Imoen, Viconia, Yoshimo, Jaheria, Minsc, Edwin, Jan Jansen, Aerie, and all the rest are available. Also, Sarevok can join you, if you want the guy that killed Gorion, your foster parent, to tag along. Needless to say, there is plenty of value to this enjoyable expansion. The most notale improvement is a feature placed on the TAB key which allows for highlighting of items on the ground, chests and other containers, and doors. Note that the TAB key still displays character hit points.
Characters interact with the environment on screen via player input through the mouse.
The action can be paused at any time by pressing the space bar. As such, the player can direct each character with precision even during a heated battle. The gameplay experience is closer to BG1, which, to me, was more fun to play than BG2. Experience points abound, and quest rewards are plentiful. Summoned creatures now included Devas, Planetars, and Elemental Princes.