Ye Old Entertainment looks back at Baldur's Gate 2:

Baldurs Gate 2: Was it really that great? Or is it our nostalgia talking? Worth Playing in 2023?

MrEdders123 looks back at Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn:

Baldur's Gate II: A Retrospective Review

A retrospective review of Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn, developed by Bioware Corporation and published in September 2000 by Black Isle Studios. Examines the context in which the game was developed, how it compares to the original, some of the mods available, and also differing perspectives on its place in the history of computer roleplaying games. Feel free to take breaks between chapters or just skip around using the timestamps if you're only interested in a specific topic. Sorry for the stuffy audio at times - I'm definitely considering changing mic. Anyway, hope everyone enjoys it! Next video will be 1998's Descent to Undermountain.

The voice of Jon Irenicus in Baldur's Gate 2 and Morpheus in Fallout is dead:

David Warner, voice of Baldur's Gate 2's Jon Irenicus, has died

David Warner, veteran actor of stage and screen who voiced Baldur’s Gate 2's iconic villain Jon Irenicus, has died aged 80.

The Shakespearean actor, who the BBC reports (opens in new tab) died of a "cancer-related illness", was best known for his cinematic roles such as Jennings in classic horror film the Omen, and Billy Zane's sidekick in Titanic. He was the Evil Genius in Terry Gilliam's film Time Bandits, and played the roles of Ed Dillinger, Sark, and the Master Control Program in Disney's pioneering CGI movie Tron.

[...]

But Warner’s most notable video-game performance came in 2000, when he played  Jon Irenicus in Baldur’s Gate 2: Shadows of Amn. His commanding portrayal of the arrogant elven mage made Irenicus one of the most memorable villains in RPGs, and is one of the key reasons why Baldur's Gate 2 remains such an arresting experience today. Warner returned to the role in 2016 for Siege of Dragonspear, the official expansion to Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition which fills in the gaps between the original game and its sequel.

[...]

(Found by MAHak)

The Game Masters look back at Baldur’s Gate 2: Shadows of Amn:

Game Masters retrospective:
Baldur’s Gate 2: Shadows of Amn

We take a look back at why it was one of the best games of all time

The maxim that newer is better dominates almost all parts of modern culture, especially when it comes to anything intimately connected with the world of technology. It’s no surprise then that gamers love new things, whether it’s the latest piece of hardware that will push up framerates, or the newest entry into a beloved series.

In this mad rush towards the next big thing it’s sometimes far too easy to dismiss and forget about the great creations of the past, the result of an implicit — and sometimes explicit — belief that a game that received a 10/10 review in 2000 couldn’t possibly be as good as one that received the same score in 2017.

[...]

Kotaku's Jason Schreier has wrote a new opinion piece were he writes, "Baldur's Gate II Is Still One Of The Greatest RPGs Ever Made." I have to agree with him, and no I'm not wearing nostalgia goggles.

Thirteen years after release, Baldur's Gate II is still one of the best role-playing games of all time. No joke. If you consider yourself an RPG fan, this is a game you have to play.

"But wait," you are most likely thinking, ready to type out a comment about how lame I am. "This game is old! Surely it is unplayable today."

Aha. That is where you are wrong, my persnickety friend. With a couple of mods and a functioning graphics card, Baldur's Gate II is just as stellar now as it was back in 2000.

Shacknews has a small article about Baldur's Gate 2 - Enhanced Edition.

Dualshockers has a small news article that talks about Baldur's Gate 2 - Enhanced Edition.

Did you Like Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition? I did. If you agree you probably already know that Baldur’s Gate II: Enhanced Edition is currently being worked on at Overhaul Games.

What you possibly didn’t yet know is the sheer size of the additional content that the remake will bring. Producer and Writer Phillip Daigle revealed on his personal Twitter account that the team wrote 350,000 words for of new content, and they’re going to try to get some of those many lines voiced.

That giant wall of text (and hopefully voice) adds to the 1.2 million words of the original, ensuring that even those that already played the game a metric ton of times like I did, will definitely have quite a lot to discover with the remake.

We've known Overhaul Games planned to do an Enhanced Edition for BG2 for a while now - we know it should be out in 2013 - but now we know they have actively started work on it:

Our next project is planned and started, it is #BG2EE. This morning I saw a new area concept running in the game and it looked amazing.  

