Talk:Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn/GA1

GA Review

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Reviewer: Aircorn (talk · contribs) 05:31, 22 January 2013 (UTC)

Loved this game. Will try and review it for you over the next few days. AIRcorn (talk) 05:31, 22 January 2013 (UTC)

• The Shadow Thieves, the Cowled Wizards, and the Harpers all factor prominently into the story and provide side quests Who are the Harpers?
• Baldur's Gate II is set in the year 1369 DR (Dale Reckoning),[46] and thus takes place not long after the Time of Troubles (1358 DR), when the Tablets of Fate were stolen and the gods walked the land as mortals This could maybe do with a bit more context. What does the Tablets of Fate have to do with this game? Same with the time of troubles. Not too much, but maybe a sentence or two.

Still not sure what Tablets of Fate means or how it applies. Redirects to Time of Troubles so that is not much help. AIRcorn (talk) 07:19, 23 January 2013 (UTC)

Okay, I took another crack at it. It's a bit tricky because the point of the background is that Bhaal created his spawn in anticipation of his death, but it's tough to know how much to put in setting and how much to put in character without getting too much repetition either. I can jiggle it around some more if necessary. —Torchiest ^talk_edits 22:16, 23 January 2013 (UTC)

• Bhaal, the god of murder, foresaw the Time and its leading to his destruction, and walked the land before it began A bit repetitive with the precedeing sentence.
• Baldur's Gate follows their adventure along the Sword Coast, where the hero learns of their heritage, and defeats their half-brother Sarevok, a fellow child of Bhaal. This would be better if it was made obvious it was talking about the first game. The follows their adventure is a bit easter eggish too.
• The hero escapes from the complex with some of their companions, This doesn't work. Needs another gender neutral term or at worst his/her companions.
• In Athkatla, the party receives assistance from its chosen allies Can this have more context? Should mention something about raising the money and building a party.

  With some help from BOZ, I think all of these points have been addressed now. Thanks for taking the time to review this btw. —Torchiest ^talk_edits 16:50, 22 January 2013 (UTC)

• The guidelines paragraph of the development section is a little hard to follow. It doesn't really say what the guidelines are, except for level design.
• Not too keen on the Amazon source. Found a discussion here regarding a simnilar issue, which is mixed but has enough opposition that I would be more comfortable with another source (should be easy to find).
• Some more references are needed for the re-releases.
• I have a personal bugbear about overquotations used in reception sections. They tend to be repetitive and add to article bloat. There is also a cherry picking element to it. In this article this section has four and a bit paragraphs basically consisting of reviewer quotes. To be quite honest it is a hard slog to read and not the greatest way to present information as it tends to obscure the bigger picture (i.e. what the theme of the reception is). Would it be possible to paraphrase this section better, I wouldn't object to a few quotes but it would read better coming in you own words. It will also mean any quotes used will not be lost in the noise.
• The Best Dungeons & Dragons game ever made Should the B in Best be capitalised. Can't access the source to see if this is the case. AIRcorn (talk) 11:04, 23 January 2013 (UTC)

I've addressed everything above except for a couple points: I haven't been able to find a reliable non-Amazon source for that one re-release yet. I don't have a copy of the Game Informer magazine either, but I'm going to guess it probably shouldn't be capitalized. I'm still working on paraphrasing the reception section. —Torchiest ^talk_edits 17:36, 23 January 2013 (UTC)

Okay, I did a major overhaul of the reception section, so everything (except the Amazon ref) should be fixed now. Cheers. —Torchiest ^talk_edits 18:50, 23 January 2013 (UTC)

• You may add a list of tracks from this game. Sidevar (talk) 15:08, 25 January 2013 (UTC)

References

I am a little worried that this might be a bit close to the source. AIRcorn (talk) 02:22, 25 January 2013 (UTC)

• From this article

an area is mapped out and described by designers; an isometric concept of the level is drawn by a concept artist; the level's models are made; models are placed in the level and textured; smaller objects are placed in the level, its lighting is done, and any final tweaks are completed; the level is given to the designers, and clipping, luminosity, height, and search map features are added; creatures, items, traps, and triggers are added to the level; and its scripting is completed

• From the source

1. Designers map out an area and write up a description.
2. Concept artist draws an isometric concept of the level.
3. Models are created for the level.
4. Models are placed within the level and then textured.
5. The level is dressed with smaller objects (barrels and chairs). Lighting is done for the level, and then any final tweaks are completed.
6. The art piece is given to the designers so that the clipping, luminosity, height and search map can all be done.
7. Creatures, items, traps and triggers are all added to the level.
8. The scripting for the level is completed.

• Whew, that is pretty close. In my defense, that part was in the article before I worked on it. :) I'll mix it up a bit. —Torchiest ^talk_edits 02:52, 25 January 2013 (UTC)

Rewritten, hopefully it's still true to the source but distinct in terminology. —Torchiest ^talk_edits 03:13, 25 January 2013 (UTC)

• There are a few references to Shadows of Amn, Protagonist's Biography., Shadows of Amn, Imoen's Biography, Shadows of Amn, Chapter I etc. I take it this is referring to the game itself. I don't think there is anything wrong with doing that, but was wondering if there was a better way to present the cite (I was looking for the book I thought it was going to link to in the biography). If you use {{Cite video game}} then it might make it more obvious. AIRcorn (talk) 07:03, 30 January 2013 (UTC)

• I converted the references to that template and expanded the image rationale a bit. —Torchiest ^talk_edits 14:22, 30 January 2013 (UTC)

Criteria

GA review (see here for what the criteria are, and here for what they are not)

1. It is reasonably well written.

   a (prose): b (MoS for lead, layout, word choice, fiction, and lists):

   Very happy with this

2. It is factually accurate and verifiable.

   a (reference section): b (citations to reliable sources): c (OR):

   One issue with a citation style, but spot checking of the manual and a few other online source showed no more close paraphrasing or addition of information not being covered by the source.

3. It is broad in its coverage.

   a (major aspects): b (focused):

4. It follows the neutral point of view policy.

   Fair representation without bias:

5. It is stable.

   No edit wars, etc.:

6. It is illustrated by images and other media, where possible and appropriate.

   a (images are tagged and non-free content have fair use rationales): b (appropriate use with suitable captions):

   File:BG2DlgImoen.png is a bit dark, but I see that is covered by the other image. I guess it could be a argued that a clear screenshot of the interface is possible and would negate this rational. I don't think it is an issue with a GA, although if you want to strengthen it some you could add more to the purpose (maybe that the interface itself takes up a lot of the screen).

7. Overall: Will hold for now, but is really close to passing

   Pass/Fail: