Review GameBanshee Reviews Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition

[Infinitron]

Tags: Baldur's Gate; Beamdog; Eric Schwarz

As you've probably heard by now, Overhaul Games' Baldur's Gate: Blurry Enhanced Edition was released a few days ago. Eric Schwarz, known on the Codex as "sea", has written a comprehensive review of it for Gamebanshee. His conclusion:

Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition could have been great, a tribute to a classic RPG and a promise of things to come for the franchise and for party-based RPGs in general. Its creators clearly had their hearts in the right place in trying to update Baldur's Gate for a newer generation, that's hard to deny. It's also hard to argue with new characters, quests, areas to explore, and a new adventure, all of which are, for the most part, competently done, if ultimately non-essential. ​

However, the lack of real advancement in terms of interface and controls, as well as the crippling number of glitches, simply makes it impossible to recommend this new version of Baldur's Gate over the original. The sad and ironic thing is that this version of the game, which boasts hundreds of bug fixes (mostly taken from the years-old work of modders), better performance and new features, ultimately looks like it will require multiple patches and mods to even reach parity with modded-up original version. Unless you are desperate for the new content, I cannot in good conscience recommend Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition, considering the original is still available, has hundreds of mods and bug fix packs, costs $10 USD less, and is just as great as it's ever been.​

If you ask me, he was too lenient about the game's new intro:

​

FFS!

 

[Metro]

It was just a gimmick to draw more traffic to Beamdog.

 

[A user named cat]

LOLL that intro. Thought I was watching a video on NewGrounds for a second there.

I don't think even Bethesda could've done a worse job with an enhanced edition.

 

[ironyuri]

There's a word for this: abomination.

 

[RedScum]

So, they have to approve my comment on the youtube video? Insecure much?

 

[Clockwork Knight]

I...don't see what's so bad about the intro. It's pretty much the same. It's unnecessary, I guess?

 

[Infinitron]

Well, the video does have a nice ratio of dislikes at least.

Also check out this guy http://gamebanshee.com/reviews/110209-baldurs-gate-enhanced-edition-review.html#comment-724960368

I have to disagree with the conclusion of Mr. Schwarz's article. I would have paid $40.00 for the game for one reason only. I love this type of game. Of course I would like it to be perfect, but I will put up with what it is, simply to bring back this type of game. I can not name a single game that I have enjoyed more than this one. I have wasted $50 or more on games that I ended up only playing 20 or 30 hours before I decided I had thrown my money away. Dragon Age II comes to mind for example.

I want the party D&D game back. I am willing to support BGEE and it's sequel to get to BG3. I want companies out there to notice there is a market here, a demand for this type of product. If Overhaul can't meet it, then someone else will.

Would I like some changes, absolutely. I would like them to switch to D&D 3E or Pathfinder for example as the rule base. But I can live with AD&D 2nd Edition. I like the picking and choosing of the "Perfect Party". I like the character interaction. I love this style of game.

Baldur's Gate has been the game every RPG has been compared to for over a decade, but nobody even tried to do a new Baldur's Gate game in that time.

I would like to point out one more thing. What is important to me is the story. I would be willing to purchase different stories using the same game engine, same spells and same interface. To me BG was a character and story driven game. The interface was just a tool to tell that story and experience it.

How many of you playing the game had a surge of joy when you brought Minsc into your party? I couldn't wait for my first fight after recruiting him. "GO FOR THE EYES BOO!"

:declining:

It's pretty much the same.

Refresh your memory.

 

[wormix]

Everyone should make sure to watch the original video after seeing the new one lest the horror of it is eternally etched into your memory.

 

[Moribund]

The way you guys feel about the new one is how I always felt about the old one. Old one is slightly less bad but it's also longer in its badness. Cinematics like this make it hard for me to even play games.

 

[Infinitron]

The original intro was brilliant in a lot of ways. Notice how Sarevok and his young victim are dressed similarly, both fully armored with face-concealing horned helmets - albeit the victim's armor is much wimpier (striped horns lol). That hints that the victim is somebody who could have evolved to become much like Sarevok, had he not been slain prematurely - ie, he was another Bhaalspawn. That, combined with the Nietzche quote and the young man's attempt to save himself by selling out "others", makes the entire scene seem morally ambiguous. It makes you wonder just what sins he may have committed to have found himself in this unfortunate situation. What abyss did he gaze into?

 

[felipepepe]

It's a really cheap intro, it uses around 12 simple art assets animated in After Effects... should take from 2-4 days do make, depending on how much Trent bitches about "making it perfect"... is way shorter than the original and don't show how despaired the other guy is, or how fearsome Sarevok is (the original had some nice audio effects that were removed)...

Also, they removed the Nietzsche quote; and that "Overhaul Games" logo DOES NOT BELONG THERE!

 

[Metro]

Well, despite all that subtext the original simply looks better, too.

 

[Clockwork Knight]

Refresh your memory.

I watched the original after that one, it's linked in the related videos. Apart from being a little shorter and the change in art style, I don't see much difference.

 

[Wizfall]

The original intro has not aged well technically but still convey a very nice dark mood.
I don't get the interest of the new intro : it's not better technically IMHO and didn't convey a pleasant atmosphere at all.
What a waste.

 

[Infinitron]

"Apart from being shittier, I don't see much difference"

 

[Clockwork Knight]

If you say so

edit: like I said, I think it's unnecessary. But the atmosphere isn't RUNIED FOREVER by having Sarevok giggle for five seconds instead of ten.

 

[Konjad]

I hope it fails terribly to sell.

