Baldur’s Gate Enhanced Edition: Review — Epic Fantasy RPG

Baldur’s Gate is the Granddaddy of classic role-playing adventures. Originally released in 1998 by Interplay Entertainment, It’s now had a makeover by Beamdog and has a shiny new interface. It also has its original expansion — Tales of the Sword Coast, and a new separate arena adventure called The Black Pits. It comes packaged with Baldur’s Gate 2 so there’s plenty of sword-swinging mayhem to be had.

The Enhanced Edition offers four new characters and the ability to play at higher resolutions creating a piece of modern-day nostalgia. But, Beamdogs attempts to smooth over Its outdated graphics don’t quite work and they still look like they’re over a decade old. The option to zoom in only enhances the pixelated sprites which mechanically march from one location to another with clompy sound effects.

However, the videogame does benefit from slightly sharper rendering but nothing that makes you say “Whoa, is this the same game”. The remastered character artwork, audio, and interface are welcome additions which make the videogame feel cleaner than it’s original but some purists may still prefer to mash keys on their PC than jiggling the thumbstick on a controller with all the extra bells ’n’ whistles.

Baldur’s Gate is created using an improved version of the Infinity Engine which uses the classic top-down isometric view that’s synonymous with classic RPGs. It also shares the same graphical interface as its sister title Icewind Dale — Hmm top marks in cost-cutting Beamdog. But that being said they have created a game that combines enough updated material to appeal to a new audience.

After shaking off that warm fuzzy feeling of nostalgia you begin to realize why Baldur’s Gate is still a classic. Yes, its full of fantasy cliches and tropes but Dungeons & Dragons pioneered the RPG genre and Baldur’s Gate is still one of its classic adaptations. Deep customization allows you to make your character unique by choosing classes such as Fighter, Ranger or Paladin and its alignment system guides your character’s moral compass as you sharpen your skills.

It has a thumpingly epic musical score composed by Michael Hoenig which makes you feel like you’re Conan the Barbarian except without the loincloth. It also has a separate tutorial that walks newbies through its RPG mechanics which include spell casting and accessing various items in the menu. This is a bonus for any RPG virgins who don’t want to tackle a behemoth like Baldur’s Gate without some hand-holding.

Baldur’s Gate — From zero to hero

Once you’ve spent considerable time choosing your character you begin your quest in the ancient fortress called Candlekeep where you’ve been raised by the mage Gorion. There’s also a strange iron deficiency which causes weapons to rot and break which you later find out is the work of Sarevok. Once you set out Gorion is immediately ambushed by the gravel-voiced baddie and killed leaving you alone.

You set out on your dubious quest shortly joined by Imoen near Candlekeep but others like Jaheira, Khalid and Neera are situated in other locations. Be warned some so-called friends have there own agendas which may clash with yours. The alignment system determines whether someone’s moral code is in line with yours. Are you Lawful Good or Chaotic Evil and are your companions on your side or there own.

It’s also advisable to save your progress often as you never know what nasties you might find in the woods. When you’re traveling from Beregost to Nashkel you encounter small, feral humanoids called Gibberlings and Hobgoblins who are constantly trying to ambush your party. In fact, at times it does feel like Baldur’s Gate just wants to “whoop yo’ ass” where ever you go.

The isometric view does restrict areas of the game sometimes and there’s no 3D option to rotate it as in modern top-down RPGs. But anything interesting is normally highlighted by the videogames A.I even if there might be a building restricting your view. There’s also a surprising amount of voice acting throughout the videogame which adds a realistic element to the gameplay. Specifically, Sarevok’s voice which sounds like Darth Vader’s medieval twin.

Verdict

Baldur’s Gate is restricted by its dated graphics and isometric view but its greatest hindrance is also its most enduring pleasure. It still has plenty of nostalgic charm and hours of unique gameplay. The A.I has been sharpened with fewer bugs and just enough mechanical and graphical enhancements for it to appeal to younger audiences. However, with so much competition from newer titles its more likely to be lovers of the original who’ll want to play the Enhanced Edition.

Created by: Beamdog

Distributed by: Skybound

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Originally published at http://www.oggieplays.com on January 6, 2020.