FWIW, I thought there was a bit more fighting in IWD2, but the mechanics had changed a bit (it wasn't the same edition, I think they threw feats in there, or something, can't recall exactly but it was a bit more intricate than IWD1). It was definitely worth playing, and the story was pretty meaty.

I'm not helping, aren't I?

Oh god, it's been like 12 years since I played them, but as far as I remember, the amount of combat doesn't change much from game to game. Maybe enough to turn you off, if the number of encounters was a negative for you in the first game. But if you liked it in spite of that, the sequel is definitely worth trying.

Honestly, if I replayed both games now, I'd probably prefer the first one.

Sorry, not much help.

I'm nearing 900 hours of game time, have 5 level 80 characters, working on the three others, trying to get a legendary... Yeah, there's little chance I'll get tired of GW2 soon!! It's my zen game, the game I always go back to. Plus, the expansion is going to be released soon'ish!!

Hehe, the Super NES mouse wasn't used with a ton of games, so don't feel so bad about not knowing about it It's most well-known for being included with Mario Paint, which was pretty fun to mess around with. Also certain other games support it, like certain PC ports such as Wolfenstein and Doom, and some of Koei's strategy games for the system. I wish Shadowrun used it too, because it would have worked so well, but instead you are left controlling such a game with a controller, which is clunky. I love it despite that though.

Thanks! Steam tells me it took about 40 hours to complete Avernum, and even then I had to take a three month break about halfway through. It's a personal triumph, the Spiderweb Software RPGs are something I've been intrigued by since I played demos for them in the late nineties. I'm finally getting through them more than fifteen years later.

It doesn't compare to the RPG trek you are on though; New Vegas, Mass Effect, and Dragon Age Origins all at once! That is really something, nearly an overload of both quantity and quality.

It took me like a month and a half to beat :p It requires a lot of patience, and experimentation to figure out what to do where, at which point in time. It definitely doesn't hold your hand. I wish the overall interface was better (this would have been a perfect fit for the Super NES mouse), as well as the combat (it's a little more interesting when you've hired shadowrunners alongside you, and especially so once you get magic, but the early grinding where you literally just move your cursor over enemies and press the attack button until they're dead, is mind-numbingly dull), but aside from that I'm very impressed with it. There really isn't anything else like this on the Super NES to my knowledge. It reminds me of certain later WRPGs, like Fallout 1 and 2 in particular, yet this came several years before those games came out, which is remarkable. It was definitely ahead of its time, and I now consider it one of my personal favorites on the Super NES, despite its flaws.

Wow, that's pretty dedicated of you! I hope you have fun with it, Mass Effect is probably one of my favorite series ever! And if you ever do decide to jump back into GW2, **look me up**!! Seriously!!

Thanks for the congrats! :D I actually completed 100% exploration a few weeks ago and finished my personal story on Monday. But good, grief, I can't stop playing this game. I just Guild Wars 2.
As for you, I see you're playing Mass Effect, awesome! Mako forever!!! Have fun.

And I agree with you, I don't mind having a backlog.

I don't know if it will really help my backlog (not to mention I don't really mind having a backlog in the first place) but my latest strategy is to have one new (to me) game started while working on other games that may have been beaten but still require various achievements, collections, or other things for full completion. We'll see how it goes!

I took a few games off of my "currently playing" list just so I could put more focus into the games I'm keeping on the list and not seeing them as part of yet another *huge* list!