Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance—RPG Consoler’s Unite!

I N T R O D U C T I O N

I’ve always been a pretty big fan of RPG games particularly the Final Fantasy series and I’ve never really strode off too far from that kind of turn based gameplay, but when I first tried Diablo II (PC) my whole basic opinion of the Role Playing Genre really changed. After Diablo (PC and PSone) and Diablo II (PC), I really tried a lot of different games like the Suikoden (PS and PS2) games and Breath Of Fire (PS and PS2) franchise, but it wasn’t until I tried PC games where I really started to understand the category. I tried Everquest (PC and PS2) and The Elf Scrolls (PC and Xbox) games, but the certain games that really got my heart-a-pumping were the Forgotten Realms games. Icewind Dale (PC), Neverwinter Nights (PC), and last of all, the Baldur’s Gate games. Although I never really liked the first one (the second installment kicked major a*s), it still brought into my eyes a gameplay engine that I had never seen before and really made me love the games.

P L O T/ S T O R Y

Like in most hack-n-slash epics, the story really isn’t the fine point of the game and Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance really continues this fashion. You start as a human archer, elven sorceress, or dwarf fighter and you get mugged by a group of thieves as you enter the illustrious city of Baldur’s Gate. Two guards advise you to go to a local tavern and they know who jumped you: members of a new guild in town that are a sinister bunch. Telling you not to embark on trying to get even with the guild members that attacked you, you go against your better judgment and head down into the sewers to thwart their plans, but there’s something bigger being planned underneath and in the veins all throughout Baldur’s Gate that you didn’t expect and it’s your duty to stop this evil…

Blah. We’ve seen this stuff dozens of times and it has to be the biggest gimmick/cliché ever invented, but the story does get the job done, but it’s not something anywhere near close to the likes of Final Fantasy X (PS2) or the .hack (PS2) series.

G A M E P L A Y/ G R A P H I C S/ S O U N D

What made the Baldur’s Gate games so good was that you could have a party of six members and control them all through a very simple tap of buttons. When I first heard about a BG title on a console I thought to myself, “Jay, brother, best, coolest person of all time, how can they do this without throwing out the whole recipe of one of the greatest series’ of all time?”. Well, they pulled an Enron and shredded the basic idea around the whole series and created anew something that’s really not “new” at all. Dungeon Siege (PC) was also guilty of this and that was one of the reasons why I really despised that game. In RPG land, there are so many ideas that can be created because the genre is virtually unbreakable and full of creativity, but these days all of these developers are trying just to imitate because people will always enjoy things that are familiar to them. Wrong-o! I’m sure there are people like me out there who think that things new and fresh are good things. Anyways, Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance is so much like Diablo 2 that it’s astounding. The leveling up is sort of similar, the killings of creatures is the same, the weapons and crap are very similar; almost everything of what’s in BG: DA has already been done…not that that’s a bad thing…

In most RPGs like Baldur’s Gate, you are able to fully customize your character. You can choose what race your character is, what weapon he/she is best with, and what class your person should be and go even down to what goddamn hair color they have, but surprisingly in Dark Alliance, it restrains you with only a choice between three people. This just flat out sucks. These restraints really hurt the score of the game. There’s no Paladins or Barbarians or Thieves only the three classes they set put (Archer, Sorceress, and Fighter). Hell, you can’t even name your character! If you’re like me, this will really disappoint you.

The controls are so rock solid that every move you make will just be a second thought. The melee-style fighting you encounter with the fighter is as easy as slashing a monster straight out of Diablo. If you’ve played any action games, you will already be familiar with the very simple controls. In fact, some buttons aren’t even used like the circle button. You know how Diablo II had hotkeys to make spell casting and stuff much faster? Well, the same thing comes into play here. When you’re sorceress gets new spells from leveling up, they go into a special category so all you need to do is toggle the directional pad to find your spell easily. The same with potions. As you go through the game you will become famished and injured so you must refurnish yourself with a nice flask of potion. These potions (which regenerate your magic power AKA mana as well a health) are set to the R2 button so that every time you press it, your health starts to slowly fill back up (Diablo 2-style) meaning you have to dart away from your foe until it fully is back to normal. When you have the archer you can use bows and arrows, which you find on slain enemies or you can buy them at shops strewn around the lands you will travel (you didn’t think you’d be stuck in little ole Baldur’s Gate did you?). Targeting is actually pretty difficult at first, but when you get the hang of it, it will be worthwhile.

There is a huge variety of weapons in Dark Alliance ranging from humongous battle axes all the way to maces. Instead of having to find them and identify them (since they could be rare), you find weapons as well as armor and stuff in different conditions from worn to normal. Also, you find special items like Elf enchanted swords or similar types of weapons that might have an added element to them or things like that. Every character has a limited holding capacity, but you can upgrade how much booty you can carry when you level up. You can also find magical rings and amulets that can do many things like regenerating your health as you play the game without potions or give you an ounce or two of free protection when you don’t have time to block hits with your shield. That’s right, children. Instead of automatically blocking attacks, you have to actually do it yourself! Doesn’t that just suck?

What’s the goal of Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance? As you go through the game you will encounter portals, which takes you to different parts of the land you are traveling in. These parts really cover the basic RPG clichés: an ice tundra, an Amazon jungle, and the desert as well as some more. In each part you may have a “safe” zone (a “home base” if you will) similar to that of Diablo 2 where you can restock on precious supplies as well as be assigned to quests (or missions as I call them because they sound cooler). These quests are pretty bothersome and same old same old, but when you accomplish them you get a butt load of gold as well as experience and maybe some rare weapons as well as earn the person’s trust and gain passage to another place. The map that you have in all the areas is so much like Diablo II that it’s scary. It’s not detailed, but detailed enough to show you what’s going on. It marks where everything is like exits or entrances in a dungeon and secret areas as well as saving points. Speaking of saving points, holy crap there are a lot. I’ve never said anything like this before, but there are way too many saving points in this game. It’s as if around another corner in a dungeon you get another saving point as if they think you’re going to be dying every step. They could have put into effect an easy save-anywhere function like in Golden Sun (GBA) and saved disc space. It’s ridiculous how many there are and you will be nothing short of amazed by it.

You will face a crap load of creatures in Dark Alliance as well like Kobolds, Ogres, and Skeletons, but you also face off against the baddest of the bad and I’m talking about boss monsters. A little ways into the game you’ll come across a friggin huge White Dragon in an ice cave and slay it, which is actually easier than it sounds. You’ll also battle Karne, the head thief that ripped you off in the beginning parts of the game and that’s a pretty challenging fight if you’ve never played RPGs before. The AI is too easy if you ask me. Diablo 2’s was more balanced and more diabolical. Dark Alliance is so easy that you’re hands won’t even sweat at all and that frustration will never be something you need to face. The AI isn’t balanced at all. Earlier battles in the game with bosses might be harder than some final battles, which isn’t a good thing at all. I also felt that the game was created without any thought involved as if the development team was making it up as it was going along. The hardest thing you will face the traps in some dungeons that really rely on skill with your thumbs rather than your wits. Like, there was one small trap in a part of the game where you hop (yes, this is a Baldur’s Gate game where you can actually jump!) from floating rock thing to floating rock thing and they only remain floating for a certain time before falling along with a couple other boulders around you making it difficult to wade through, but there’s really no thinking involved because you really have to have good timing. That’s all.

