I bought BG II on GOG a while ago and tried to play it, but the outdated graphics turned me off in the end (however it's understandable as it's an old classic game, I am not moaning or complaining about it:)

Then I happened to install the amazing looking Baldur'sGate Reloaded for the NWN2 game (which I also bought on GOG and a favourite game of mine, and I am not easily impressed with games).

But BG 1 just isn't taking off. The battles seemed so hard that I started to load cheats etc, and even with these it's a struggle. Which is fine, as a game that's too easy is really boring.

The thing that puts me off the most is just the lack of 'sense' in the game. I got in the iron cave or whatever, and I could not explore any of the towns as some of the characters would shout at me 'You bastard, you promised we would go to XYZ town, die a thousand deaths! Bye!'

I would just go 'uh? I just started and am still trying to figure out what the hell I need to do, and this madman is leaving.'. LOL

So I got to the iron cave as fast as possible without exploring any towns etc. Now I am in the cave and seriously considering uninstalling the game as I have NWN2 and recently I started Divinity 2, plus I need the HD space.

I just don't understand what's so great about Baldurs Gate 1. Is the game going to pick up in emotional involvement with the story, the characters etc? What are the reasons why I should keep playing?
I just want to make sure I am not missing on a great game that maybe picks up slowly (it has happened with some other great games too).

I really like games that are able to involve the player emotionally, with unpredictable twists in the plot and great character development. Does BG 1 has these things?

Agreed.
Perhaps the original post is not understanding what made the original Baldur's Gate so spectacular is that at the time of its release, was the closest role-playing game to the pencil & paper translation of Dungeons & Dragons ever created as a computer game. Even though the original Baldur's Gate felt more like, in my humble opinion, a real-time strategy game... the rules of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons was applied to combat, magic system, character creation, etc...
There have been other AD&D video games (I have played the first video game RPG back-in-th'-day) but this version set a trend for other cRPGs to follow.
I strongly believe the original Baldur's gate and its sequel and various modules (Icewind Dale, Plaescape Torment, etc) still hold up very well on modern day computers. I'm still venturing on my laptop without a hitch. or a complaint.

If I had a complaint, my only complaint about these kinds of AD&D games would be... How come there aren't any more games like these today?

wow man, you sound like a successful psychologist. Looks like you can figure out people really well. No seriously, here's my counter-argument: if you can play a game that doesn't provide emotional involvement after a few hours and you keep wasting your time, there's must be something wrong with you. Maybe you are too boring, or maybe you have nothing better to do.

As for my attention span, I can simply tell you this: it's long when I am doing something I am interested in, and short when I am doing something that doesn't gives me enough reasons to stay interested.

Seems a normal one to me. Maybe your own attention span is of a rare and special type?

Yes I really like NWN2. You seem to find it weird that I like NWN2 but not Baldur's Gate, which I find weird, since they aren't the same game at all.

Oh well, I think we all wasted our time here. I was genuinely trying to understand why BG1 is so great, but it looks like it takes too long and philosophically involved. Well, duh. I already said I am playing the Reloaded version, which is the closest thing to a present-day Baldur's Gate.

I've DLed the NWN2 version of BG, but not yet gotten around to playing it so I don't know how accurately it follows the original. But I'd actually highly recommend trying to play the original, although in the BG2 engine. It's a lot prettier that way. The game is big so it doesn't get involved and engaging unless you're following the main story quite closely. There are so many side quests and areas to explore that are outside the main quest/story line that it's easy to spend a lot of time completely disengaged from the main plot. So yeah, it takes a while to get into the game. But if you're willing to give it time, I think you'll find there's a great game there.

Having said that though, it just may not be your cup of tea. I know much of the praise for the game is born of nostalgia since, as noted earlier, when it was released there just wasn't anything like it on the market at the time. And those of us that praise the game are definitely colored at least a bit by the nostalgia of the time when we first played it.

Just started playing it and already the problem is the graphics, after playing Diablo 1 and Fallout 1 and 2 these graphics look too blurry like its not as clear compared to games before it.

Yeah, if you're playing BG1 without the BG2 engine, the graphics are pretty raw on new rigs with higher resolutions. In the BG2 engine though, it's very nice (I'm actually doing a run through it now).

I fail to see where I "figured you out" -- I stated the impression I got from your words, nothing more. :/ Feeling a little sensitive?

About the Reloaded mod that ports it into NWN2 - I got that as soon as I heard about it a week or two ago, and one of the first things I noticed was that the combat seems harder. My fighter was killed by the rats in Candlekeep while he was wearing chainmail and using a shield! Anyways, my point is - don't try and use BG Reloaded to estimate the difficulty of the base game.

I'm giving this my first playthrough right now (BGT) and I've got to say I'm liking it quite a bit but I can understand the criticism about NPC's rushing you around in the early levels. Xzar and Montarron rush you to Nashkel, and Minsc rushes you off to the Gnoll stronghold. The latter situation can strain you a bit since it's a long trek over there and you really don't have the resources for it in early levels. The counterargument to this is that you don't HAVE to recruit them until you're ready, but I found them all pretty critical to finishing up the Nashkel mines.

Keep in mind I haven't read any walkthroughs and I really don't know what's coming or where everyone/everything is at in this game in order to do the most "efficient" playthrough.

I'm actually gaining a respect for the game because it's not easy. The battles at the beginning were skirting being tedious but at lvl. 3 with a full balanced party I'm starting to feel pretty good about my prospects.

And yeah, the graphics are so-so. I find that I love the hand-painted landscapes but the characters are really small and just have no detail. I guess that's why portraits are such a big deal with the Infinity Engine games.

One other thing that I expected is greater depth of your party members. For some reason I thought I would be able to have conversations with Imoen, Jaheira, Minsc, etc. So far, I haven't been able to talk to anyone in my group. I hope this changes if their opinion of me improves.

That's only a feature in BG2. In BG1, NPCs don't converse much (as in almost never), they are more like "simplified" characters with their own personal quirks and traits, but you shouldn't expect in-depth character development or any of that sort in this game. In BG2, NPCs banter with each other, comment on certain situations and events, some converse with the player and there are also romances for people who are interested in that. (In my opinion there isn't that much depth to these either but it certainly adds more "flavour" to the game.)
IF you don't mind unofficial content in a game, you can install the BG1 NPC Project which will add a lot of extra dialogues and banters to the NPCs BG2-style. I'm known for detesting most fan created NPC content, but even I think that this mod does a decent job at adding more flavour to the NPCs in BG1 while keeping them in character most of the time.

For people complaining about the graphics: Baldur's Gate TuTu has been out since, I don't know...7-8 years? Sure, you need to have installed BG2 on your computer for TuTu to work, but it will convert the game into the BG2 engine, and if you play in windowed mode or at a resolution higher than 800x600, the visuals still hold up well even in these days in my opinion.

Well... This game IS a masterpiece, a classic, a point of reference for RPGs, not simply a cult classic. It IS difficult, because it uses AD&D rules with dice rolls. It has a strong, alive scenario, which you HAVE to follow, like in ANY other game. You are the child of Bhaal, targeted by assassins and other children, and you have to solve the conspiracy and troubles of the Sword Coast. Or drown everything in blood, while roleplaying a chaotic evil character. With proper consequences of course.

Now let's discuss party. One stat of yours, named CHARISMA, is responsible for the disposition of NPCs or party members towards you. The higher it is, the more firm your leadership and image to others. The lower it is, the more chance of fighting between party members, nagging or departure. Your morality! Having evil characters to follow you when you are good, is a bad idea. Same goes for the opposite. So you need decent charisma AND proper morality to have things run normal around you. Like in society. Like in real life.

About Nashkel mines, it would be best for you to fly there as soon as possible. Or would you rather have your weapons break down into a useless pile of metal every 10-20 minutes? Also, some NPCs have pressing business there. You should be happy about how live the world of this game is, and how convincing its characters are.

Last but not least, BG1 does not take any space at all (a few MB). It is neither my job nor my place to tell you what to do with those games of yours, but if you do not play BG1 thoroughly, you cannot consider yourself a true RPG fan/player/connoiseur.

PS If you did not like the Graphics of 2, you might need to play an FPS. RPGs have never been about graphics. And 2 is in the peak of the isometric era.

very good and insightful answer, I think you really nailed the point. I remember my first games ever being Zelda for the Gameboy colour and Final Fantasy VII on the playstation. For years I just became easily bored with any other games and I thought these two were masterpieces. Now I too think exactly as you: too often it's just nostalgia. I can definitely say that FF VII would never do it for me now as I think of the things I did NOT like (for example the nonsense plot, common in many JRPGs).

Yeah maybe BG 1 just isn't for me. It's definitely one of the best games, though. I like the character development , for example. The characters aren't dull and boring, and there is an element of 'darkness' that I like. The game definitely has personality, it's not one of these dumb crap games that are quickly forgotten. The soundtrack is amazing. Maybe it's just the fact that the party members made me hurry until I reached the town that made me lose motivation, as well as the battles, which granted are too hard. I'lldefinitely give it another shot for a couple hours more in the future, just to make sure. Can't play the old graphic version, though. The Reloaded version, I think it's pretty faithful to the original, the graphics are just too amazing (I am an older school guy so to me NWN2 type graphics are top notch).

Well, my point is, I try and estimate what I like, and I wasn't just talking about how hard the battles are, but about BG 1's other aspects.
Don't know, maybe I played it the wrong way, LOL. I was trying to explore towns etc but the party members would leave unless I tried to go straight to Nashkeel. Maybe the Reloaded version is different and the party members leave easily? No idea, but it would be very hard for me to play the original version because of the graphics.

Well, no one is to blame, really. It is what it is. I just hoped I would be completely engrossed by the Reloaded version as I really like the NWN2 graphics engine.

In the original it is Khalid and Jaheira and/or Xzar and Montaron who push you to go to Nashkel right away. But once you've gone there and accepted the quest to investigate the mines then they stop complaining and you're free to explore as much as you like. I haven't tried the NWN2 version but I'd be surprised if they'd changed that, as the mines can be quite tough at really low levels. I remember getting so stuck there the first time I played and went straight there.

As I said, I haven't played the NWN2 version (or NWN2 itself actually) so this could be way off but, regarding the difficulty, have you tried using ranged weapons with everybody? That was really key in the original version. Things become much less dangerous when they're dying across the screen rather than getting to hit your chars.