Overview

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Review

Release Date: 12.04.2001
Platform: PlayStation 2
Developer: Snowblind Studios
Publisher: Interplay Productions, Inc.

Reviewed by Jeremy Barnes on 4.11.2003

Review Rating: 6/10

User Rating: 8.25/10

Baldur's Gate exploded into the PC market a few years ago with an innovative interface that was quickly copied by just about every company making PC games out there. The series finally makes the jump to the console market with Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance. PC RPGs have never seemed to translate over to a console. The developers had quite a challenge to maintain the quality of the Baldur's gate name and make a game the plays well on a Console.

The overriding feeling throughout Dark Alliance is an A for effort, but an F for execution. The gameplay is carbon copy hack and slash made popular by Diablo with a stripped down version of the D&D system used in the Baldur's Gate PC games. One might think that combining two staples of gameplay from two popular PC games would make for an enchanting experience in the fantasy world of Forgotten Realm's Baldur's Gate, but they would be wrong. After that they would be voted off and considered the weakest link. Sometimes it's a shame that developers don't let you vote games off the shelves.

The box art alone should be enough to ward off the wary buyer. I've tried to hold to a policy of not buying games that use yellow stickers to let you know that they included a "Mini-Hint Guide Inside". This would seem to be a nice offering, but the guide is rather short and if you cant figure out anything included, please place your fingers on your underside of your wrist to make sure you are not dead. The guide does do a good job of not spoiling any important story elements.

The game does have a story. In fact it pretty much relates the whole thing in the instruction book's Introduction section. The game begins as you enter the City of Baldur's Gate. Shortly after you are attacked by thieves and relieved of your possessions by a new guild of thieves in town. Thankfully the watch shows up just in time to save your neck. Naturally, you must find the thieves and retrieve your gear. While doing so you will end up somehow getting involved in the mission to save Baldur's Gate from the dark force behind the new thieves' guild. Good Luck, you'll need it to stay awake.

There are always the flashy lights of big console to keep ya awake. Dark Alliance holds up it's firm standard of not being different in any way by shelling out scene after scene of dull and lifeless environments. They offer up very little in the way of exploration like their namesake PC games. You are almost led by the hand through the hordes of the same monsters to the eventual goal.

The only true goal is finding a new drab area to kill some slightly different enemies that all look alike. The designers seem to have had some morbid fascination with a lot of dark colors. The only color that wasn't dreary was white, which was used for snow. Too bad there wasn't more snow in the other environs like the swamp, and the uh, swamp, and that other swamp.

The theme of keeping your options small and limited carries right over to the characters. You have the choice of three characters with their own unique skills and magic. Vahn, the archer follow a middle of the road path using a bit magic, some average fighting skills and a whole lot of arrows. Kromlech, the dwarven fighter is excellent at melee combat, but he lacks any kind of magic. Adrianna, the Elven sorceress has measly melee abilities, but she excels at magic.

Your level and equipment really overwhelm the character's abilities. While the variety of equipment is vast and varied there are a few types that will end up dominating what is useful. After you find yourself equipped and stocked on restorative potions. Your abilities matter much less than they should. This manages to kill much of the fun involved in slaughtering the masses of enemies.

Once you have managed to get tired of hack and slash there is little else to do. There is no massive exploration of towns with huge amounts of quests to complete. The towns are quite small and offer little more than a place to sell equipment and buy some new. The common townsperson does not even speak. The minimal amount of extras for those who complete the game are hardly worth the time it takes to complete the game.

After completing the game, you are able to access the gauntlet mode. In this mode you do not have any of your equipment and must work against the clock to defeat all the enemies within the time limit. Nothing-new gameplaywise, just now you have to play faster.

The one and about only saving grace is the two-player mode. Playing with a friend is much more enjoyable. The experience split is done fairly and well allowing you to play with characters close to each other or a vast difference apart in level. The ability to import your character into different games makes for some interesting partnerships.

Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance is an average game. It does nothing to stand out against the flood of other mediocre titles. You can get a few hours of fun out of it. More than a few playing with a friend. You may even like the fact that a certain popular Forgotten Realms character is finally playable. The game lacks a polished edge. It shows that this is new territory for the series and is a solid base for future titles. Wait until the game falls down the price scale and pick it up to kill an afternoon. You won't beat it that quickly, but the game “ends” well before you complete it.

Box art