[One-Punch Man episode 3:
The humour is still based in satire of the shounen battle genre with another complex back-story being forcibly summarized for the convenience of the characters and possibly the audience along with the "Kiritsugu" solution being implemented for the villain's lair. There are more instances for satire-based humour and normal humour but listing them all will spoil all the jokes.
The action is well-animated and entertaining to watch with Genos putting on a good show and Saitama being extraordinarily amusing for his own fight.
The characters from this episode are rather generic but I guess that is the point of having villains in One-Punch Man; so that jokes can be made at their expense as we laugh at these archetypes fall at the hands of our over-powered hero. On the other hand, Saitama and Genos appear a bit self-aware of the situation with Saitama especially being most genre savy (except when it comes to the day of the week). One thing I do like from the anime is its ability to showcase the skills of Genos clearly for viewers as a reminder that he is competent and powerful but has the rotten luck of fighting complete monsters (almost like Shinpachi from Gintama really...).
Aside from that, I guess my only complaint is how slow the action seemed in some sequences but then again, my expectations came from seeing the manga and having to imagine these fights in my head. Whenever we do this, it always makes the adapted work seem inferior when in actual fact, we built up an unrealistic image in our heads. The adaptations that surpass these images are rare but often notable (like Gintama's Ikkoku Keisei arc).
I can still say that One-Punch Man is going strong and can give it a recommendation. The minor flaws have not made it a deal-breaker yet.]
And back to the topic as stated in the title. A piece on why the Baldur's Gate Trilogy is my all-time favourite game trilogy and number 1 on my personal top 5 list. This will be a piece that may seem like a fan gushing but let me first point out the flaws of the game to balance this out:
The graphics are dated with some either holding up or ageing poorly, the overall plot is not particularly complex with acceptable writing at most, some quest-lines have unsatisfactory endings, the mechanics take a while to master (as par with older Dungeons and Dragons mechanics), dice rolls often determine the effectiveness of some spells (limiting versatility), a lot of reading is required to progress (somehow this is a problem in the modern days when in reality, it should only be a minor hindrance), some encounters require research to overcome (I'm looking at you, Kangaxx and hope that you do not see me), dialogue may take a while to trigger which limits the quests available to players, the limited number of romances with normal looking faces(only two with normal faces(one for males and one for females) and this is written without acknowledging the Enhanced Edition since I have not played it yet) and if starting all the way from Baldur's Gate 1, the game is exceedingly difficulty when combat starts at the initial levels (I have seen that game over cutscene so often that when I close my eyes, I see that hand disintegrating into dust and Bhaal's logo shining in front of me).
Having listed those out, I will proceed to gush about Baldur's Gate:
The experience from start to finish is an amazing ride as the player takes the role of Gorion's Ward and proceeds through a story centered around the deceased God of Murder, Bhaal. Starting out as a weak and frail survivor, the player seeks out adventure and fortune throughout the land which leads to a lot of maiming and manslaughter along the way. By the end, Gorion's Ward has completed their journey as an expert adventurer with loyal companions by their side, including a possible lover, and made their own conclusion in an epic saga worthy of legends. As a result of player control in this role, the character's journey ends up feeling like the player's own journey using a character they created with near-complete freedom over their decisions through dialogue options, stat-based options and even a few alignment based decisions. Baldur's Gate embraces the whole point of a role-playing game by allowing most of the decisions made for dialogue, gameplay style and even personality to be the player's own and as a result, the experiences are more personal. Triumphant victories and progress in-game feel satisfying as a result of your own input. When the story ends, you may find yourself feeling satisfied, relieved and triumphant for overcoming the entire game.
The challenge is another aspect I enjoyed from this game due to the gradual progression in character growth. At the start, the player character is a weak individual who barely escapes with their life during an ambush and it is proven further by the player character's inability to take a hit from any of the enemies in the starting area. I recall my many deaths in that starting area which led to develop my own strategy for handling encounters until I found more companions. As the game progressed, my character's growth progress in tandem which lead to initially hard encounters becoming mere child's play for my experienced character. This reflects the progress of the player character as they become experienced from their trials and tribulations. Despite this growth, the opponents in later parts remain a challenge to overcome and whenever failure occurs, it almost always requires an adjustment of strategy to overcome said failure. As a result, the feeling of accomplishment on overcoming the many challenges of this game is always satisfying and worth a purchase. Defeating dragons, mages, demons and other powerful beings always feels like an epic accomplishment on the player's part as these battles often require a lot of thinking and preparation. The lack of hand-holding helps with this too which means careful reading of spells and items are needed to determine the optimal builds and tools to take into battle. So far I have played as a Paladin, a Skald (a combat-based bard) and a Kensai Mage (a special fighter that has changed classes to master magic) whereby each class acts different in gameplay due to restrictions and abilities available.
