All Good Things Must End

I was flipping through my ever increasing collection of games the other day, trying to make room for newer games, getting rid of older ones when I ran across one of my all time favs. Baldurs Gate and the expansion packs that came after, Sword Coast, Shadows of Ahm and The Throne of Baul. Back in the day I lost many a nights sleep and endured some scolding from my wife for staying up too late, but damn these games suck you in. I must have played through them all a couple of times, squeezing every little nugget out of them, then I down loaded some player mods, hacked my pc and finally forgot about them, until now. I thought about loading them back up to see if the thrill was still there now that games like Oblivion and...well come to think about it no other games come to mind that are on the same scale other than Oblivion. Well Icewind Dale does but it was made by the same company, and that game is another discussion for later. It seems that all these new games coming out lack the in depth story line, the 'blackhole effect' that Baldurs Gate had. They pack in all the new graphics and cool effects but drop the ball on story and replay. Neverwinter Nights was a good game and still has some life in it from player mods, but the nostalgia isn't there. And alas Vista does not support the game so I'm stuck with my fond memories of the crazy Ranger who was into giving out butt kickings for goodness while talking to his gerbil Boo.