Baldur's Gate 1 & 2

I played these two games as a young teenager, and they were my first introduction to the world of Dungeons and Dragons. As introductions go, you can't get much better. Baldur's Gate 2 is still lauded as one of the best RPGs ever, deservedly.

Mechanically, it's pretty complicated. You've got a fair bit to learn and control, from spells to special abilities, equipment, a journal, levelling up, and so on. Pretty standard fare these days, I suppose, but if you've never played an RPG before, well, there's a pretty good tutorial to run you through everything. Once you've got the hang of it, it's pretty straight forward. You control up to six party members. You pause the game and issue commands, and then your dudes will go forth and smite their enemies.

The gameplay is quite good, but as an RPG the game really shines with the story and dialogue. I'd say you spend at least half your time talking to NPCs (Non-Player Characters). Before voice acting became standard, writers were able to give you a lot more branching dialogue options, and you really are given a lot of choice in how you want to handle situations. As for the story, it's pretty great. You play as a young orphan child raised in a monastery who find out they are a child of Bhaal, god of murder. It's somewhat of a curse, because it seems that the bhaalspawn are trapped in a game of Highlander, with the last surviving child set to inherit the dead god's power. What you choose to do with your inheritance is up to you, you can be a great force for good or evil.

To be honest though, the first game is a little lacklustre. You don't really get to know anybody in your party very well, and they only rarely make comments about the quests you embark on. The sequel is such a marked improvement, where you'll really feel connected to your party, as they make small talk with each other. You also get character-specific quests, and a whole stronghold based on which class you pick. Also I think Baldur's Gate 2 was one of the first RPGs to have romance subplots, something that would be almost unthinkable to exclude in a RPG these days. I still play the original Baldur's Gate, but only because the two games are linked, you can carry your character over from the first game to the second, and I enjoy the continuity. Otherwise, I'd just play the sequel, since it's better in every way.

In summary, if you like RPGs, but somehow managed to miss out on this game, I heartily recommend. If you're interested in Dungeons and Dragons but don't know the first thing about it, this is a great way to get started. I give them 3.5 and 4.5/5 stars respectively. Baldur's gate 2 is a true classic.