Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance is a journey into the world of Dungeons and Dragons in a thrilling action game!
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Amazon.com Review
The Baldur's Gate series redefined and reinvigorated the PC role-playing scene, and now Interplay brings it to the PlayStation2. Don't be fooled, however. This isn't a traditional role-playing game, but rather a fun, wall-to-wall action hack 'n' slash adventure in the mold carved by Gauntlet and the storied Diablo games--one that nonetheless conforms to the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Third Edition rule set.
Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance casts you as one of three basic characters: an elf sorceress, a human archer, or a dwarf fighter. From there, you're set free inside a huge Dungeons & Dragons world replete with dungeons, forests, ice caves, and much more. Naturally, it's all filled to the brim with horrible monsters, wicked traps, treasures, and fabled magical weapons. As you go, you're constantly rewarded with new weaponry, new monsters to fight, and experience points you can put into your character stats to grow even more powerful. You can swap equipment in an inventory "paper doll" screen; those changes will be reflected in your onscreen character, so you'll start with simple weapons and a drab appearance, and you'll end up a big, mean superhero at the conclusion.
The graphics are simply wonderful, and the controls are accurate, responsive, and fun to use--which is necessary for the constant hacking and slashing required. The game is all the more fun when you recruit a buddy and play the game in cooperative mode. --Bob Andrews
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Amazon.com Product Description
Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance combines fast-paced action and adventure in the popular world of Baldur's Gate. It features an epic tale of intrigue, alliances, explosive spell effects, and highly detailed creatures and environments, and allows for both single- and two-player cooperative play. Characters are customizable, each with unique powers, appearance, and abilities. This is the first console game to feature Dungeons & Dragons, 3rd Edition rules in real time. The game features Dolby Digital sound, comprehensive voice acting, and a completely original soundtrack.
Customer Reviews
Great Game. Very similiar to Diablo II.
If you like hack & slash dungeon crawling games like Diablo, then you'll like this game. It is the first game of this style for the Playstation 2.
In this game, you play as one of three characters. You will be given quests by other people and creatures. These quests take you thru dungeons, sewers, caves, castles, woods, and mountain paths and usually involve killing a boss enemy or finding specific objects. Along the way, you must kill (or run from) enemies while picking up items (dropped by enemies, found in treasure chests, barrels, etc.) that may be useful to you or that may be sold. Fighting is in real-time (not turn-based as in Final Fantasy). As you complete quests and kill enemies, you gain experience. This experience allows you the change your character's attributes and learn new skills/spells. There are numerous types of weapons and armor to be bought or found during the game. As the enemies in the game get tougher, your experience and improved weapons/armor allow you to still put up a good fight.
The graphics and audio are amazing. The movement of water as you walk thru it and the movement of the leaves on trees as the wind blows shows the level of graphic detail that they gave the game. Also, the detail on many of the creatures in the game is outstanding. Voices and music are great. As you walk thru the woods, you hear coyotes howling in the distance. As you walk on the mountain path, you hear chunks of ice falling in the distance. Controls are simple and intuitive. Every button on the controller may be used during a game, but you'll find yourself using them like a pro in just a matter of minutes. I really like that fact that my character can change between a melee weapon (such as a sword) and a range weapon (such as a bow) during battle with the simple push of a button.
Gameplay is great and is almost identical to that of Diablo II. Unfortunately, the game is too short. Your saved games tell you how long you've been playing. On the Easy difficulty setting, I completed the game in about 12 hours. However, if you enjoy the game, you'll probably want to play each of the three characters and take at least one of your characters thru the three difficultly levels. Completing the game opens up something called the gauntlet where you have 15 minutes and one life to defeat all the various types of creatures (not too easy). Completing the game also opens up an Extreme difficulty level. Completing the game on the Extreme level opens up a fourth character. Playing a two player game is also a blast. It's just like the one player game, but allows two players to work cooperatively.
Don't let the shortness of the game keep you from trying it. I feel that this is one the best games for the Playstation 2 right now.
D&D + Diablo = PS2 dynamite!!!
Although it's set in the Forgotten Realms D&D universe, BG:DA features a gameplay style closer to Diablo than the Baldur's Gate games for the PC. I loved both series, so that makes me happy. And those who worried that BG:DA would be a tepid port of the PC games, rest assured that it is an all new, all different adventure.
The graphics effects and sounds are fantastic, and the soundtrack is as good or better. It's almost worth getting this game just to show off what the PS2 can do.
A few caveats:
- The game could be a bit longer, but the three character choices offer decent replay value. Still, it will leave you wanting more.
- It helps to have a handle on how to use the gamepad. The controls aren't as simple as the point-and-click interface of Diablo and the original Baldur's Gate, but they are well designed.
- Like Diablo, BG:DA is more of an RPG-lite experience than the original Baldur's gate. You only get to choose from three characters that are mostly pre-determined. It's still D&D enough to please me.
- Also like Diablo, the hack and slash action can get a little repetitive in spots. When it looks and sounds as good as it does, I don't mind.
BG:DA is a different experience than the original Baldur's Gate games for the PC, but it's a good one. And you gotta love the gelatinous cube! Definitely recommended.
A good, but not great game
As many others have pointed out this game is very similar to Diablo, only in 3D, and not as good. Which is not to say it's a bad game, it's not, it's quite good in fact, but its flaws keep it from being great.
First off I should say I've only played it all the way through as the Archer (you can also choose from the Sorceress or Dwarven Warrior) and only on the easy level. Be forewarned, the easy level is VERY, VERY easy - that's OK with me, these days I prefer my video games to be relaxing rather than frustrating, but if you're looking for a challenge use the hard setting.
On the easy setting it's easier than Diablo.
The things the game has going for it are:
1) A good control scheme - this is really designed for the PS2 controller, rather than the awful controls you often get when a game is adapted from the PC
2) Easy to get into, lots of places to save your progress - keeps it from getting annoying
3) Nice graphics, good use of the 3D environment
4) Simplification - they've removed things that can get tedious like having to have every item or weapon you find identified, and having to have them repaired - looses realism perhaps but I'd rather not have to deal with that type of thing in a game
5) It allows you to play in whatever style you like - cautious and conservative, going back to town often to load up on healing potions and exploring every inch of the map, or wild and reckless, running through at top speed. Again this is similar to the way Diablo plays.
On the down side:
1) It's fairly short - I was surprised how quickly I got to the end, only playing it a few hours a week
2) Not too much replay value - Diablo did this a lot better with more quests, randomized so you have to play it more than once to experience all the quests and randomly generated dungeon maps
3) Arrows never really became an effective weapon, and for the Archer they really should - even at higher levels with a good magic bow and magically charged arrows it was still much more effective to simply hack and slash through with a good sword or axe
4) The magic items you find stink right up until the end. At the very beginning of the game you start off with only basic equipment so the first few things you find are useful - after that though all the good items are in the shops - until the very last levels of the game (when you can no longer go back to the shops) when you find some decent things. There is plenty of gold to be found however, so at least you can buy the expensive items.
5) Could have used MORE. More levels, more monsters, more weapons, more character classes. The monsters especially get a bit repetitive
6) I would have liked to see a better mapping system. Again the one it's got isn't too bad but I'd have liked to be able to scroll through it and have a better representation of which areas I had explored and which I had not
7) It would have benefited from a better explanation of some things - certain characteristics of weapons and spells aren't explained in the manual or the game itself - also could have used more customization options, this is a D&D based game, why can't I choose my characters race, sex, etc.
In conclusion it's an enjoyable game .... better still rent it - quite easy to finish in 5 days if you play it a lot.
Price: $79.95
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