Overhaul Games has succeeded in making one of the big RPG classics available on modern machines. The infinity engine looks great in HD and all the esthetics are well preserved. The new stuff is okay, but most importantly Baldur's Gate can now be fully enjoyed again, as it deserves.
Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition is obviously a great game that every gamer must play. It is a pity though that the whole "Enhanced" title falls sort since most of the additions and improvements exist as free mods.
Should you buy Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition if you own it on GOG? Probably not. A few optional characters, a Horde mode, and a few built-in modifications do not a Really Special Edition make. You should absolutely play Baldur's Gate if you don't mind isometric RPGs that give you a real challenge, since the writing is still amazing and both the world and combat system are still really deep and engrossing.
Baldur's Gate is one of the best PC games ever, but this version is too oriented to tablets. Despite the fact that it's always been a masterpiece in RPGs, you should consider the idea of playing the original one.
The unfortunately named Enhanced Edition fails to make a compelling case for its existence in any meaningful way, especially when you consider its asking price of twenty bucks can net you both the original Baldur's Gate and the far-superior sequel from a site like GOG, and downloading a few free mods that make them really shine takes mere minutes of your time. I would highly recommend that course of action instead.
This game offers an interesting story and a good degree of freedom to go where you want to go and do what you want to do. Your decisions sometimes have lasting consequences, so choose carefully! In my opinion, there is too much mandatory combat, and I would have preferred a turn-based combat system over the implemented real-time system that essentially mandates frequent pausing. You will need to become familiar with AD&D 2nd Edition rules to play (see the very lengthy included manuals for that).
Baldur's Gate is a good game, enhanced or not, but it didn't age too well. Almost every aspect of it was improved in later Bioware|Obsidian games: rpg system, dialogues, companion interactions, ui, journal, path finding and ofc. graphics.
One of the most beloved PC RPGs returns, but all is not nostalgically rosy, and it's not because of any lessening of the quality of the content through modern eyes, but rather the lack of value this version of the game represents.
All the game does is take the (free) Tutu engine modification, slap it on, add a couple of new characters and quests, and triple the price of the game. They also managed to introduce a load of new bugs into the game that community patches had mostly fixed with the old versions. Of course, those community patches now don't work properly with this version, so it's technically inferior as well.
Here in the UK, this game costs £14.99 on Steam. Alternatively, you can buy the entire Baldur's Gate series from **** collectively for £13.26 ($19.98), and apply the free Tutu mod (or BG Trilogy mod if you prefer, which does a similar thing) to get about three times the content for a lower cost. Do that instead of buying this.
If you're a huge fan of the original or if you don't want to bother with modding the original game, you might be interested in this title, though at 20$ it remains pretty expensive for what it has to offer. I was expecting more than what the mods already made available since the release of this 1998 classic. 3 npcs and The Black Pits, are nice additions, but ultimately, the game remains the same. You won't notice most of the enhancements made except for the zoom function, which wasn't needed in the first place, since the outdated graphics weren't improved and zooming out isn't required much. I can't give this game more than a 4/10, sadly, for it's a useless release and simply a way for the team behind it to make some money. Hopefully they have, and will release something signifantly better for BG2.
SummaryBaldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition includes the entire Baldur's Gate adventure, the Tales of the Sword Coast expansion pack, and some never before seen content as well.