Return to Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn and unravel the mysteries of a dangerous new dungeon - Watcher's Keep Continue with an exhilarating new adventure when you explore the unseen lands of Tethyr, encounter fierce villains, and gain powerful high-level abilities as you achieve your ultimate destiny in...Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal.

BioWare's Baldur's Gate II is the game that keeps on giving Already one of the most massive role-playing games in memory--especially if you add the original Baldur's Gate and Tales of the Sword Coast expansion pack--the Baldur's Gate series has provided, easily, 300 hours of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Second Edition role-playing geniusNow, just when you've got your life back, and, maybe, finished BGII, the company goes and releases the new BGII expansion pack Throne of Bhaal

BGII is already so huge one might wonder why you would need or want an expansionIs it because there are hordes of additional monsters to fight, a couple new classes and kits to explore (the Wild Mage, for example), new treasures and artifacts, new quests and dungeons, and the ability to reach an unprecedented 40th level? Well, yes, those are pretty much the reasons whyWhy wouldn't you want to meet strange new creatures, unleash strange new spells, and listen to even more bizarre voice acting from the lovable Minsc? But the real reason to get this one is to see the massive story finally reach a conclusion There won't be a Baldur's Gate III folks, and Throne of Bhaal lets you see the fate of the character that debuted as Gorion's young ward so many years ago in the original Baldur's Gate

This is an expansion, not a sequel, and thus the game mechanics and animation are pretty much the same as in Baldur's Gate IIWith no new animation, save the new spells, and only a handful of new beasts, this game doesn't innovate--it adds to the overall experienceNaturally, it's fully playable in multiplayer mode, and you can start anew with one of the new classes or continue with your old character--Andrew SBub

Pros:

• More, more, more of the bestselling Baldur's Gate experience
• A fitting conclusion to the epic story line

• Same tried-and-true gameplay, which makes it feel dull at times
• After 200 hours of BGII, do we need more?

Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal, the add-on pack to Baldur's Gate II, expands and enriches the gameplay experience by adding several new locations, high-level spells, and powerful new characters to the Baldur's Gate II game. Set in the Forgotten Realms campaign world of Dungeons & Dragons, Throne of Bhaal is the ultimate conclusion of the Baldur's Gate legend, as gamers fulfill their destiny as the child of Bhaal, god of murder

Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal takes players through an all-new story line, rich with intrigue and treachery, as they unravel the mysteries of the Dungeon of Watcher's Keep and explore other new areas, such as the City of Saradush, the Fortified Monastery of Amkethran, Sendai's Underdark Fortress, and the player's own Abyssal StrongholdThroughout their journey, characters may reach up to level 40, made possible with a raised experience cap of 8 million points, quite possibly the highest level ever achieved by characters in any Advanced Dungeons & Dragons computer gameAlso included in the quest are more than 40 powerful high-level spells and abilitiesThe Wild Mage Character Kit will also be added to the already extensive class list, allowing gamers to create a powerful new character able to cast spells, with very unpredictable results

Baldur's Gate II players will be pleased to hear that Throne of Bhaal is fully playable either while questing through their BG II adventure or after they have completed BG II.

Do you have balls of steel? If so, you might be exactly what Deep Silver and Apogee are looking forThe publisher is looking for a real-life Duke Nukem to help promote the upcoming Duke Nukem Trilogy across North AmericaThe roaming talent contest will hit three major cities in the country and the overall best Duke will apparently be crowned at the upcoming E3 convention in LA this June