were rumours that Baldur's Gate would be brought out on the now defunct Dreamcast, then the Playstation, but sadly it never made it to wither of them. It is on Atari consoles at the mo, but for old-skool gamers like me it will remain just a fond memory.

Zara Rabinowicz writes for Shiny Shiny,The Baglady and Kiss and Makeup and is proud of being a blonde gamer.

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