Great game still holds up after all these years
Customer Rating: 
I purchased this when I was on a retro-gaming kick a while back, and out of all the older games, I think this one stood out as the most enjoyable. Since there are plenty of older reviews detailing the game features, I would like to point out a few things about the distribution.
First, there is no printed manual, only a .pdf file contained on the disk. Also, the box itself is pretty flimsy, with the discs stacked on top of each other and held with rings that are too stiff. The way this is packaged makes the discs very prone to scratching, so I would inspect your discs first, then transfer them to another case. Compare this to the Diablo II box set which comes with a nicer jewel case and a booklet for about the same price, and you can see that Atari is treating this as a cheap-o product instead of the gaming classic it really is.
Secondly, installing on Windows Vista can be a pain. Don't do the auto-run install, or files will be missing and the game will crash. I did this originally and thought my discs were corrupted, but it was actually a Windows Vista problem. Find the setup.exe file by exploring the disc and right-click "run as administrator" and it should install properly. Do this for all 4-discs. If you are using 64-bit Vista it will be even more of challenge to get this installed. I recommend disabling autoplay altogether, and perhaps even installing from safe mode.
Thirdly, you SHOULD download and install (again, run as adminstrator) the Throne of Bhaal patch from Bioware's site. But DO NOT install the Tales of the Sword Coast patch. This version is essentially the same as the "original saga" version, so you don't need to patch it. If you do, the game will start asking for disc 6 or other discs, and you will have to uninstall then reinstall it.
Finally, there is a player-created unofficial mod called "Easy TuTu" you should download after you've played through it, if you decide to do another play through. It brings the features, including additional classes, kits and proficiencies of BG2 to BG1 so you can have a more enjoyable experience. Although it is a bit buggy, so I recommend your first playthrough of BG1 be the unmodded original game.
If you love role-playing games, or just looking for a retro PC gaming experience, then this is definitely worth the money, if with the aforementioned issues. The game is exceptionally fun, having a great story, as well as good tactical and varied combat that will having you comeback for many replays with different class and alignment combos.
King, the standard of all D&D RPGs
Customer Rating: BG I was good but this review is geared more for Baldur's Gate II (BG2).
Older, yes. Graphics outdated, yes. Best RPG, yes. BG2 is the classic and standard for true D&D RPG. Only one other set of RPG can compare and that is the Icewind Dale series and you can get it the collection from Amazon too. The strategy involved in these games is still to this day the best and yes I am currently playing through Dragon Age Origins for the seconds time.
While Dragon Age Origins is good it is no successor to Buldur's Gate, maybe because they are not using the old D&D rules and only 4 characters instead of 6 come to mind. It falls way short of what you experience in BG as far as using strategy in battles.
If you are not completely completely wrapped up in pretty graphics (I know the newer games look nice but as far as gameplay...) this box set is for you and Icewind Dale is great too.
