New Baldur's Gate On The (Very Distant) Horizon

[Andy Chalk]

New Baldur's Gate On The (Very Distant) Horizon

Speaking of Baldur's Gate [http://www.atari.com].

In an admittedly thin comment made during a press event in Europe, Harrison said, "Atari plans to revisit the likes of Baldur's Gate, Test Drive Unlimited [http://www.wizards.com/DnD/], but not in the next 12 months. You will hear more from these but not today, because we're focused on 2009."

It's not much to go on, but for a Baldur's Gate fan, or any old-school RPG player for that matter, it's potentially huge. Baldur's Gate single-handedly brought the CRPG genre back to life and led to the creation of everything from BioWare [http://www.planetbaldursgate.com/iwd/] RPG, the face of videogaming today would be very different.

Of course, the downside to a decade-late follow-up to such an influential and highly-regarded game is obvious: Baldur's Gate is a tough enough act to follow in its own right, and ten years of nostalgia is a prism that can bend expectations beyond all reasonable limits. It's not a question of whether it's likely that Atari can meet those demands, but if it's even possible. Needless to say, I'll be watching this one very closely.

Source: Eurogamer [http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=323024]


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[uppitycracker]

oh man oh man oh man oh man... make another baldurs gate game FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!!! i LOVED those games back in the day! its probably the only thing that'll re-spark my interests in any RPG that isnt fallout

 

[nimrandir]

With BioWare almost surely off the case and Black Isle, you know, dead, I think I can keep my enthusiasm in check. Will they hand the reins to Obsidian? If so, can those poor folks not have their product rushed onto shelves to hit a release date?

 

[CUnk]

They should make it like Fallout 3 but with swords.

 

[Lord Harrab]

Go for the eyes boo! go for the eyes!

 

[Grampy_bone]

"Live by the sword... live a good, long time!"

 

[Druss-]

"Full plate, and packing steel"

A brilliant game. I've even still got the original box (very battered) and game manual, which was a book unto itself.

I don't see how they'll continue the Baldurs Gate storyline though. They ended it pretty definitively in Throne of Bhaal.

 

[Dechef]

I remember I didn't like Baldur's gate at all. Maybe this game can change my mind.

 

[Ursus Astrorum]

Go for the eyes boo! go for the eyes!

"LET THE RIVERS RUN REEEED!"

Anywho, I really hope this becomes reality. I also hope that they either don't change the system, or just change the system enough to accommodate 3.5 rules. Death to 4E until Monks and Druids.

 

[rougeknife]

:JAWDROP:
Dancing, don't care how long it takes, the longer they take making it the better far as I care!

So long as they keep the parties, party interaction, good story telling a dialogue that isn?t good, neutral, bad like most bloody RPG?s these days, I'm happy. If they do away with that?

 

[meatloaf231]

They should make it like Fallout 3 but with swords.

Oblivion?

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Evil around every corner. Try not to step in any.

Ah, Jim Cummings [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Cummings], what a vocal talent you have; and you'd be gobsmacked at how many other voices he's done.

Dare I say : Dick Dastardly, Psycrow, Shredder, Dr. Robotnik, Fuzzy Lumpkin, Lurch, Morocco Mole...

 

[Slycne]

This could potentially go both ways. It's either great news or heartbreak on the horizon. With the exception of maybe World of Warcraft, I haven't played any game longer then the Baldur's Gate series.

I will certainly be keeping on eye on this.

 

[Toner]

"Full plate, and packing steel"

A brilliant game. I've even still got the original box (very battered) and game manual, which was a book unto itself.

I don't see how they'll continue the Baldurs Gate storyline though. They ended it pretty definitively in Throne of Bhaal.

Indeed I was wondering how they could make a continuation on the game, when it effectively ended after ToB with the whole Epilogues for everyone etc. One possible route they could take is the spawn of the Bhaal-spawn, although that would be a rather tentative link methinks.

Here's to hoping that they keep the incredibly engrossing dialogue, rich atmospheric gameplay areas, brilliantly written and voice-acted characters, a story that keeps you gripped to the end and at least 1 appearance of a miniature giant space hamster.

[...]
Of course, the downside to a decade-late follow-up to such an influential and highly-regarded game is obvious: Baldur's Gate is a tough enough act to follow in its own right, and ten years of nostalgia is a prism that can bend expectations beyond all reasonable limits.
[...]

Yep, hopefully they'll be able to balance the Baldur's Gate feel with modernised graphics and gameplay elements, which seems insanely hard to achieve given the rather recent attempt at the same goal for a different game series...

 

[SunoffaBeach]

More elves and dwarves and orcs and dragons? No, thank you.

 

[Dectilon]

You know how the Deus Ex 3 development team said that Deus Ex 1 was "kind of slow" and lacked "exciting, memorable moments."

Well, I fully expect to hear something very similar with regards to BG3.

 

[Milkman Dan]

It's kind of funny to see someone asking for no more elves and the like, when they have an avatar of what I can only imagine is some sort of goblin.

Anyway, if they're going to publish a D&D game after 2009, it's probably going to be using the 4th edition ruleset. That's gonna be a big change from the 2nd edition that was used in Baldur's Gate.

 

[Dectilon]

It's kind of funny to see someone asking for no more elves and the like, when they have an avatar of what I can only imagine is some sort of goblin.

Anyway, if they're going to publish a D&D game after 2009, it's probably going to be using the 4th edition ruleset. That's gonna be a big change from the 2nd edition that was used in Baldur's Gate.

At first I was going to say something like "yeah, because it was the system that made BG good", but now that I think about it you're right! The horror! D:

It's gonna be Diablo, only turn-based D: