Baldur's Gate - Enhanced Edition: Review Roundup #3

Here are some more reviews for Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition, with 3 of them being reviews for the iPad.

Destructoid, 8.5

Baldur's Gate was, is, and always will be an RPG classic. The writing is full of wit, the characters and their interactions are exceptional, and the tried-and-true D&D gameplay is deceivingly complex. Sure, there are some minor issues like character AI/pathing, overly chatty and intrusive party members, and the occasional crash, but they fall short of detracting from the overall RPG euphoria.

NZgamer, 8

The revamped HUD works a treat, and the convenience factor of not having to install a huge number of mods is also a major plus. I recommend it, if you can play it, because Baldur’s Gate is a great game, because it’s more and more becoming “historically significant” in the RPG timeline, and because it’s not everyday you get to hear a peasant tell you, “wife’s been getting prickly on me arse” as you stroll through town.

ZTDG, 8.9

The game is nothing short of epic. If you wished, you could put over 50 hours in this game and still not have everything done. The Sword Coast expansion is in the package as well. The new characters fit well with, and while still the experience is a very challenging one, it can also be very rewarding. If you have played Baldur’s Gate before and want to experience it again with some new features, there is enough here to garner the $20 price tag. Players of modern RPGs should give this game a shot as well not only to experience a classic RPG, but to see just how well the mechanics stand the test of time. The game may not be perfect, and it may not be particularly easy, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a fantastic game that RPG fans of all shapes shouldn’t try.

CheatMasters, 9

Hearken back to the good old days when stories were told in unbridled brilliance and gameplay complemented it with gusto. Not to say that newer games aren’t good at all, but so much can be said about games like Baldur’s Gate, wherein the narrative and gameplay experience were taken to unprecedented heights during its time.

PocketTactics (iPad version), 5/5

I view Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition not just as a smashing success, but as an important proof of concept for the future of touch-based gaming. BG and the other old Infinity-engine games have long comprised a Platonic ideal for the entire RPG genre. That ideal has always presupposed the PC platform or something quite like it, but in the years to come we may witness a shift. If a game like this can play so well on the iPad, what else might?

The Koalition. 78%

Overhaul Games has taken a lot of time and put much effort into bringing Baldur’s Gate to the new generation and show that this legendary classic can still even to this day provide the player with a deep, complex, fun and exciting RPG experience. The game does not reinvent the original by any means, but the polished wonderful world of the Forgotten Realms, the epic storyline, and the thrilling gameplay more than makes up for the dated graphics. If you’re looking for a challenging classic RPG, pick up Baldur’s Gate Enhanced Edition and find out for yourself why it’s regarded as one of the greatest video games of all time.

Modojo (iPad version), 4/5

With a steep entry price of $9.99, this probably isn't the game for anyone unsure about whether an unashamedly hardcore, old-school RPG is the right fit for them. If, on the other hand, you played and loved Baldur's Gate back in the day then you already know what to do, and let's be honest you've probably already had your money's worth from the last weekend alone.

Digitally Downloaded (iPad version), 5/5

Overall though these minor interface quirks that do very little to hurt the appeal of one of the finest RPGs of all time. Just comparing this game to Bioware’s later games (Dragon Age and Mass Effect, for instance), is revealing. It shows us that Bioware has lost a great deal of its ability to build open worlds where exploration is more important than quest completion, and it shows us just how unimportant the mechanics are to an RPG game. As long as the game is filled with such memorable characters (such as Minsc and his miniature giant space hamster pet), and as long as the dialogue hits all the right notes from humour to serious drama, then you’re going to have a game that fans will clamour to repurchase decades later.