Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition, Other Forgotten Realms Games Announced

[MarlaDesat]

Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition, Other Forgotten Realms Games Announced


The Forgotten Realms is the definitive Dungeons & Dragons setting for many players, particularly if your first taste of D&D was through the video games Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale. Wizards of the Coast announced at PAX Prime [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/tag/view/paxprime2014] this weekend that Icewind Dale will be getting the Enhanced Edition treatment, and also announced new games set in the iconic Forgotten Realms coming in 2015.

Like Baldur's Gate before it, Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition will update the classic RPG for re-release on iOS, Android, and PC later in 2014. The Enhanced Edition will be developed by Beamdog, who also developed the Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/video-games/editorials/reviews/10753-Baldur-s-Gate-II-Enhanced-Edition-Review-Old-and-Improved] for Android, iOS, Mac and PC. Updates are coming to Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition as well, including availability on iPhone and cross-platform multiplayer.

Wizards of the Coast announced that a new mobile title set in the Forgotten Realms setting is in development by Backflip Studios. The untitled new game will be a real time castle defense game, set for release in 2015. Backflip Studios released a video showcasing the development of the mobile game so far.

Rob Overmeyer, Executive Producer for Cryptic Studios, also confirmed that free-to-play MMORPG Neverwinter [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/136526-Neverwinter-MMO-to-Hit-Xbox-One-Next-Year] will be coming to Xbox One in the first half of 2015. The game will require an Xbox Live subscription and will not support cross-play with the PC version.

Elminster, Drizzt, Waterdeep and the Sword Coast are what I think of when I think D&D. What's your favorite Dungeons & Dragons setting?

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[Scars Unseen]

Hmm... well I was kind of hoping for Planescape: Torment, but sure, I'll take this.

 

[VoidWanderer]

One day... One day they will make a game set in Greyhawk...

 

[GothmogII]

One day... One day they will make a game set in Greyhawk...

The Temple of Elemental Evil?

I kind of hope they stay well away from Torment though, Beamdog's writing efforts so far have left me less than enthused. :/

In that regard, Icewind Dale could suit them rather well, it's more of a looty dungeon crawl affair though it has some interesting characters.

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

A real time castle defense game that will be pay-to-click/pay-to-win. Given the direction the games industry seems to be taking, I bet the new games will also be filled with micro-transactions and stripped out content. I am willing to go on record as saying there will be no more good D&D games to be made.

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

So, no new D&D CRPGs for the PC? Just mobile?
They sit on probably the most famous P&P property and despite the success of D&D and D20 CRPGs, there haven't been any in years. Bollocks to WotC.

 

[Ramien Grey]

While I seem to recall there were some licensing issues a while back preventing any new D&D games from coming out, I would like to see a game come out that uses rules newer than 2nd edition. I did get the enhanced editions of BG and BG 2 on the strength of Minsc (And skipped the extra content, because I just wanted to play the original game), but I don't have the same nostalgic feelings about Icewind Dale.

Now, if we could get updated remakes of the Gold Box games, that at least would be interesting. Still not as good as new games, but at least the upgrades would be more noticeable.

 

[lastcigarette]

Original Dragonlance before the 5th Age and Saga garbage. I'd love to see a new Dragaonlance series and campaign setting now that they did away with the age of Mortals nonsense.

 

[PPB]

I know this is a recurrent thing with these remakes, but $20 seems a lot to me considering the modest amount of new features. I'm curious about the restored content though, I wasn't aware that IWD even had cut content. Still, new kits and spells should breathe new life into the game, especially considering how IWD is ultimately a strategic combat experience before anything else, all the while experimenting with different groups of characters.

 

[KaZuYa]

Original Dragonlance before the 5th Age and Saga garbage. I'd love to see a new Dragaonlance series and campaign setting now that they did away with the age of Mortals nonsense.

I just want the Dragons of Autumn Twilight, Winters Night and Spring Dawning and the Time of the Twins trilogy made into films of the same quality of LoTR =/

 

[nuttshell]

...I would like to see a game come out that uses rules newer than 2nd edition...

Neverwinter Nights 2 is pretty good with Mask of the Betrayer...

I remember something about WotC having really restrictive contracts regarding the continuity of their universes and something about "earlier editions are off limits for new games".

 

[Ramien Grey]

Neverwinter Nights 2 is pretty good with Mask of the Betrayer...

I remember something about WotC having really restrictive contracts regarding the continuity of their universes and something about "earlier editions are off limits for new games".

NWN 2 is still 8 years old, though. It was a fun game, and I enjoyed playing it, but I'd still like to see something new, or even just an NWN 3. My nostalgia filter's starting to get knocked askew a bit by the enhanced editions, because they didn't update as much as I'd been hoping - that and getting slapped upside the head by 2nd ed rules hurts if you're playing a thief.

As a side note, that was my biggest complaint about 4e. The system would have been perfect to adapt to a video game without taking a ton of liberties with the rule set, and we got... a Facebook game and a bad MMO.

 

[nuttshell]

My nostalgia filter's starting to get knocked askew a bit by the enhanced editions, because they didn't update as much as I'd been hoping.

Just played the first one - it was terrible. Bugs, half-assed additional content and they managed to make the UI even worse then the old one...

getting slapped upside the head by 2nd ed rules hurts if you're playing a thief.

Yeah, thieves are only good for multiclassing in 2nd ed.

As a side note, that was my biggest complaint about 4e. The system would have been perfect to adapt to a video game without taking a ton of liberties with the rule set, and we got... a Facebook game and a bad MMO.

I thought, the MMO was pretty allright (for an MMO) but I dont like MMOs anymore and my biggest complaint about 4th ed is, that it was too centered around being MMO friendly...

 

[Kahani]

Made by the same people who charged £20 for significantly worse versions of existing free mods for Baldur's Gate? I'll pass.

I thought, the MMO was pretty allright (for an MMO) but I dont like MMOs anymore and my biggest complaint about 4th ed is, that it was too centered around being MMO friendly...

The MMO would have been OK if it had been made 10 years ago. But too many games have already done everything it tried to do, except much better.

 

[SecondPrize]

This is super sweet and I'm being greedy but I couldn't help but want to see the letters SSI as the article loaded.

 

[TheDoctor455]

Hmm... well I was kind of hoping for Planescape: Torment, but sure, I'll take this.

Same here. Planescape Torment done in the engine that Obsidian is using for Pillars of Eternity would be incredible... especially if they made the combat a little less... dull. Yes, I know that combat wasn't an essential element of the original... but I think anything that keeps it from being a slog would help make the game more palatable to newcomers...

well... that and a mini-map with quest markers that at least point me in the general direction.

 

[Arnoxthe1]

One of these days, Neverwinter Nights is going to get some much needed love...

But I guess it is not this day.