Baldurs Gate was really good, but I think people give it too much credit. Fallout 1$2 and Planescape Torment showed what really is a narrative-driven RPG game, they deserve more attention.
It's a good game and lord knows I played it enough to know it like the back of my hand, but people keep bringing it up like it is the Monolith from 2001 bringing us gamer-apes into the modern world.
It's still a first person shooter. A well-made one, but not revolutionary. Unreal came out six months before it and it also had story-driven gameplay and used environmental effects like lighting too.
The secondary timer is harder to justify, which is why it was extended to 13 years in the patched version (more than enough time to do everything).
If you really want to explore [sort of] unhindered Fallout 2 takes care of that, even letting you continue to play after you finish the game.
I remember loving the original Fallout, until it basically said “you didn’t find the water chip in time! Goodbye!”
Exactly the same story with Commandos 2 vs Commandos 3.