The cut-scenes are impressive even on an ibook, keeping up with the standard set by Diablo II. The story-line continues on from the original Baldurs Gate, as sees you off to right even more wrongs in the world of Forgotten Realms. You begin with the standard, "captured and imprisoned" scenario. Fortunately you captors see fit to keep you all together, a small armoury is conveniently located next to where you are detained. On your travels you will encounter all sorts of nasties ranging from annoying little imps to large menacing dragons as well as trawling through dark dungoens and dank sewers (well it is called Dungeons & Dragons after all).

As you would expect with such a complicated game, the instruction manual is as thick as decent sized novel. It is well written and quite clear. It is possible to get into the game without reading the manual. There are on-screen labels that come up if you hold the mouse over anything on the screen for a second or two. Thiis is most useful when you have forgotten which spell is which in your spell book. Included in a map of the lands in the game and a Quick Reference Card with all the major icons and a list of each and every one of the 300 spells included in the game. Creating a character is relatively straightford, especially if you have played an RPG (either pen & paper or computer) before. There are detailed explanations of all choices possible in character generation. The set-up is one of the best I have ever seen in this type of game. There was no need to refer to the documentation to see what the hell was going on, on- screen. It does take a bit of time however, but done correctly this is time well spent.

As one would expect with a complicated game such as this, there is a tutorial that explains the basics of playing the game. I would recommend it to all but the most experienced of BG players. You learn very quickly how precise you have to be in your mouse movements, it is much better to learn this where you can't get killed rather than in the heat of battle. The "test" at end is useful for learning how to manipulate your party, whether it be moving them or getting them to fight at the right time. Fortunately for the former the game includes pre-set formations that can quickly get your party into battle formation when it is necessary. If would have been nice to be able to configure at least one custom formation. You order your party by moving the icons on the side of the screen in the order you which them to appear in the game, top being lead, bottom being tail end charley.