Baldur's Gate Coming to iPad? Yes, Please

When everyone else was playing Baldur’s Gate on PC, I was still catching up on games like Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy III (VI). It’s fantastic to see Overhaul Games bringing back Baldur’s Gate for its legion of PC fans and, for folks like myself, also to iPad.

Overhaul Games, founded by a bunch of ex-BioWare employees, is working on Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition. This version of the game reportedly sports an “improved” Infinity Engine, the Tales of the Sword Coast expansion pack, a brand-new character and a new “adventure.”

Though details on the iPad version are scarce, the screen shots available so far look awfully nice--it seems like a perfect fit.

It’s not just the original game that’s getting an update, either. Overhaul Games is also working on a Baldur’s Gate II: Enhanced Edition, and has already dropped hints about ambitons towards a Baldur’s Gate III, possibly funded through Kickstarter, depending on reaction to these releases.

The iPad version, and presumably the PC version, as well, is scheduled for sometime this summer.

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Looks great

I hope it's alright on iPad 2 as text is the only thing that bothers me sometimes..

awesome! all i need now is a ipad :(

Looks just like good ol' Baldur's Gate. I'm cool with that.

I'm instantly sold. If they manage to create a touch-friendly UI, this will be absolutely amazing.

I would actually buy that.

I want to touch Aerie. Crap, this is just Baldur's Gate 1? Okay, I want to touch... Khalid?

No... this is an illusion. A dream. A bad dream!

Sounds good.

That actually looks pretty nice, and while I've never actually played this game, the screenshots make it look like it's a perfect fit for a touch screen.

Meanwhile, I was kind of hoping this was going to be confirmed on the PC. If I ever dig through my current plethora of RPG's, I'd like to at some point play this one.

What's the bet it's new iPad only?

All Baldur's Gate really needs in 2012 are better sprites, better animations, and magical weapons that actually look unique :P

EDIT: And a much higher resolution and a wider camera.

Color me stoked.

Well, might need to get me an iPad now. BG on the go sounds a little too sweet.

Called it.

Ok, that would be great. Please support iPad 2

I might be totally into this. Getting my iPad tomorrow (hopefully).

YES!!!!!!!!!!! Will definitely be picking these up in the hope that we'll see Icewind Dale III sometime down the road.

Sure why not, that would cool. I would be fine playing it on the iPad

Fuck! Now I have to buy an ipad.

I've been begging for this since I got my iPad. THANK THE HEAVENS ITS COMING.

PS: Neverwinter Nights 2 is only $0.99 on the Mac App store, if that's your thing.

The good people behind GemRB have already gotten Baldur's Gate working on the iPad (and any other Infinity Engine games). Needs a jailbreak but it's free, incredibly easy and works with the cheap versions GOG and Gamersgate are selling

Never played Baldur's Gate games. This would be perfect opportunity for me to jump in.

Despite how different they were from the PC classics, and despite the downright terrible platforming sections, I kinda liked the Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance games by Snowblind Studios, I wouldn't say no to PC releases or some kind of HD Collection thing of those, as the original PC Baldur's Gate games already hold up quite well, and I already own several copies of them.

I would play the shit out of this

The more I think about at iPad version, the more sense it makes. What could you not do on a iPad that you could do on the pc (within the game)? Aside from mapping a few different swipes to different things, I can't think of anything that can't be done with a few fingers.

I'm glad that this is for both PC and iPad, or I would seriously consider getting an iPad for this. Baldur's Gate is the epitome of gaming for me.

For those going in new, BG1 might be a bit of a hard wall to scale for people not used to this kind of gaming. It's very much a "drop you in this world and let you swim forever" kind of game, but BG2 (which is also in the works) is right up there in the style of Kotor and ME, except much better.

Hopefully they drop some more tutorial stuff into these enhanced editions. Probably the only "fault" against them is how very beastly difficult it is to understand all the mechanics. They're "flight sim" complicated, or even more so.

Edit: And if you're angry at modern Bioware and EA like I am, they have nothing to do with this, so no worries.

