Is this a good basic gaming laptop?

Yes it could run it

laptops are not the best for gaming- custom built pc's are ( and cheaper ) … You also won't be buying a new battery every other week

really, you need to be going for a 6+cores, 8gig ram is ok…2gig graphics is ok at the moment, but i can see it surpassed very shortly on a good graphics setting

at least with a desk top, you can change components, and also crossfire, or SLI graphics cards… To keep your pc ahead of the games that come out

i have had my desk top for over 5 years now.it is a quad @3.5ghz per chip ( which is VERY high for a quad and was top of the range when i bought it ) . Only now is it being superseded by the games… I went to play a game the other day and only could play it on low setting

you need to ask yourself, what do i use it for, and do i really need a laptop

you may even be able to buy a good pc and second hand basic laptop just for internet and work files… That would be the same price as a decent laptop… Choose wisely

i know what i would do, buy 2 for the price of one

Search the net for the most demanding game you want to play and "recommended hardware". This will tell you the performance you want.
Now go to
www.futuremark.com/hardware/cpu
www.futuremark.com/hardware/gpu

Find the recommended items on the list and then you need to be sure whatever you get meets or exceeds that performance.