Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance (Sony PlayStation 2, 2001)

The game is somewhat linear in the sense that you alway know what to do next as opposed to a open concept were there is no real order of objectives (such a Morrowind). Although this may not appeal to all players I prefer such games because I don't spend all my time gaming and in open concept games I tend to make a lot less progress. Playing on the Normal difficulty setting the enemies present a challenger without being too extremely difficult to result in massive frustration. The game is, for the most part, a hack and slash game but does have a small element of Roleplaying to it with interactive character dialogues. There is a very limited selection of character classes (Fighter, Archer and Mage) but the classes are nicely worked out with ifferent benefits and abilities for each class. The equipment available in the game is not as extensive as other games (such as Diablo II for the PC) but is still fairly extensive and the game provides good scaling of equipment availability making the characters progress from poor equipment to better equipment. Best of all, for all you mage lovers, this is one of the first games that I have seen where the magic user can, for the most part, fight by using spells and rely on a weapon as a secondary backup. I love the mage class and in most games the mages are still too dependant on fighting with weapons and only using magic to supplement their attack. Well not in this game, sure you need weapons when you start out but with a little patience you can quickly make a mage that can predominantly fight with spells only.

This is the type of game you have to like playing in order for it to get a 4star rating. I can easily see how someone not use to these types of games could score it a 2,3 ect. But for me, I like the type of game where your character has to "clear" stages or dungeons in this case. Whipping out everything bad that moves, while running across hidden treasures, and finding valiable items you can ammass and sell or use. The graphics are older, but true to these type of games. THe story line is intresting. You have several different places you go too, and a few different kind of classes to choose from. The best class being available only after you've beaten the game. ( I wish you could of played him first ) Its a slash and hack type game, you need to use your brain somewhat where playing out your characters "skill's" points. Which is something else i've always like. I don't like character that have set stats. I enjoy when I leave up being able to pick which thing I can make them better at. And you can do this in this game. So their are alot of good things about it, if you enjoy this type of game. If your into fast 1st person shooters, you wouldn't probably like this 1. Or race car games ect. Overall its a 3.5, but since I like these type of games so much I scored it a 4star.

The guys who put together the Baldur's Gate series of games never fail to impress me with their attention to detail and fine-tuned products. This is, like the games in the series that came before it, a wonderful sweeping adventure, full of interesting quests, strange critters, and a large variety of magic items and equipment.

The graphics are very nice, and the play style is exactly what one who had played the previous games would expect. Overall, the only flaw I could possibly find is the way the characters aren't balanced - some are good in the beginning levels, some at the end - but this is a characteristic trait of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons games (the wizard is always a wimp at the beginning and middle levels, and then extremely powerful at the end).

Set in Faerun, in the Forgotten Realms setting, the story is well-situated within the lore of the novels and D&D source books. And as this franchise continues to sell well, you will come to recognize many similarities between this game and the others in the series. However, they still manage to make this game feel fresh, new, and completely original.

I highly recommend this game.

This game will take many hours of your life. It's fun. It's a LOT like Diablo. There are many things I didn't like about it, and I doubt they have been fixed in the sequel. Your foes never run out of arrows or spears or whatever. They never get tired, even when near death, and neither do you. You are no faster when you carry a lighter load than when fully weighed down. You play forever and get a pittance as a reward in regards to magic points to upgrade your character. The reviewer at ign.com is wrong about a lot of aspects of the game, but the general walkthru is helpful. For example the Hail of Arrows will easily defeat the final battle, so screw the onyx sword; it's nothing great. Some foes are far too easy, some far too hard. Not a lot of balance. Going clear to the top of the icy mountain to get the key to open the mines is stupid, as is the fact you can usually outrun the foes no matter how big or bad they are; just run around behind them and swipe them a few times with your sword, and they're dead. After playing a while it all seems quite silly.

Dark Alliance 1 had its flaws, I'll be the first to admit, but what it did, it did well. The graphics were good for its time (keep in mind we're still talking early PS2 days when this beauty was made), the system (the same one used in Champions of Norrath, for those familiar) is flexible to a degree, but still intuitive enough for the causal gamer to figure out. The one-player (and consequently two-player) story modes are all too short (if you're a hardcore gamer, you can probably beat it in a single session, minus bathroom breaks). The replay is... OK, same story with either your existing (and well-geared) character or with a locked character which you have to clear a special challenge to get. (Not revealing who, but it's worth it if you're a Forgotten Realms fan.)

The sound got a little redundant from time to time, and on first playthough while getting used to the controls, you might find yourself restarting often. (Ah, that wonderful old RPG adage about saving early and often comes to mind.) The heroes don't get fleshed out at all, and rather haphazardly move about, killing enemies on their way. Also, 2P mode is flawed in that, if you and your buddy both play separately with the same character, you can't play your characters together... no twin sorceresses, no double-archers.

Those gripes aside, this (and the second) game is worth it if you can find it decently priced. (I'd say nothing over $30, and this coming from an RPG fanatic.) It's a few hours of fun here and there, and a fun way to introduce someone slowly to the concept of RPGs.