Hi all. :)

So I was thinking of buying the original Baldur's Gate from GOG when I got the chance...

However- now both BG 1 and BG 2 are available on the site... :P

So- given the fact that I am very interested in doing some LAN co-op- which one should I get?

Any recommendations are highly appreciated. :D

I'd say get both, but if you have to choose one, go with BG2. It's way more advanced than BG1 and has more content. I would recommend leaving some slots open for NPCs to join your party, because their banter and quests are a big part of the game.

I'll echo what the above poster wrote. The games are a series, so it is better (imho) to play through them both consecutively. However, if one must be picked, then the consensus is that BG2 is superior to BG1 (it has a better GUI, it gets going much faster, and no worrying about low level character getting one-hit killed off an (un)lucky critical). I actually prefer BG1 to BG2 (I like the wide open wilderness areas and prefer lower level parties), but I am certainly in the minority.

The BG games don't work very well with multiplayer. Icewind Dale or Neverwinter Nights work better.

Get both, then mod with the Baldur's Gate Trilogy mod to bring BG1 up to BG2's GUI. However, if you want to play vanilla play BG1 to get a sense of the story and get the twist, then play BG2 and never go back... unless you want to