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Atari to revisit Baldur's, Test Drive News

PC PSP DS Xbox 360 PlayStation 3 Wii
News by Tom Bramwell

2 December, 2008

Atari plans to revisit the likes of Baldur's Gate, Dungeons & Dragons, Neverwinter Nights and Test Drive Unlimited, but not in the next 12 months.

"You will hear more from these but not today, because we're focused on 2009," Infogrames president Phil Harrison told hacks assembled at a press event this afternoon.

Atari last month published the Storm of the Zehir NWN expansion in Europe, but it's been a while since the other three showed their heads.

Big Phil's press conference also included an early-09 pledge for retail versions of Sam & Max: Season Two on PC and Wii, while Ready 2 Rumble: Revolution for Wii, by AKI Corp, will be released in March.

The press conference is ongoing. We'll let you know more as it develops.

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Comments: 1-46 of 46 in total

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Dizzy
02/12/08 @ 15:21
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So they have the license for 4th Edition DnD I presume... they must still have some money ;)
Xerx3s
02/12/08 @ 15:22
#2
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NO! Leave our good memories alone! You already raped AitD, isn't that enough?
PearOfAnguish
02/12/08 @ 15:26
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Give Baldur's Gate to Bethesda so we can have Baldur's Gate 3 in 3D.
Pinewood_Groves
02/12/08 @ 15:27
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I'm glad they're putting Baldur's Gate on hold to make way for more important franchises, like the Wii Ready 2 Rumble game.
Edited 1 times, most recently on 02/12/08 @ 15:28
Kazzahdrane
02/12/08 @ 15:28
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By the time they bring back Baldur's Gate we'll probably have Dragon Age...
dpb135
02/12/08 @ 15:29
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Another test drive.....excellent
Hunam
02/12/08 @ 15:32
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Sure it's nice to have the D&D licence but unless they have bought the BG rights from Interplay they won't get too far with that one.
spudsbuckley
02/12/08 @ 15:48
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Just make BG3 with the Infinity engine.

It'll be better than 90% of the dross currently being churned out by devs.
superjag86
02/12/08 @ 15:50
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careful atari, look what's happening to midway...
Darkedge
02/12/08 @ 15:59
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More TDU - YES PLEASE :)
OnlyMe
02/12/08 @ 16:02
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I'd be more than happy to play another great old-school hack'n'slash like Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance.
Lin
02/12/08 @ 16:42
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speaker of storm of zehit, when's the review coming? it's been out like a fortnight now.
hiddenranbir
02/12/08 @ 16:47
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"Give Baldur's Gate to Bethesda....."

God no. BG was all about strong single player narrative. Bethesda can't do that.
Der_tolle_Emil
02/12/08 @ 17:02
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Test Drive Unlimited did have its fair share of flaws but it was still an incredible game. I had so much fun with it, a completely unique experience. Probably the first in the series that really earns the name Test Drive - I've spent countless hours just driving around in new cars around the island just for fun.
jonsaan
02/12/08 @ 17:31
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Ready to RUMBLE!!!!!

\parties

For the WII!!???

\cries
PearOfAnguish
02/12/08 @ 17:32
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""Give Baldur's Gate to Bethesda....."

God no. BG was all about strong single player narrative. Bethesda can't do that. "

I hardly think the narrative is important. Its graphics need updating, it would work really well in a 3D engine, and hopefully it can have multiplayer too. Maybe some kind of deathmatch arena mode.
Khab
02/12/08 @ 18:13
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o_O
stonedben
02/12/08 @ 18:18
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PearOfAnguish is so wrong that my SOUL hurts.
bad09
02/12/08 @ 18:36
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"Ready to RUMBLE!!!!!

\parties

For the WII!!???

