Games

Looking at the more notable new game releases of the next month, it's surprising that four of the highest-profile are in fact remakes or re-releases of older games in new formats. First up (tomorrow!) is Black Mesa , the free remake of the original Half-Life using the Source Engine. More than six years in the making, the game is looking very impressive indeed. Anyone with Steam installed on their PC will be able to download and play it tomorrow. That's followed by the release of Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition on 18 September. This is an upgraded and updated version of the original game, with significant UI improvements, compatibility with tablets and Macs, and some new content (in the shape of three new NPC companions and a major new dungeon). Baldur's Gate II will follow next year. Both games include the original expansions. Then, on 28 September, we get Carrier Command: Gaea Mission . From the makers of the ARMA franchise, this is a remake and recreation of the cl...

Beamdog have announced that Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition will be released on PC, iPad and Mac on 18 September this year, with an Android version to follow a few weeks or months later. They have also given more details about what the remake will consist of. As well as being made compatible with modern operating systems and graphics resolutions, the game's user interface has been updated, with many of the improvements from Baldur's Gate II ported back to the original game. The cut scenes have been re-rendered and new cut scenes added. There are three new recruitable characters: a Calishite monk, a half-elf wild mage and an half-orc blackguard. There's also a whole new quest, in which you create six new characters and take on a formidable challenge extending across multiple levels of a dungeon. The game features the original music and voices, but also some new music and voice work. The game's expansion, Tales of the Sword Coast , has also been integrated into th...

IGN have an update on the status of Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition . The new version of the classic RPG will have some new quests and a new NPC party member (based on the original game, these will be totally optional and can be ignored if you wish). Beamdog/Overhaul have also confirmed that the game will ship on iPad as well as PC. "Go for the iPad, Boo, the iPad!" [/obvious] Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition (collecting the original game and the Tales of the Sword Coast expansion into one title with updated graphics from the latest version of the Infinity Engine) will be released this summer.

The first information about the rebirth of the Baldur's Gate franchise has been released . As anticipated, the project is an ' Enhanced Edition ' of the existing BioWare games ( Baldur's Gate , Tales of the Sword Coast , Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn and Throne of Bhaal ) which will launch later in the summer. The first release will be Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition , which will include the original game and its expansion with enhanced and improved artwork, native high-resolution support and reworked music and voice-overs. There will also be some 'new content' provided by the original writers and creators of the game. Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition , which will include the Throne of Bhaal expansion, will be released at a later date. This is generous, since whilst Tales of the Sword Coast was a fairly minor expansion to the original game (with a couple of dungeons and a few new monsters and magic items), Throne of Bhaal was massive in size,...

An enigmatic website indicates that the veteren Baldur's Gate fantasy RPG series is set to make a comeback. Some digging by EuroGamer confirms that a new development company, Beamdog, is working on the project. What 'the project' might be remains unclear, with level-headed fans suggesting it may just be a high-definition re-release of the existing games to work better with modern-day computers rather than a full sequel (which, given the definitive way the original series ended, would be redundant anyway). More information is expected soon. The original Baldur's Gate series was developed by BioWare and Black Isle (now Obsidian) and comprises Baldur's Gate (1998) and Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn (2000), along with their respective expansions, Tales of the Sword Coast (1999) and Throne of Bhaal (2001). Set in the Forgotten Realms and using the D&D 2nd Edition rules, the games chart the player character's rise from an anonymous orphan to a hero (or v...