What you need to know A remake of the popular 1990s role-playing game Baldur's Gate has been released as Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition. The new game, the first from the franchise in nine years, has been released for Microsoft Windows and iPad, with Mac OS X and Android versions to follow. Like the original, the enhanced edition takes place in the fantasy setting of the Forgotten Realms and uses a modified version of the rules from the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons game. Players can become characters including a monk, an elf magician and an orc, who explore the countryside around Baldur's Gate (a large and prosperous city). The enhanced edition includes new side-quests and campaigns, while the iPad edition offers improved viewing features and touch-screen functions. What the critics like If you're looking for old-school adventure, this "serves up a veritable banquet", says Daniel Tack in Forbes. It's "light on story, heavy on combat" and offers "back-to-back battles with some of the nastiest creatures around". Perfect for players looking for "that old RPG feel" without all the wizard conversations. Baldur's Gate was - and still is - a "beautiful, enormous, ambitious and seminal RPG that remains without equal", says Paul Dean on Eurogamer. The enhanced edition offers improved resolution and graphics, and the new Black Pits side-quest is a well-written adventure in its own right. The good news is that this complex game "works surprisingly well on a tablet's touchscreen", says John Bedford at Business Insider. The clever iPad edition brings a host of new refinements to "one of RPG gaming's finest moments". What they don't like At times this "enhanced" business feels like a load of hogwash, says Leif Johnson on IGN. Higher resolution and updated animations improve the visual experience to a degree, but "the project still looks its age". Source: The Week UK