Only interested if its got a touch optimized interface

Absolutely badass, cannot wait.

Oooh, interested to see how this turns out.

It's probably more playable on the iPad. I kind of hope they target iPad 3 instead of limiting it to the resources of older versions.

It will be interesting to see whether any of the popular fan mods are included.

Nice, it was just time to figure this out... Planetscape Torment next please!

Yes!

Planescape: Torment next please!

First of all, I wouldn't really want a new Baldur's Gate from people needing Kickstarter funding to fund it. I seriously doubt they could get the investment needed for such a big project through Kickstarter (what Double Fine got isn't nearly enough).

As for this news, well, the visuals sure doesn't look very improved on those screenshots. I've played both games to death, so I'd need new content to make it interesting. But with mods, you can already get a ton of extra (pretty good) content on the PC, so I don't see the appeal of a updated version there unless they seriously up the quality of the visuals.

As for the GemRB version on the iPad, the controls on that is pretty bad imo. If they can make a UI better suited for a handheld, it would already be miles better than that version.

I was planning to do a "Summer of Bioware" thing and play through all of their games (not including expansions) over the summer and do some write ups. This will make it more interesting.

I'm am even more pleased that I bought an ipad. 
 
Now just get Fallout 1 + 2 working on it and I will be over the moon

YOU MUST GATHER YOUR PARTY BEFORE VENTURING FORTH

They should definitely do an Icewind Dale I + II enhanced edition before they go after taking on BG3.

Those games were a lot more fun combat-wise - specifically ID2 - whereas Baldur's had the great story.

yay pc.

the ipad is cool for people who like that sort of thing I guess.

@lclay said:

I'm am even more pleased that I bought an ipad. Now just get Fallout 1 + 2 working on it and I will be over the moon

This, just for android tablets in my case! Please?

If it works well, things like this make an IPad more tempting.

@AMyggen said:

First of all, I wouldn't really want a new Baldur's Gate from people needing Kickstarter funding to fund it. I seriously doubt they could get the investment needed for such a big project through Kickstarter (what Double Fine got isn't nearly enough).

Would you pay 60 dollars for a new Baldur's Gate game? Do you think a million other people would? That's 60 million dollars, which is as much (or more) as any major multiplatform game costs before marketing.

Consumer money going directly to production rather than getting sliced and taxed by shareholders is the best possible way to make games.

soooooooooooo happy about this!!!!

Not sure how I feel about this, must be extremely slow to play with your fingers, unless they make a new interface.

Baldur's Gate is a great game, albeit somewhat unfriendly in the beginning. If they don't soften it up at the start, I can't imagine Patrick ever getting anywhere with it. In current RPG design, where you are either dropped in a relatively safe area of a larger overarching world or funneled down a linear path, getting wrecked in a few hits because you are level 1 and have exactly 10 HP will not appeal to people who like more gentle game design.

With the exception of Neverwinter Nights, I never had the patience of finishing an AD&D-based game. Even though I enjoyed them immensely, the combat always felt so slow and you'd always have to rest to recharge your spells. Like, in BG2, it probably took me an in-game week to get out of the first dungeon. Plus, these games were so gigantic that I'd lose myself in sidequests until I lost track of everything. Too bad, because those game worlds were fascinating, especially Planescape.

I wish they'd remake Planescape Torment, but remove all the combat and just make it a sort of adventure game since the dialogue is what I really came to these games for.

I'll say the same thing I said when I bought my Atari 2600: OMG I will never be bored again!!!

edit: And OMG Boo is on my iPad!

I'd take an Android version. It's amazing how much my rooted Nook Tablet is taking over most of my computing needs. Except gaming of course, which brings us back to the Android version.

I don't own an iPad, but if I did I still think I would rather play this game on the PC. I mean, i get the idea of "portability" (special quotes for the iPad there), but I don't see Baldur's Gate as being very good for gaming on the go.

That's... great. I guess. It could be a pretty good platform for the game, depending on controls.