The aging Infinity engine has been spruced up to support 800-by-600-pixel resolution, but power users can crank the resolution as high as 2,048 by 1,536 by tweaking the configuration files. Support for 3D is offered, in a limited fashion, and this helps smooth out the sumptuous artwork while adding to the spell effects. The graphical flair is undeniable, and the game looks even better if you remove the interface and information bars to get the new "full-screen" effect.

The game is great fun in multiplayer; you can, in fact, create your own six-character party with the solo-multiplay option (see Tips and Cheats). The overall stability has been increased since the original Baldur's Gate, though slowdowns still occur depending on the slowest connection. Also, the other characters don't have to pause anymore while one character has a conversation, which was a necessary change from the original.

We can tell that BioWare paid attention to some of the complaints people had about the original. For instance, you can now set options to make the game easier or more difficult on the fly (even during a battle); you can click an option to make sure your troops are fully healed after each rest period (eliminating that annoying heal-spell-after-rest chore); and there is also an option that guarantees full hit points after each level gain, which eliminates the save/reload cheat many resorted to in the original Baldur's Gate.

There are a few problems with the game, however, such as the slowdowns and occasional engine lag, which can get very annoying. Load times are long overall, and a "typical" install amounts to 1.5GB of hard-drive space. The "full" install is 2GB. And sadly, the minimum system requirements don't exactly result in smooth gameplay. If the cursor becomes unbearably slow and unresponsive at times even on a moderate 450-MHz system, imagine it on a 200-MHz system.

Despite these few annoyances, Baldur's Gate II takes everything great about its esteemed predecessors and dares to offer an even bigger and better experience. It has the sweep of the original, the quality story line and writing of Planescape: Torment, and the high adventure of Icewind Dale. If you really put your life on hold (and you just might), you could get through the game in about 70 hours if you were fairly good, but at slow try-every-quest speed you're talking about 200 hours of solid, entertaining gameplay--and that's not counting the replay value and multiplayer options. This game is huge and a whole lot of fun. As a pure tactical adventure, Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn is one of those RPGs that is a magical experience.