The last week of November is always slow for video game releases. Most studios close to releasing a game at this time of year want to wait one or two more weeks, so as to release during holiday shopping territory. We do have one title to talk about, however.
Though I don’t usually discuss re-releases, this particular one is so important, and contains so many enhancements, it’ll seem new. Baldur’s Gate was one of the first of the great tactical dungeon crawlers. Previous party-based RPGs had all either been jRPG style, like the early Final Fantasy Games, or dungeon maze style, like the early Might and Magic Games. Baldur’s Gate was a genre-defining title, and without it, we wouldn’t have the likes of Neverwinter Nights or Dragon Age. Baldurs Gate: Enhanced Edition contains many improvements, minor and major, to the original game—including a fully reworked UI to bring the game more in-line with modern expectations, support for a wider range of resolutions (including wide-screen), multi-player matchmaking for co-operative play, all the game-play enhancements that were made for Baldur’s Gate 2 (expanded race selection, class kits, etc.), and over 400 bug fixes and small tweaks to clean up the original engine and make it run on today’s OSes. In addition, there are three new potential party members and and a whole new adventure added to the story. Of course, it’s a great idea for the Baldur’s Gate veterans who want to revisit the game, but even better if you haven’t played it. If you’ve been wondering what all the Baldur’s Gate fuss was about, but couldn’t bring yourself to use the old interface and resolutions, now is the time to give it a try.
I don’t have little Icons for it, but I want you to know: This will also be available for your favorite pocket communicator, be it smart enough.
Baldur’s Gate Enhanced Edition is available for direct download from the publisher, rather than through a download service.
Following is a full list of this week’s announced North American releases:
Windows
- Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition
- Frozen Hearth
- Miner Wars 2081
Wii
- Ninja Masters
DS
- Invasion of the Alien Blobs!
3DS
- Aero Porter
PS3
- Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault
Vita
- Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault