PS2 gets Black Isle treatment
Baldur's Gate : Dark Alliance welcomed onto next-generation Sony console
Black Isle Studios, Interplay's RPG arm and development outfit Snowblind Studios will be joining forces to develop and produce a new "Baldur's Gate" game for the PlayStation 2. The new title, "Baldur's Gate : Dark Alliance," will take place in the popular Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting, The Forgotten Realms. The idea seems to be to make the franchise more console-friendly. Speaking to Yahoo, Feargus Urquhart, Division Director at Black Isle Studios (who sounds as if he himself belongs in one of his company's games), said that the company was "committed to making Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance a completely original experience that both console gamers and RPG fans will enjoy." Although the game will take advantage of the D&D ruleset and use time-honoured RPG tactics to win back its PC audience, the company is anxious to build a new userbase on the console systems, and to this end the plot while using assets from the original two games will be wholly original, with dramatic new spells and new abilities for players. Snowblind Studios are also pleased with the announcement. "We are developing the game from the ground up to take full advantage of the sophisticated PlayStation 2 technology," said their Director, Ryan Geithman. Baldur's Gate : Dark Alliance is due to ship in the latter stages of this year, with more information due to be available at BlackIsle.com. Related Feature - Baldur's Gate II : Shadows of Amn Review