\cries "

Yeah I can't believe that either, imagine what they could do on 360/PS3 :(
ChthonicEcho
02/12/08 @ 18:48
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PearOfAnguish is either a troll, a Bethesda fanboy or joking. Hopefully, it's the third option. Baldur's Gate, in Bethesda's hands, would simply become Oblivion with guns. No, wait. Just another Oblivion, my bad.
smelly
02/12/08 @ 18:50
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""Give Baldur's Gate to Bethesda.....


Nooooooooooo... Bethesda is all about pretty visuals, boring gameplay and to hell with frame rates...

(basically all the boring stuff the "hardcore" love)
Nevyn
02/12/08 @ 19:00
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"I hardly think the narrative is important. Its graphics need updating, it would work really well in a 3D engine, and hopefully it can have multiplayer too. Maybe some kind of deathmatch arena mode."

Great ideas, hopefully we can also get what BG has always been missing - waggle controls and QTEs.
Orange
02/12/08 @ 19:02
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Bethesda make soulless rpgs. A terrible crime.
Kalain
02/12/08 @ 19:28
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Something tells me that PearOfAnguish doesn't actually know what the original Baldurs Gate was about, instead they probably saw the, in comparison, console version. (which, in my book, was god awful)
smelly
02/12/08 @ 19:29
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Having had the misfortune to buy into the hype and try fallout 3.. i tend to agree..

i dont even think it looks THAT nice (not in the "wow that's bloody brilliant" way i got when i first saw oblivion)
GamesConnoisseur
02/12/08 @ 19:40
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Baldur's Gate 3 for DS in 2D with beautiful artwork, or heck even in XBL or PSN would be stonking great! 3D of Baldur's Gate is NWN which is never the same. You cannot capture the essence of the background art in texture mapping over 3D objects in the same way!!
Katsumoto
02/12/08 @ 19:59
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He was obviously taking the piss! Get a grip people.




You were, right POA? ;)
MuTaunt
02/12/08 @ 20:57
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Unless they get Bioware and Obsidian to work on a new Baldur's Gate I'd imagine it's going to be rubbish. They're probably just going to make a new hack'n'slash game in the style of the console versions of BG - which will be nowhere near as good as the original PC versions.
Edited 1 times, most recently on 02/12/08 @ 20:58
qoobah
02/12/08 @ 23:20
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lols, BG to Bethesda, that made my day.

As others said, Bethesda makes well looking, horribly boring games with little to no narrative. A big huge at least in my books.

Another thing is, can Atari live up to BG's legend? Well, probably not given all the expectations people (myself included) are going to have about that one, but how close can they come anyway?
Edited 1 times, most recently on 02/12/08 @ 23:21
Xensor
03/12/08 @ 00:20
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My fav memories of BG2:

Destroying Lichs in the first round.
Owning your own estate.
The battle against Demogogue.
Making Viconia fall in love with you :)
Nill
03/12/08 @ 08:30
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I must say it's more than pleasing to see all the comments on Bethesda on here. I was starting to think there was almost no one left with any taste and demand for depth - what with all the tens, NMA-bashing and what have you flying around.

Personally I think Bethesda hit their all-time low with Fallout 3. I'm a bit too tired to think of anything half-clever to say at the moment, but I very much agree that Bethesda does empty, depthless, soulless, narrative and atmospherically highly lacking games. Looking back at games such as Planescape: Torment and its likes, it's embarrassing how far behind they are, this much farther in time. Hell, if I'd really want a proper, highly immersive RPG-experience, I'd probably do better to boot up any of the old classics I never got around to back then, than playing many of the newer titles around.

I'm still hoping for Dragon Age to be good, although sadly, it does look a bit generic. Hopefully Bioware has something up their sleeve, as we all know they are still ace.
mingster
03/12/08 @ 08:44
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Baldurs gate is still excellent if you revisit it.
The combat is very tactical way more than oblivion or fallout.
I don't care if its 3D just make the combat the same as the original Baldor with ability to pause.
infoxicated
03/12/08 @ 08:53
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More Test Drive would be welcome - I loved TDU, although it got far too easy later on.