While Beamdog's Trent Oster has talked about potentially doing a number of Enhanced Editions after Baldur's Gate, a tweet announces Baldur's Gate 2: Enhanced Edition will be out in 2013 - as well as no GOG version at this point:

#bg2ee‬ will be in 2013. We have no plans to put the game on gog. The Jellybean encryption sounds interesting, but we are hard up for time

...though Trent does note a Beamdog version will be available without their client, which should please most:

The Beamdog version will be available with or without our client. We've heard all the "I love Steam more than kitties" so no client.

With the 10 year anniversary just passed for Throne of Bhaal, Sorcerer's Place has updated their walkthrough offerings with new guides for Shadows of Amn and Throne of Bhaal:

Our older members will remember that we've had an excellent BG2 online walkthrough by Sylvus Moonbow available for over a decade, but sadly his guide was never completed and is missing a few areas. Montresor's comprehensive guide therefore supersedes it, but Sylvus' solution remains a treasure trove of valuable and interesting information (some of which is not covered by Montresor's), so I believe that they will nicely complement each other, along with Dave Milward's excellent downloadable walkthrough available on the same page. 

Baldur's Gate 2 - Best RPG Ever...so says GameInformer in a new article where they use "science" and compare BioWare's epic against Oblivion, Mass Effect and Final Fantasy X to prove the point.  On BG2 vs Oblivion:

It says something terrible that no matter how poorly Advanced Dungeons & Dragons was balanced (and the ruleset used in BG2 is hilariously imbalanced, with the inclusion of silly rules like monks and class kits), it pales in comparison to the mess that is Oblivion's system. In BG2 you have the freedom to create massively awesome parties by including whatever mix of the brilliantly written NPCs you wanted. Some combinations are better than others, and certain main character builds are borderline ridiculous (oh hi there, dual-class fighter-mage katana grandmaster!), but it's nigh impossible to gimp your group into unplayability if you pay any attention at all.

Meanwhile, in Oblivion, several advancement paths effectively send you backwards. Not leveling any Endurance-related skills? Have fun with the durability of a newborn kitten wrapped in wet paper towels! Picked Mercantile or Speechcraft as a major? Try not to talk to anyone, because while you get marginally better at a sub-game that nobody cares about, the monsters are out there pumping iron and finding better equipment to eviscerate you with. On the flip side, Oblivion is stupidly easy to break to the point where you're de facto invincible. Try stupid crap like that against a BG2 lich and see how far it gets you.

Gorath points out the upcoming GDC will feature a panel with BioWare's Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk and Obsidian's Feargus Urquhart discussing the production of the classic, Baldur's Gate II:

Ten years ago, the highest rated role-playing game of all time launched in Baldur's Gate 2. The team included Bioware, Interplay and Black Isle and the result was an epic fantasy RPG that inspired a new generation of game developers and has endured the test of time. In this special 10 year retrospective session, Dr. Ray Muzyka, Dr. Greg Zeschuk, and Feargus Urguhardt who co-produced the game will look back at how the game was made, received, and how making games has changed. Attendees will see living legends discuss the challenges of development and why its important to give it everything youve got in order to wow the audience and be relevant even a decade later.

We'll bring you whatever coverage we can find after the panel.

Sorcerer dropped us a line to say they have a new review of the Assassinations mod for BG2.  The score is 9/10 and here's the intro describing the mod:

One of the most commonly voiced criticisms of Baldur’s Gate II is that players who want to express their character’s Bhaal heritage by taking a more evil route through the game find options limited, and those that are available are generally less rewarding than the traditional “good” path. Assassinations goes some way to addressing this by offering a series of assassination-based quests suitable for a more morally flexible character.  There are ten quests in Shadows of Amn, and male PCs may also attempt to romance their handler, Lynn. Be warned, though: your actions do have consequences! 

Sorcerer's Place dropped us a line to point out their review of an NPC mod for Baldur's Gate II.  If you'd like to add a new mage/fighter into your next play through (and a romance option for female characters), this one sounds interesting:

One of the main criticisms I’ve seen levelled at this mod is that the Angelo you encounter here differs from Bioware’s original character in several regards. In Baldur’s Gate, you’ll remember him as the rather unpleasant character who took over command of the Flaming Fist after Scar was murdered. If Shar-Teel joined your party, then you may also have found out that Angelo was her father. Both these facts remain the case in Baldur’s Gate II and are explored through subsequent dialogues. However, author Sister Vigilante has taken some artistic license with the character and, rather than being the rather nifty fair-haired archer you encountered in the Undercity, he is now a katana-wielding fighter-turned-mage with a more exotic lineage.