Overhaul Games has announced that Baldur’s Gate Enhanced Edition’s ship date has moved from September to November 2012 (including the Mac version). It’s a modern cross-platform remake of the original Baldur’s Gate (1998) and its Tales of the Sword Coast (1999) expansion pack, and will be available for $19.99 US through Apple’s Mac App Store.
It’s high on my list of most anticipated OS X games for the year – I loved the original Baldur’s Gate and Baldur’s Gate II games, and while BioWare has strayed very far from those days, Overhaul Games appears to be trying hard to capture the spirit of those original D&D computer roleplaying games as well as bring them up to the modern era. I hate that they made this announcement so close to the original ship date, but better to release a solid game from the start.
Calling it a remake, while accurate, doesn’t give you the whole story – downloadable content (DLC) will be added to the game, and you will be able to mod the game heavily. It features much higher resolution artwork than the original game, and supports widescreen displays. On mobile devices, it supports multi-touch. It also supports some of the improvements made in Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn, that were based on feedback from the original Baldur’s Gate game. This includes some of the classes and races that weren’t present in the original Baldur’s Gate.
You can read about some of the Mac OS X information here on the Baldur’s Gate Enhanced Edition website.
From what I’ve read, it is going to use the 2nd Edition Dungeons and Dragons ruleset.
You can view the thread or read the following comment from Trent Osten, President of Overhaul Games:
Dear Friends of Baldur’s Gate,
When we first announced Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition, you set fire to our servers and we were overwhelmed by the huge wave of support from the fans of the original game.
Once the fires had subsided, thousands of you posted suggestions and requests on our forums. Dozens of volunteers from all over the world helped us improve game play, squash bugs, and generally fine-tune the game. Even more came to help work on translations from English to more than 16 other languages.
Executing on our plan to make the best Baldur’s Gate possible and responding to that overwhelming feedback, we’ve added new characters, areas, and story, creating many new hours of game play. Yet the suggestions, fixes, and translations continue, and more volunteers keep joining.
After recently reviewing the game and then consulting with our partners, we’ve decided to ensure that Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition is the best possible product on launch. Thus, we have pushed back the release date of the game. Our plan is to release in November, 2012.
To all who have pre-ordered, we ask for your patience as we move toward our final release date — and we will be working on something a little extra for you. To all who have volunteered, we thank you for your dedication and support.
As for the cross-platform play, Mac OS X, iOS, Microsoft Windows, and Android are to be released, with the Windows, OS X, and iOS versions in November, and the Android version afterward. The game features multi-player gameplay, and you will be able to play against players on other platforms, as well as work with the matchmaking functions built-in to it.