Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance was a game that not only helped establish the Diablo-style hack and slasher on the console medium, but also became its own entity, offering up an epic adventure that had it all: great graphics, phenomenal audio, tight controls, and loads of excellent gameplay wrapped around an engaging storyline.



Though developer Snowblind Studios didn’t develop the sequel, the talented Black Isle Studios took the reins, and not only crafted a sequel worthy of the Dark Alliance name, but surpasses the original game in almost every way, systematically improving on every single element that made the first game so great, and then giving those features the overhaul fans have been craving.

Dark Alliance 2 takes great care to assure that the gameplay of the original stays firmly intact. You take the role of one of five new characters in an attempt to clear the Realms of a greater evil; one much stronger than Eldrith the Betrayer, the villain of the first game. Each character in Dark Alliance 2 has their own reason for getting involved in the plot, and as the game progresses, each character’s individual traits become more apparent.

Each of the five new characters is very different from one another, and it shows in both their feats and play style. The first game allowed players to customize their characters, but many of their feats were similar, and didn’t take advantage of their respected classes. In the sequel, feats and spells are far more tailor-made for each individual. For example, only Dorn the Barbarian is able to wield two-handed weapons in one hand, while Vhaidra can do the most damage completely unarmed. Borador is a Dwarven treasure hunter who has the ability to ransack both enemies and chests to get obtain more treasure, and he can also disarm traps. These are just a few of the abilities that the new characters possess, and not only do they help differentiate the characters and their intended skills, but they offer a good variety of strategy to the gameplay as well, as most of the very well thought-out levels have areas where each character can show off their skills. Some levels are wall-to-wall traps; places that Bordaor is well at home. However, if the dwarf isn’t in your party, that particular area is very difficult to pass without heavy damage. The necromancer Ysuran can animate the dead, therefore can create a buddy that can become your cannon fodder while you attack the enemy from a different position. There are even a few side quests that are specific to each character, and by completing them, open up a new set of feats that are otherwise unavailable.

On the combat side of things, Dark Alliance 2 plays very much like the first game, but includes a host of notable improvements. Characters can now fight with a weapon in each hand if they put the required points into the ability to become proficient in it. Even the standard melee combat has become more customization-based. All those cool combos you could pull off with different weapons in the first game? Gone. If you want your character to excel in the different types of weaponry, you’ll have to earn it. Watching your character grow in this aspect is satisfying on all levels, and motivates you to keep playing. The controls are very well done all the way around. You can now equip several weapons at a time (one for each of three categories: One-handed, Two-Handed, and Ranged), and can toggle them instantly via the D-pad. Ranged weapons give the player unlimited ammo (bows, crossbows, throwing knives, throwing axes, etc). Spells and feats are much easier to use too, now that you can map your feats and spells to the face buttons. Simply hold in the L1 button (PS2) to activate them. This eliminates the constant juggling you had to do in the first game, and actually opened us up enough to use our spells and active feats more often. You’ll need these advantages too, because there are lots of levels to play through, a huge assortment of creatures to battle (most of them all-new), and a ton more boss fights. Rather than fighting a boss once per act, you’ll be confronted with one once every few levels (though some of these bosses are absolute pushovers).

Playing through the levels is set up in a very non-linear fashion. Whereas you followed a specific route through the first game, Dark Alliance 2 allows you to tackle many objectives without having to do so in any particular order. Players have access to a World Map, where they can choose what their next conquest will be. It really is a nice touch, but with one flaw: Completing some of your critical objectives will end an act (there are four Acts in total), and when that particular act ends, certain side quests you haven’t completed will go unfinished without the ability to return to them. Our advice: embark upon those side quests before finishing your more critical tasks if you want to see it all.

Crafting magical weapons and items is one of the new additions to the game, and is both intuitive and highly addictive. By collecting runestones and gems, and then combining them, players can craft their own magical items that increase it’s abilities (and produce some fancy effects, but more on that later). Needless to say, it’s much nicer being able to craft our own Morningstar that can infect enemies with the plague than simply finding one or buying one from a shop.

Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance 2 is a much longer game than the first, easily over twenty hours in length with one character. The story is excellent, though spread very thin; it involves lots of unsavory characters (though a few old friends show up too), and the main plotline is very convoluted. Each task you take on, no matter how small, has to do with the overall storyline, but you must pay close attention to know exactly what each task will do to help defeat the evil. We liked the more focused storyline of the first game, but then, the gameplay was more linear as well.

The excellent co-op play of Dark Alliance 2 returns, and is better than ever. Black Isle changed the way gold and experience points are distributed, having both pooled. Dividing the gold is particularly appealing, as it eliminates the constant competition of greedy players, and creates more strategy as to what to do with the money that’s been collected. Since this type of game encourages teamwork, the stress of dealing with gluttonous players has been virtually obliterated.



Though not leaps and bounds over it’s predecessor, Dark Alliance 2 is beautiful, proving that Snowblind engine can still compete with today’s best. Black Isle does it justice with crisp, clean graphics, sharp textures, and myriad color combinations to make a dazzling display to the eyes. The overall look appears more high-res, and the game still runs as smooth as ever. Animations are equally fantastic, as are the trademark water effects from the first game.

Environments are heavy in variety, offering the player everything from deserted village ruins, castles, dungeons, plains, bustling towns, caves, canyons, manor houses, laboratories, and so much more. It helps to break up the monotony of seeing the same environment over and over again, as well as enhancing the feeling of really adventuring to different areas of the Forgotten Realms. Some of the game’s tilesets have clearly been lifted from the first game, but to Black Isle’s credit, they’ve been given a different color and enhanced in either light or dark to give that familiarity a fresh look. Both character and creatures models are highly detailed, and even the armor sets for each character are made to fit specifically for them. A suit of scale mail on Dorn looks completely different than when that scale mail is on Alessia. This not only looks badass, but it helps to further differentiate the personalities of the characters and their classes.

The particle effects have always been awesome, but in Dark Alliance 2, they are taken to a new level. In the original game, many weapons simply glowed as a representation of a magical weapon, but in the sequel, the effects vary depending on the weapon’s ability. If you create a weapon that continues to wound after it connects, the weapon bleeds when enemies are near. If you forge a weapon that poisons it’s victims, it emits a foul, green mist. It’s one of the most graphically appealing elements of the game.

The camera is a cinch to use, and even includes a slight zoom feature, so moving close to inspect the details is now a possibility (single-player only). The only graphical flaws we found were a few visible seams in certain areas, but it was very rare. So uncommon that we can count the areas we witnessed on one hand.

While the musical score doesn’t play all the time, it’s still ambient and apt for such a game. Most, if not all, of the music has been ripped straight from the first game (even the title screen sports the same opening score), but again, gives the game that element of familiarity sequels often lack. The effects as well, have been lifted from the original game, from the clanking of weapons to the distant groans of zombies. It’s all great stuff, but you’ve heard it all before.

The voice acting is top-notch, and is of much higher quality than what you’ll find in the overwhelming majority of games today. The new characters play their roles appropriately, and the actors/actresses that make a return from the first game reprise their roles with grace and skill.

Dark Alliance 2 is a sequel for the fans, and it shows. Much more has been done to this game than what meets the untrained eye, but die-hards will appreciate the additions, in which there are a lot of them. The game is still easily assessible to anyone, whether they’ve played the first game or not (it makes several references to the first installment and fills the player in very well on its chain of events), but is still a game that clearly caters to its dedicated followers. It also does everything that constitutes a great game and worthy sequel. It keeps the core gameplay intact, but improves on it significantly, and then adds a plethora of new additions that only enhance what’s already on offer. Very well-executed and finely polished, Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance 2 is the embodiment of what a sequel should be, and goes to show that sometimes, it’s the little things that make all the difference.





Article By: Brendon Hivner