"No talking swords, but still good."

Forget the intro. You want to know about the game, so lets get on with it.

Gameplay: 10/10
I bought this game without ever hearing of it (or D&D, which is what this game's based off of) before, didn't even read the manual, loaded it up, and had no problems playing it. The layout's really easy. The battle system's a bit tough on some of the major fights, but if you know what you're doing, it's easy enough (even if you do end up hitting pause during half the fight to keep up with things). Other than that though, it's a cinch.

There's a variety of monsters, scenery, weapons, and the like to go through almost everywhere you go (very much like the D&D game). They personalize a lot of the weapons, armor, and even people (go figure) too. I had trouble giving up some of the weapons, I was so fond of them. Namely, there's this pair of pantaloons that you're suppos-well, you can find that one out on your own.

Story: 10/10
I ended up playing this game twice through. The first time, I had no clue what the hell I was doing (read: I was a stupid kid). The second time, when I actually grasped what was going on, it was interesting, even absorbing. Straightforward, and definitely worth while. Besides the main plot, there's also a lot of mini-quests you can go on too, some exclusive only to TotSC. Some are interesting, a few are boring, and some are just weird (in the good way).

Graphics: 9/10
During the actual game, the graphics seem to be built to make things easier, but they sacrifice detail by doing so. It's kind of a bird's eye view of what's going on, and all the characters look like little toys on a place mat. Like the Sims, but slightly smaller (some characters are bigger, but none you get to play as), and blurrier. On the inventory screen though, you can kind of see things clearer, which is cool, but not really useful. The really good stuff is when you enter some new places, and they have mini-videos of what the place looks like close up. Those are detailed, but again, they don't serve any real purpose other than entertainment. Like I said though, it's a really smooth layout, something that more than makes up for it.

Sound: 8/10
Character voices are great, original, and in many cases pretty funny. The battle music and scenery sounds are so-so. I found a lot of it to be somewhat muffled a lot of the time, but that might have just been my computer, so I won't mark it down for that.

Replay ability: 6/10
The story itself is the same every time through (unless I really missed something), with only a few alternatives you can make in going through the story. Usually though, I just made one decision, reloaded the game after it was done, then made the other decision. So if you do that, then it kind of defeats the purpose. Different classes and races offer some variation, but not enough to make it worth while.

Playing this game through to the sequels (Shadows of Amn and Throne of Bhaal), on the other hand...well, that's a different story entirely.

Overall: *whips out calculator* .....8.4? No, lets go with 9.
I round up. Got a problem? The game deserves it anyway. It's definitely worth paying for, especially if you go on to play the sequels. Those golden pantaloons really pa-umm, never mind.

Buy or Rent: Buy. You want to be able to sit through this game and take your time doing stuff. Otherwise, it's really easy to miss out on a lot of the fun. Sit back, and take your time.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 06/13/06