Just finished my latest SoA-ToB playthrough yesterday.I loved SoA,whereas ToB i felt kinda meh.SoA is by far my favorite BG;it simply had everything i desired from a crpg in a d&d setting:great party members,breath-taking views(Watcher's Keep,the Sahuagin City,etc),and one of the most awesomely-rendered city ever:Athkatla.Seriously,who'd knew how much shit that city had under it/in it's catacombs(The Unseeing Eye,Kangaxx,the Slave Lords,etc),but really,all the rest of Amn felt the same:Trademeet looked awesome,Ust Natha the same,and so on).
In both SoA-ToB i went with this party:
Me,human stalker,chaotic good,Viconia(the "romantic interest" of the protagonist),Minsc,Korgan,Haer'Dalis and Jan Jansen.Even tho the party wasnt as strong as it could be,let me tell you,it sure felt alive!I remember when Jan tried grabbing Boo using some crackers,pissing the hell out of Minsc,or when Viconia tried making fun of Jan,culminating with Jan irritating her too,she asking me why did we ever have him in the party,at which I responded in Jan's style("Well,it all started back when..."),irritating the f*ck out of her.And the encounters!Firkraag is by far the best dragon encounter I've ever had in a game(D&D or not),and I almost felt bad for killing Irenicus,dunno,it was something about his charismatic voice I guess...
And then came Throne of Bhaal...Watchers Keep was an awesome ideea,but all in all it all felt waaaay too short (finished ToB in a little more than a DAY).The producers did add some really memorable moments in the game(the return of Saemon,that petrified party in Abazigal's Lair,a really memorable part,and the Spectator Beholder from the Sahuagin City,man was he funny),but really,it almost felt like I was playing some IWD expansion.Waay too much h&s,thiefs are basically useless lockpicking and hiding wise,only their find&disarm traps were of any use)Also,the fat loot was really waaay too much,I mean Korgan was basically a killing machine,using Axe of the Unyealding and Frostreaver,and having 22 str.The abilities were a really nice addition to the game,especially the summons(the fallen Daeva looked awesome),but it was kinda dull,as in-melee fighters(which were mostly all except Jan) used only Greater Whirlwinds except Viconia,who mostly summoned shit).It had pretty nice encounters(Sendai gave a pretty nice fight) but the party interaction was pretty non-existant(except for Viconia,my PC's lover).All in all it was a nice expantion,maybe a little too much carnage,but good in general.Oh and i chose not to become a god,but to continue my life as a simple mortal,with mostly Viconia at my side(Jan returning to his Monkey-kidnapping and turnip-selling buisness,Haer'Dalies becoming some sort of exploring Don Juan,Korgan ruling some dwarven clan,who later besieged some drow city,dyeing,and Minsc becoming a legend,like the rest of the party,i presume).
So yea,you could say I'm still pretty hiped and cought up in all the BG franchise,but this playthrough was my last,in which I did pretty much all i wanted(i'm referring to SoA,ToB being very linear),and I sure did have a blast!