Graphics really don’t matter with me in games. All the graphics need to be is distinguishing and that’s it, but nowadays people only care about good graphics. I’m talking about all of these senseless bastards who won’t play Final Fantasy III (in my opinion one of the best games of all time) because the graphics are dated (and the same happens with Final Fantasy VII all the time). Don’t be a hater! Anyways, the graphics in Dark Alliance are actually pretty good and offered some things never before seen at that time when it was released. A lot of the stuff that’s in the game breaks or can be messed with and the water graphics are just gorgeous. The spell effects are just mind blowing and to this day I can really say they are some of the best I’ve ever seen as they reflect off of the floors and walls in caverns as they fizzle towards a foe and then explode into your enemy. Talk about razzle-dazzle, you know what I’m saying? You know what I mean? Sometimes the elevator doesn’t always go to the top floor. Sorry, but I just really don’t like Mike Tyson. Okay, what was I talking about…oh, yeah! Graphics! They are lush and beautiful with each area that you travel to and the physics are also very cool. When you slash a monster with a sword they don’t go flying in a non-realistic kind of way, they just go down for the count and I really liked that. The blood splatter is also a nice effect worth seeing. The only real p!ss I had about the graphics was that I encountered some slowdown in some of the final parts of the game and I came across three glitches (I actually counted) that made me have to reset my PS2 and one even messed with my save data (which made me very angry).


What haven’t I covered yet? Did I make the crack about the D&D player and Mike Tyson?

No, but we’re all ears, Jay!

Damn, you have already heard it!


Sound effects and music really is important to me because the story is more believable (voice acting), it’s more interactive (sound effects), and you enjoy the game more (music). Now, the voice acting isn’t terrible, but it’s not good either. It’s as if the extras off of Xena Warrior Princess had a field day doing voiceovers for Dark Alliance. The lines were read pretty sloppily (I thought) and they were (again) a major cliché and things we’ve heard a million times before. The sound effects are graceful and wonderful with swords clashing and spells quivering through the air, but the music is really a drag and one of the worst parts of the game. Playing a game, it has to have music to keep my mind occupied. The Final Fantasy games were extraordinary because of the gorgeous tunes they had and some of the BG games had pretty nice soundtracks, but Dark Alliance’s is one of the worst I’ve ever heard. It basically consists of dark, low stringed instruments and that’s it. No melody or anything. It’s just annoying. I mean, when you’re backtracking or exploring a dungeon or frustrated with a huge horde of monsters coming your way you don’t want to hear crappy songs the developers thought were cool. During my time playing this game, I just put on some fast paced tunes like Pennywise and Macabre while playing to get the full effect of the game even if I had to miss the cool sound effects and corny voiceovers from crappy actors and actresses

E P I L O G U E

The replay value is moderate. I finished the game in less than twenty hours and I actually tried hard to explore everything I could and get as much items as I could, but if you are the type of person who just swings through a game, expect thirteen or less hours. It’s a fun game though and that’s really all that counts. I wouldn’t say it’s a game you should buy, but it’s a definite rent that will really captivate your time for a week. It’s not too difficult so kids could like it, but I’m actually an experienced gamer now (I upgraded myself when I found out that I could actually beat Grand Theft Auto: Vice City), so maybe it’s easy for me, but may be hard for younger gamers. I recommend this game for fans of RPGs and people who have played a little bit of D&D, but I can’t be sure if regular BG connoisseurs would like the improved gameplay or Diablo-style mechanics. If you’re looking for a game to supply your attention until the next Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy game comes out (or until the next Diablo or Baldur’s Gate titles), then look no further than Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance With Diablo.


© Jason Haskins, November 2003



”Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance”

Also On: Gamecube and Xbox

Rated “T” for teens because of Blood, Violence, Suggestive Themes (a whole lotta female cleavage as well as some yucky Dwarf camel toe), and Use Of Alcohol

Action/RPG

2001

Developed By: Snow Blind Studios

Produced By: Black Isle Studios

Published By: Interplay Entertainment

Similar Games: Legend Of Zelda: The Wind Waker (GC), Dungeon Siege (PC), Diablo II (PC), and Neverwinter Nights (PC)

Jay’s Difficulty Meter (1-5 with five being the hardest): 2

Recommended For: Hardcore Dungeons & Dragons players as well as the occasional RPG player (and anyone who has beaten Diablo 2 and wants more)

A Sequel Is On It's Way...