Baldur’s Gate Enhanced Edition
This is very cool – the 1998 classic computer RPG Baldur’s Gate is getting remade as an Enhanced Edition to work on modern hardware (and there’s even going to be iOS and Android edition). It will also include a great deal of new content, in the forms of quests and new characters, and have the capability to expand the game further with new DLC modules.
I’m looking forward to it. Not that I have time for computer games these days, but I think I’ll give it a spin.
-JM
I remember hearing about this back a few months ago, and I still have the same opinion on it then as I do now (even after visiting the website)…and it is a conflicted opinion. Let me explain.
When the classic crpgs (the ones from the late 90’s) came out, I was too young for them. Alot of the complex tabletop rpg rules just flew over my head and seemed to time consuming to even bother to learn. When I was a bit older I decided to give them another chance. And why not, by this time I was a big lover of both fantasy and history (especially medieval history) so why not try out all the medieval fantasy games I could get my hands on? After all, Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance was alot of fun, so why not try out the original series (never mind that one was a hack n’ slash console game, the other a party based crpg)? So I tried out BG2, I could barely get passed the first area, I just didn’t get it and the combat was amazingly boring, so I returned the game. A few years late I would try out the Icewind Dale series (both 1 and 2), and found them a little more enjoyable (especially the character creation), but never finished either one. Overall I still had a very mixed opinion on that type of game, that is until…
Star Wars Knights of the Old Repulic! While I still could not get back into the old crpgs, my opinion of this type of game changed for the better. Over subsequent years I would play everything from SWKOTR 2, Jade Empire, the Neverwinter Nights series, Mass Effect, the Drakensang series, and last but not least, the Dragon Age series (which just blew me away).
Even with all this party based crpg goodness, I’m still hesitant to try the old stuff out again. Whether it be the old pre-rendered graphics or the slow moving combat, I’m afraid I might just play it once and drop it again. Granted this new edition is not very expensive, so it’s not that big a deal to me. But still…
What do you think Jon? You have played them all, and you like so many others found them incredible, you think I should give them another chance? I’m an adult now, the old hurdles are gone, so maybe this is a second chance to try out some old school gaming glory? If you had to make a case for the Baldur’s Gate series (and the old crpgs in general), what would it be?
On a side note, I thought it was BG 2 that was getting an enhanced edition, I see now that it is the first. I imagine that if this Enhanced edition sells well, they “enhance” the sequel. Personally I’m still hoping somebody will do BG 3, I know Bioware said they would like to do it, but who knows if they’ll get the rights to it.
On another side note, is it me or does it looks like that genre is a ghost town now? To this day now one has done any more Baldur’s Gates, Icewind Dales or the others. Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic is a MMO now, as is Neverwinter. Fallout (which I never liked anyway) is a open world rpg series now, ala The Elder Scrolls. Jade Empire is on the dustbin of history and the ME and DA series steadily become more action rpg and less crpg with every installment. Oh, and the Drakensang series, it’s developer collapsed, that series is toast too. If you never played the german series, based off Germany’s version of D&D, The Dark Eye, they have a collection out:
http://www.amazon.com/Drakensang-Complete-River-Phileassons-Secret-Pc/dp/B005OGYVKU
They were a fun old school rpg type of game. Just don’t expect a Dragon Age (actually it’s more in line with NWN2).
I started answering this, and it turned into its own post. So look for an answer later in the week!
Cool, thanks!