A Baldur's Gate like the first PS2 one would be great, too - the co-op play was brilliant fun and probably the most time me and my girlfriend have spent playing any game together outside of TimeSplitters 2.
Aysir
03/12/08 @ 09:01
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The problem with all new RPG's is that they never offer proper party management and control. Like NWN and every RPG post, party control is always done through crappy AI. FFXII's gambit/macro system was probably the closest to a new age party control system - but that had it's flaws as well. I don't want to control a single character - I want to manage a company of heroes :)
coomber
03/12/08 @ 09:07
#35
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Totally agree Aysir. Pause 'n play rules! Why do developers not see that, just because we own a console, it doesn't mean we don't want PC-style games?!
UncleLou
03/12/08 @ 09:13
#36
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"Like NWN and every RPG post, party control is always done through crappy AI."

You can completely turn off the party AI in Neverwinter Nights 2. It's great that it's there (and it's not that crappy - bit basic, but it does the job) for encounters with inferior foes. With a single button, you can turn it off and control everyone yourself, and even pause the game and queue orders. Works like a treat.
spudsbuckley
03/12/08 @ 09:27
#37
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Shame the NWN games aren't a patch on the BG/IWD games.

As i said already, use the Infinity engine and make a true sequel to BG 2.

As much as i love Bethesda's style of game, they're barely RPGS..They're more like open-world FPS games with an RPG mechanic tacked on.
Les
03/12/08 @ 09:30
#38
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Do they still have (part of) the original development teams in-house or just the IP? In case of the latter, my hopes aren't that high given Atari's recent track record.
UncleLou
03/12/08 @ 09:38
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Shame the NWN games aren't a patch on the BG/IWD games.

NWN 1 (the original single-player campaign) was shit. NWN2 and especially Mask of the Betrayer are very good. Easily as good as Icewind Dale. The new Storm of Zehir isn't bad, either.
Sean.Aaron
03/12/08 @ 11:21
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Personally the main thing I'd like to see from Atari is some kind of release of arcade-quality ports of their pre-Warners Atari Games buyout catalog (for the Wii, natch): Centipede, Asteroids, etc.

That would be awesome; the Wiimote would be a decent substitute for a trackball, I think.
jebus
03/12/08 @ 13:34
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@PearOfAnguish "Give Baldur's Gate to Bethesda so we can have Baldur's Gate 3 in 3D."

*shudders*

Bethesda and in 3d. A lose lose situation if ever I saw one.

Edited 1 times, most recently on 03/12/08 @ 13:42
jebus
03/12/08 @ 13:36
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@hiddenranbir
02-Dec-08 16:47:42 "Give Baldur's Gate to Bethesda....."

God no. BG was all about strong single player narrative. Bethesda can't do that


I couldn't agree more
Gastrian
03/12/08 @ 16:39
#43
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A new Baldur's Gate Game? Yay!!...by the same publisher as Temple of Elemental Evil (another D&D game)? *goes and cries in the corner*
metalangel
04/12/08 @ 13:46
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More TDU (with more, better bikes and a far better "server" system please... getting onto the same freeride server as a friend is extremely hit and miss, even if you have clicked on their name) and proper D&D (so I can play a proper drow and not just simulate a dark elf into being one in Oblivion) please!
Azazel
04/12/08 @ 14:35
#45
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For the most part I'm happy to leave Baldur's Gate where it is. The story wrapped up nicely, I have nothing but fond memories of it and do not wish to have them sullied by a shit "reinvention".

And there's the other part of me which demands more MINSC! SWORDS NOT WORDS!

Honestly, my biggest hope for a revival of this old school style of RPG is Age of Decadence. Providing it ever gets released.

Emth
04/12/08 @ 15:55
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@spudsbuckley

Amen. Long live BG1+2.

God I just know there going to ignore the PC (please start using steam more PC devs, no excuses about piracy then) and make a terrible console game...

If BG3 were to be what D3 looks like it will be to D2 I might piss myself with excitement...

Comments: 1-46 of 46 in total

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