The characters of a Bioware game often make their games memorable as seen in Dragon Age, Mass Effect and the first Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR). This practice appears to have started here, at least to my knowledge. Each character in Baldur's Gate is written with interesting traits and features that are visible through their quips during dialogue, party banter, occasional remarks, click-based lines (the ones heard when clicking them) and romance dialogue. From the cheerful Imoen to the ever depressed Xan, each character is unique and entertaining to have. The interactions between party members are astounding in comparison to most RPGs nowadays with some party members forming strong friendships with each other to other party members attempting to kill each other out of malice towards each other. Preferences of characters may often vary as a result with some hating Jan Jansen (from Baldur's Gate 2) for being annoying with long-winded ramblings that do not add up to anything usually while others enjoying him for the comedic potential especially with party banter. The characters with romances and side-quests allow for greater insight into their characters in comparison to those who merely appear. The rambling gnome, Jan, suddenly becomes serious and stops rambling during the course of his side-quest that has a rather tragic end (and not in the traditional deceased sense) while Aerie, a moderately disliked character, can undergo character development through her romance which removes most, if not all, of her worst traits and makes her a better character for it (this is also the case for Anomen, a very disliked character though his shift is a result of completing his own questline). It is these interactions that make the characters engaging and memorable which often leads me to using the same party members in all of my playthroughs (BG1: Imoen, Khalid (using the mod that turns him into a Figher/Mage), Jaheira, Dynaheir, Minsc// BG2 SOA: Jaheira, Aerie, Minsc, Yoshimo/Imoen, Valygar/Keldorn // BG2 TOB: Jaheira, Aerie, Minsc, Imoen, (Spoiler character)). I grew too attached to them so I wound up the same character all the time. I may eventually start using other characters like Edwin or Viconia more someday (and mostly because they seem interesting).
The lack of explicit directions may hurt a game sometimes by making the objectives and gameplay features excessively vague that players remain in the dark on what they can do. Baldur's Gate has these issues but it should be noted that a lack of explicit directions allows for greater exploration and focus when it comes to problem solving as well. Baldur's Gate leans more towards the latter with the former creating the problems that could alienate potential players. Due to the lack of map markers or exact directions on-screen, players will have to pay attention by reading between the lines of dialogue and journal entries. Baldur's Gate allows for this and even allows the player to make their own entries in the in-game journal in case the information inside the journal is lacking. This adds an extra level of immersion as the problem solving requires actual thought on the player's part, especially with some quests in the first two games. Another good part of not having explicit directions is the emphasis placed on detail as the player will have to remember the names of the people and places that they need to visit which makes them all the more memorable during the experience and after it ends. If one were to give me a map of Baldur's Gate (the city in the first game), I could probably recall most of the quests that take place in each area since I had no map markers as guidance which led to me frequently checking journal entries and the conversations logged on the on-screen text box. The player is more involved as a result of this which is great for enhancing the experience but could alienate the game nowadays.
The comedy of Baldur's Gate can be well done at times with many examples that I will not spoil for newcomers. Many of the character interactions have priceless bits of comedy that can earn a hearty roar of laughter at times while some quests could have hilarious outcomes that is either intentional or unintentional. While I did say I will not spoil the comedy, I can say that new players should try to travel with Minsc and Edwin (especially in Baldur's Gate 2 and not have these two together simultaneously) as often as possible. The games are filled to the brim with funny moments and plenty of snark for players to feast on. Finding them for the first time tends to be a treat and makes the experience more better.
As the readers can tell, I love this game trilogy. While it lacks in the complexity and depth of Planescape: Torment, it makes up for it by creating an experience that will stay with me for the rest of my life. It is an amazing trilogy from start to finish. Adding new mods can extend the experience and some mods are excellent enough to feel like an actual part of the base game. Interested players can either buy the original trilogy from GOG.com or the Enhanced Edition trilogy on Steam.
P.S: Divinity: Original Sin Enhanced Edition is coming out next week. Be excited. That is all.
