And, instead of automatically gaining new combat skills and spells as you level up, your character has to collect ‘cards’ by defeating enemies, which can be used like the combat cards in collectable games such as Hearthstone. However, the action proceeds at a slightly slower pace than Diablo, as your character progresses through a series of dungeons drawn in a cartoon style that looks a lot like an old-fashioned pop-up book. Throw in the return of bonkers barbarian Minsc and his giant space-hamster Boo, and BGII is a real retro treat for RPG fans. There are hundreds and hundreds of quests along the way – around 300 hours worth if you try to complete them all – including power struggles within the guild of Shadow Thieves, and an epic battle with the wizard Irenicus, played in full scenery-chewing mode by Brit character actor David Warner. Your character is just one of many mortal offspring spawned by the evil god Bhaal, and the game pits you against several of your own brothers and sisters as they vie to succeed Bhaal and claim his power as their own. It’s very much traditional fantasy fare – with you taking on the role of a warrior, wizard, rogue or cleric – but it’s done on a truly grand scale. Besides, whether in 2D or 3D, Bioware’s great strength has always been its story-telling skill, and Baldur’s Gate II is as captivating now as it was nearly 30 years ago. It’s a shame that this updated Enhanced Edition couldn’t be brought right up to date with more modern 3D graphics, but it does get a cosmetic makeover with high-def versions of the original artwork, so it doesn’t look too bad on modern computer screens. Even so, it’s an essential purchase for anyone that has even the slightest interest in roleplaying games, and the sheer size of the game means that it’s excellent value for money. The original Baldur’s Gate II was released way back in 1988 by the roleplaying gods at Bioware, and its 2D graphics will look pretty dated to anyone that has played modern roleplaying games such as Bioware’s Dragon Age series.

System requirements: Mac OS X 10.7, dual-core Intel processor, 4GB RAM, 2.5GB hard disk Company: Beamdog Where to buy: Steam (£3.74/$4.99),

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