In recent news, Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 Enhanced Edition by Overhaul Games is going to come out this summer for the iPad as well as for PC. This is great news for anyone who owns the overpriced, overheating little bugger (if you haven't heard recently some issue came up where the new iPad 3? was shown to overheat to several degrees over anything seen before, mainly when playing games like Infinity Blade, that put that extra strain on the processor). There's some screenshots already of what the game is going to look like, and you'll be glad to hear that no part of that virtual joystick shenanigans will be involved in the user interface.
Overhaul Games
As far as the technicalities, the games are going to be available for all versions of the iPad. So if you liked the experience of playing Final Fantasy 1 and 2, FF Tactics, or Tekken on your iDevice, look forward to the summer release, for an epic RPG experience.
On a side note I believe that iDevices are an amazing medium to bring back some classic titles. Few people would sit down in front of a TV to play Battle Tanks on the NES these days, but throw that onto the App Store and people will pick it up instantly.
Planescape Torment is a classic RPG from 1999 by Black Isle. The game is based on the same Infinity Engine (by Bethesda) that is getting a big renewal right now for Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 (expected sometime this summer). Planescape Torment is a party-based RPG with a unique world set in the rules of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, although it has its own unique storyline and setting, which revolve around the various Planes that exist in constant motion around the city of Sigil.
Sigil itself is a place, loosely based on some Forgotten Realms lore, where people end up in a sort of limbo, between life and permanent death. You wake up on a stone slab in the mortuary, and soon find out that you have a very interesting past. Apparently you've been reborn various times, and you have some kind of problem with achieving that permanent death, and to top that you lose your memory each time you die, so the only clue to what happened to you in your previous lives is a set of tattoos on your back. Also people tend to refer to you as the Chosen One for some reason.
The game possesses all of the basic RPG elements of the era and some more, you have item slots for your gear, potions, and various objects in the game acts as keys to solving the quests. What makes the game special is the strangely unique world. Nothing works right in Sigil. The city is in constant motion and the decisions you make may even end up changing the architecture. As a result of completing some quests it's possible to end up with some NPCs never existing, with no-one having any recollection of them. Every arch-like structure in Sigil is also a portal to various places within the Planes, if you're carrying the correct object with you, or humming the right melody. Hence the people of Sigil are in constant terror of walking through an arc and ending up in a pit of fire, or in some other dimension full of demons.
The character has some very weird past, it seems every time you were reborn, you ended up as a different person. As you go through the game some people hate you and call you a monster, others remember you as a saviour. A constant theme in the quest to find who you really are/were is the question "What can change the nature of a man?"
Along the way you'll also meet several interesting companions - among them a floating skull, named Mort that's been following you for quite a while and is there with you from the very beginning.
What makes this RPG a cult classic, that's gathered a solid following throughout the years, is the incredible imagination of the developers. Every choice in the game is meaningful in some way, the characters are layered and fascinating each with their unique story. If you're into the Baldur's Gate series, or you enjoyed playing Fallout 1 and 2, this one is definitely for you.
Below is the official message on the Baldur's Gate web-site currently along with a 24 hours countdown, to what could possibly be the announcement of Baldur's Gate 3. As of now the web-site is off-line and you can thank reddit for that one. (screenshot of the cashed version is below)
"The Lord of Murder shall perish, but in his doom he shall spawn a score of mortal progeny, chaos will be sown by their passage."
So sayeth the wise Alaundo
Other speculations on the topic suggest that it could be a re-work of Baldur's Gate 2 with the gameplay and story left as they are, but with much improved graphics, using the Infinity engine. Either way the fans of the series should be sufficiently happy. A conversion to the Dungeons & Dragons fourth version rule set is also a possibility.
Below is what the HTML comments on the Baldur's Gate web-site read. I have to assume that Shadowy Figure - Raise Dead is the title of the project to be uncovered. So expect an announcement really really soon and the actual game, whatever it is by March the 14th. Check it out (http://baldursgate.com/) as soon as it becomes available once again.
<\!-- March 14, 2012 -->
<\!-- Shadowy Figure- Raise Dead : Infinity Engine -->
<\!-- It is coming. -->
Update:Here's what the actual Baldur's Gate web-site looks like now that I've finally managed to push through the insane ammount of traffic.
