Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance

Moby ID: 5805
PlayStation 2 Specs
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Description official descriptions

Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance is an action RPG which casts the player as one of three basic characters: an elf sorceress, a human archer, or a dwarf fighter. From humble beginnings slaying rats in the cellars of an inn, the adventurer will move on to exploring caves, crypts, and mountain passes. Naturally, it's all filled to the brim with horrible monsters, wicked traps, treasures, and fabled magical weapons. As the game progresses, the player is constantly rewarded with new weaponry, new monsters to fight, and experience points to put into the adventurer's character stats to grow even more powerful. The adventurer must eventually unravel the secrets of a dark, new Thieves Guild backed by powerful mages.

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Credits (PlayStation 2 version)

19 People

Producer
Line Producer
Lead Programming
Programming
Art Director
El Presidente
Audio and Localization Producer
Design
Lead Character Artist
Senior Artists
Artist
Music
Music By
QA Project Supervisor

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 81% (based on 53 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.6 out of 5 (based on 110 ratings with 5 reviews)

A solid action RPG with impressive visuals, and insanely addictive co-op mode - 4 Stars

The Good
--> Impressive visuals - well developed environments, good character models with realistic facial expressions, nice texture work, great spell effects (though they do sometimes slow the action down when in co-op mode)

--> Good sound and music - voice acting is above average, sound effects are appropriate though not extraordinary, music is well composed and really sets the mood.

--> Good variety of weapons and armor, though I would have liked more, everything from serrated daggers to the Mithril Axe is here...half the fun is gradually improving weapons and armor until you are a mighty fighting machine.

--> Great cooperative mode - nothing like laying waste to a hordes of beasts with a buddy - and in the 2P mode there are hordes, be prepared for a challenge.

The Bad
--> too short, an experienced gamer can finish the game in 10 hours or less

--> a few more items would have been nice.

--> some levels should have had alternative versions for the 2P mode, areas like the Thieves hideout are very annoying in co-op mode. Also, it would have been nice to have the option to exchange gold and items between players.

--> An Auto-Camera mode would have been greatly appreciated as the camera can sometimes be a burden.

The Bottom Line
Action fans and RPG fans alike will love this very entertaining title. Based on the Dungeon & Dragons 3rd Edition rules, with authentic monsters, weapons and the like, gives the player the formidable task of purging the land of evil via several challenging quests. Before beginning the adventure, the player is asked to choose a class, Fighter, Dwarf or Archer...each class a unique gameplay experience....pick off enemies from a distance as the archer, charge in full bore as the hearty dwarf, or choose the fighter for the best of both worlds. Several quests compose this adventure, providing tasks ranging from destroying an enchanted orb to destroying the leader of the dark elves in the dwarven mines. As you travel through the various quest, your character will gradually level up, giving you experience points to distribute among various statistics such as endurance (carry more items) and dodge (increased agility), this is old hat to RPG aficionados but the variety of stats is nice for an action hack-n'-slash, imbues the game with a little depth and strategy (will you place all experience into magic, or try to create a well rounded warrior?). As you travel and gain gold, you will have every weapon at your disposal from lowly daggers to mighty Mithril Axes, each with their own unique properties - such as the flame weapons that ignite when enemies are near. One thing that immediately struck me when playing this game was the environments - absolutely beautiful (one trip into an ice cave will drop your jaw), high polygon counts and hi-res textures combine to make very believable environments complete with realistic lighting and shadows, I think even the most jaded gamer cannot help but be impressed by the environments and water effects in the game - very nice. The character models are well detailed, but take a back seat to the environments. The sound is appropriate, and the music really helps to set the mood. The only thing that prevents me from giving this title 5 stars is the few problems I found with the game, but I still heartily recommend a purchase. and at $20, it's a steal. A great, while relatively short action title that is worth playing again in co-op mode

GameCube · by Ryu (50) · 2003

This game is not much RPG, Not much Diablo like... what is it trying to be?

The Good
The graphics and effects in this game are incredible, but that's where my praise for this game ends. Although the story is paced well and moves along, it seems that it is rather simple to say the least. I'm gunna have to move the rest of my views on this game to the BAD

The Bad
OK, where do I begin. It's short... very short. The RPG elements are limited to skill building and level gaining, but honestly, the way the game works... they should have just simplified the engine to a Gauntlet style. All this game really is was designed by the Gauntlet creators long ago. The creature variety is lacking. Kill and Knoll, kill another, another, another, etc... Oooo a Troll... ok, back to the knolls... Yeah... And they do nothing but charge you, or run in circles to take pot shots out you with ranged weapons (All the creatures in the game act like this) The bosses are simple to say the least. (Not even going to comment on the joke of a final boss) I just can't say enough about how this game just doesn't follow through. The game has items drop everywhere much like diablo. So you'de think that maybe, item finding is the fun part of the game... beefing up your character. But nope... it's all pretty basic stuff, and only the best stuff appears when your done with the game mostly anyway. The game is a typical hack and slash... pretty, but not worth the time it takes to play it. You want an RPG? Go with Baldurs Gate 2, you want Hack and Slash? Go with Diablo, or Gauntlet: Dark Legacy. (Which has some actually length) Stay away from from this glittering crud.

The Bottom Line
Gold covered crud. Pretty, but lacking any definition as to what it is trying to be good at to set it apart.

PlayStation 2 · by VXBlade (2) · 2002

This game is very good and is best when played with another person

The Good
The co-op feature was really cool because it made the game even better when I played it with someone else.

It was very challenging at parts which made the game interesting to play through.

It had vivid maps that expanded which really got the player in depth in the story line.

Large variety of creatures with different levels (including bandits, rats, undead, etc. with various difficulties).

The spells in the game were really cool and made it very fun.

The Bad
Some parts were very hard to get past such as the orb part in the under ground. But besides that, it was a very good game.

Also, there really wasn't much of a background story to the characters you play as (like other adventures on how the human or the elf were able to get there).

The Bottom Line
The game was very good and probably should be in all RPG game libraries because of its replayability.

Xbox · by Todd Bello (28) · 2006

[ View all 5 player reviews ]

Trivia

1001 Video Games

Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by NeoMoose.

Macintosh, iPhone, Windows Apps, Android, Linux, Windows, iPad added by Plok. Xbox added by vism. Xbox One, Xbox Series added by Rik Hideto. GameCube added by Kartanym. PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch added by Terok Nor.

Additional contributors: Corn Popper, FatherJack.

Game added February 18, 2002. Last modified March 17, 2024.