 

[Kahlis]

The original may look dated, but at least it has some atmosphere and feels genuinely sinister. And of course they cut the line about the guy alluding to the other Bhaalspawn. Still, at least the stiff, robotic animation of Sarevok in the original kind of helps to make him feel more menacing, and what about the details like him smashing the door and shoving the guy through the iron railings on the rooftop as he holds him dangling over the edge? As cliche as it is, it definitely made the original feel more powerful. At least it's something. If somebody hasn't played the original before, all they're going to get out of the remade intro is "I'm evil muahaha lol *throw*" And the way the logo eased in at the end just made me laugh.

I can't wait to see what they do with the BG2 intro, where they already have pre-existing 2D illustrations to compete with.

 

[Taluntain]

Have to agree with this review unfortunately, nothing much to add. The amount of bugs I've encountered has really put me off and if they were happy to release the game in this state, well... we'll see if all of it will ever get fixed. Personally, I'm going to put off replaying the game after a decade until/if all the EE bugs get fixed because the last thing I want is to spoil my fond memories by encountering any more bugs that didn't exist in the original.

 

[Moribund]

The original intro was brilliant in a lot of ways. Notice how Sarevok and his young victim are dressed similarly, both fully armored with face-concealing horned helmets - albeit the victim's armor is much wimpier (striped horns lol). That hints that the victim is somebody who could have evolved to become much like Sarevok, had he not been slain prematurely - ie, he was another Bhaalspawn. That, combined with the Nietzche quote and the young man's attempt to save himself by selling out "others", makes the entire scene seem morally ambiguous. It makes you wonder just what sins he may have committed to have found himself in this unfortunate situation. What abyss did he gaze into?

Nah, it was always shit at its core.

It's like saying madonna is so much better than lady gaga. Madonna is just a better singer, everything she sings is still shit.

 

[sea]

The original intro was brilliant in a lot of ways. Notice how Sarevok and his young victim are dressed similarly, both fully armored with face-concealing horned helmets - albeit the victim's armor is much wimpier (striped horns lol). That hints that the victim is somebody who could have evolved to become much like Sarevok, had he not been slain prematurely - ie, he was another Bhaalspawn. That, combined with the Nietzche quote and the young man's attempt to save himself by selling out "others", makes the entire scene seem morally ambiguous. It makes you wonder just what sins he may have committed to have found himself in this unfortunate situation. What abyss did he gaze into?

Too bad all that subtext and stuff the game hints at (Nietzsche quotes, etc.) doesn't really come across well at all in the game. The intro is a bit generic but kickstarts a mystery... then it's 50 hours of walking through forests and mines killing kobolds before you even see the name Sarevok. The game wouldn't even have a story to follow if it wasn't for the narrated dream sequences.

It's like somebody thought "hey, let's make a sweet intro!" and then ever followed up on it. It's not there for any story reason, it's just to be cool-looking.

 

[Infinitron]

The original intro was brilliant in a lot of ways. Notice how Sarevok and his young victim are dressed similarly, both fully armored with face-concealing horned helmets - albeit the victim's armor is much wimpier (striped horns lol). That hints that the victim is somebody who could have evolved to become much like Sarevok, had he not been slain prematurely - ie, he was another Bhaalspawn. That, combined with the Nietzche quote and the young man's attempt to save himself by selling out "others", makes the entire scene seem morally ambiguous. It makes you wonder just what sins he may have committed to have found himself in this unfortunate situation. What abyss did he gaze into?

Too bad all that subtext and stuff the game hints at (Nietzsche quotes, etc.) doesn't really come across well at all in the game. The intro is a bit generic but kickstarts a mystery... then it's 50 hours of walking through forests and mines killing kobolds before you even see the name Sarevok. The game wouldn't even have a story to follow if it wasn't for the narrated dream sequences.

It's like somebody thought "hey, let's make a sweet intro!" and then ever followed up on it. It's not there for any story reason, it's just to be cool-looking.

True enough. Though I must say that I'm not entirely opposed to intros that don't appear to make much sense until you see them again in retrospect, like in Deus Ex.

 

[Clockwork Knight]

If somebody hasn't played the original before, all they're going to get out of the remade intro is "I'm evil muahaha lol *throw*)

But...that's exactly what you get that from the original. The ~30 extra seconds of the original are just used to show the guy panicking, being socked in the face and being shoved through the railing. How does that show more than "I'm evil muahaha lol *throw*?

what about the details like him smashing the door

That's on the new intro as well...unless the dead guy had an habit of opening doors by throwing himself at them really hard.

And of course they cut the line about the guy alluding to the other Bhaalspawn

The guy mentions "there are others", which Sarevok (and the player) already knows given his boast about how he'll be "the last" and the guy will "go first".

 

[felipepepe]

CK, the world is black & white. Either you're with us, or with decline. Choose wisely.

 

[Harg Harfardarssen]

The new intro definitely looks cheaply animated, but CG cinematics don't age well at all, so they both kind of look like shit. The only distinct advantage I see the original having visually is the blood flowing onto the logo, but maybe that's balanced out by how terrible that horned helmet is.

I don't think losing the Nietzsche quote was a bad idea. Since the original came out, I've seen that particular maxim quoted so many times that, by now, it's almost a cliche.

 

[Ion Prothon II]

The new intro definitely looks cheaply animated, but CG cinematics don't age well at all, so they both kind of look like shit. The only distinct advantage I see the original having visually is the blood flowing onto the logo, but maybe that's balanced out by how terrible that horned helmet is.

I don't think losing the Nietzsche quote was a bad idea. Since the original came out, I've seen that particular maxim quoted so many times that, by now, it's almost a cliche.

:antibrofist: