Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition

Baldur’s Gate II: Enhanced Edition is a remaster of the role-playing video game Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn and its expansion Baldur’s Gate II: Throne of Bhaal. The game was launched on Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. Baldur’s Gate II: Enhanced Edition features new content and widescreen compatibility. The remaster was developed by Overhaul Games, a division of Beamdog, and was published by Atari. The release includes remastered versions of the original Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn and its expansion under an enhanced version of the Infinity Engine, known as the Infinity Enhanced Engine. The game was released on November 15, 2013 on PC and on the App Store on January 16, 2014.

Gameplay

For all editions, the game follows 2nd Edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, licensed by Wizards of the Coast. The game features much of the same updated gameplay presented in Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition, with the same updated (including cross platform) multiplayer, which allows players from different platforms to play with each other. Major changes to this game’s presentation include its higher resolution and widescreen viewing modes to enhance gameplay. The iPad and Android versions present a radical departure from the original interface, with the multitouch screen allowing for gestures that can result in zooming in and out. This is to allow for larger text and more focus on enhanced detail. Tablet versions also allow for users to swipe between screens, eliminating the use for tabs. Ex-Bioware employee and creative director for the enhanced edition Trent Oster said: “When I describe playing a Baldur’s Gate combat scenario to someone, I use the analogy of a football playbook. … When you think about Baldur’s Gate in this light, the iPad makes so much sense. In fact, I think Baldur’s Gate is almost the perfect game for the touch interface—it was just released a decade early”.

Plot

Setting

Set in the Forgotten Realms continent of Faerûn, Baldur’s Gate II: Enhanced Edition takes place in the nations of Amn and Tethyr. As with the original Enhanced Edition, all locations from the original production are present as well as new locations. Depending on the characters recruited, up to thirty new locations can be accessed.

Characters

While the original characters of Baldur’s Gate II return once again, the Enhanced Edition brings back the new characters introduced in Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition - Neera the Wild Mage, Dorn Il-Khan the Blackguard, and Rasaad the Monk - who are once again recruitable, with two additional new characters, unique to Baldur’s Gate II: Enhanced Edition - Hexxat the Thief, and Wilson the Bear. Each, like before, have a personal character quest that sees the player travelling to new locations, both in Shadows of Amn and Throne of Bhaal; the latter involves the characters bringing a close to their personal stories. Much like the previous game, all of new characters from Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition are once again available as romance options.

Story

The general plot of the game remains relatively unchanged, aside from the sidequests added in due to new characters. The largest new plot feature comes in the form of The Black Pits 2: Gladiators of Thay, an optional and standalone story which acts as a sequel to a challenge mode present in the previous Enhanced Edition. The mode pits players in gladitorial combat against such creatures as Mind Flayers, Githyanki and Demi-Liches.

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