Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance Announced For PS 2

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(Originally posted by Sorcerer)

This isn't exactly what people who don't own PS 2 want to hear, but fans of the Baldur's Gate series will be pleased to hear that Black Isle has announced an upcoming Playstation 2 game that will return players to the popular AD&D-based world. Here is the press release, minus the legal information:

Black Isle Studios Announces Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance; (New Action Adventure Game Will Enthrall PlayStation(R) 2 Gamers)

IRVINE, Calif., Feb. 15 -- Black Isle Studios, the award-winning RPG (role-playing game) division of Interplay Entertainment Corp. (Nasdaq: IPLY) and leading console game developer Snowblind Studios
announced today their plan to bring the award-winning Baldur's Gate(TM) franchise to the PlayStation(R) 2 computer entertainment system. The innovative game entitled Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance(TM) features a distinctive blend of action and adventure set in the most popular Dungeons & Dragons(R) campaign setting: The Forgotten Realms(R).

"We recognize the tremendous demand for a Baldur's Gate game on
PlayStation 2," stated Feargus Urquhart, Black Isle Studios Division Director.
"We're totally committed to making Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance a completely original experience that both console gamers and RPG fans will enjoy."
While maintaining the flair of the original games, Baldur's Gate: Dark
Alliance will be an entirely new action adventure experience opening the Baldur's Gate franchise to a much wider gaming community. Faithful adaptation of the new Dungeons & Dragons rules set, customizable player characters and character development allows for an engrossing gameplay experience new to console gamers. Dramatic new spell effects and powerful new abilities have been included to add to the flavor of the action-packed game and assist the player in combat against the terrifying monsters found in the adventure.
"We are developing the game from the ground up to take full advantage of the sophisticated PlayStation 2 technology," stated Ryan Geithman, Director of Snowblind Studios. "Our goal is to push the hardware to its limits thus creating stunning environmental effects and highly detailed characters never before seen on the console."
Played from a third person perspective Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance
immerses players in the port town of Baldur's Gate. Darkness has fallen upon the town and rumors of a Thieves' Guild civil war brew beneath the streets of the city. Entering this desperate situation, the player finds himself fresh to the city of Baldur's Gate and new to the world of adventuring. He soon learns that he stands in the way of one of the greatest threats ever to strike the town of Baldur's Gate and The Sword Coast.

Debuting in 1998, the Baldur's Gate franchise redefined the role-playing genre and has since dominated the PC Game charts generating sales of over 3.5 million units worldwide. The franchise continues to receive accolades from press and pundits around the world. In fact, Black Isle Studios has been presented the RPG of the Year award from Computer Gaming World and PC Gamer for the last three years running. Top computer gaming magazines, Computer Gaming World and PC Gamer have also offered RPG of the Year nods for Baldur's Gate in 1998 and BG II in 2000 as have the popular computer gaming-oriented online sites GameSpot and IGN. Additionally, Computer Games, Computer Games
Online, Imagine Games Network and Vault Network named Baldur's Gate Game of the Year for 1998, while leading websites MSNBC.com and Gamespot named Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn Game of the Year for 2000, an honor rarely bestowed upon role-playing games.
Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance is due to ship fall of 2001 for PlayStation 2. More comprehensive information can be found on the official Black Isle web site, located at http://www.blackisle.com.

Obviously it was only a matter of time before Interplay smelled gold in PS 2 as well. -Ed.