Developer: PS2-Snowblind Studios GC-High Voltage Software Publisher: Interplay Released: PS2-2001, GC-2002 Genre: Action RPG
Baldur’s Gate is a revered name computer RPG fans. It came at the perfect time to restore life to the Crpg, won many awards and established BioWare as a name to follow. I freely admit that I discovered it years too late to appreciate its achievements but still liked it overall. While there were plans to bring it to the Dreamcast and even the PlayStation they never materialized. Instead Interplay and Snowblind Studios would create a console focused spinoff. Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance, while action focused, still retains the essence of D & D and is an excellent yet brief hack and slash adventure.
As a console focused iteration of the series Dark Alliance pairs back the complexity of its PC counterpart. You aren’t controlling a party of characters this time for one. Likewise, you only have three preset character choices with a defined class: human archer, dwarven fighter, and an elven sorceress. Character progression is done by putting points into select traits when you level up. Depending on the character there are a few that are class specific. But for the most part you don’t have much room to create truly unique character from another player. While disappointing it doesn’t hamper the game much.
Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance is a hack and slash rpg that has more in common with Diablo and Gauntlet than its PC brethren. The action is heavy as enemies swarm in big numbers and loot drops frequently. While it doesn’t have as varied a set of gear as Blizzard’s title there is enough loot to keep you interested in slaying demons for hours. Although it is set in the Baldur’s Gate universe Dark Alliance is a heavily streamlined experience. It is very to the point; there are almost no side quests or even places to deviate from the main path. That straightforwardness, combined with the reduced character skill set, does mean the game can be boring at times. The addition of two-player coop helps alleviate this somewhat, but this is not a game to be played in binge sittings.
As a result of its focused campaign Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance is shorter than other action Rpgs. With only a few side quests most will reach the end in less than ten hours. That isn’t an exaggeration either. The game is pretty tightly balanced. Enemies do not respawn even if you leave the area, leaving no room to grind. If you do a decent job of clearing out most areas you will always reach the appropriate level for the next set piece. The difficulty falls on the easy side, even on normal. While Dark Alliance may appear like Diablo it doesn’t have its cadence. Outside of a few bosses that deal ludicrous amounts of damage you will have ample opportunity to chug potions and restore health. The final dungeon drops so many potions it borders on the ridiculous. There are higher difficulty levels but the differences aren’t major.
Sadly, replay value is pretty low. The Gauntlet is a mini dungeon available after beating the game. This mode lets you play as a revered figure in D & D lore and beating that allows you use him in the main game. But I doubt most will wan to beat the story mode twice, regardless of how cool the character is.
Baldur’s Gate Dark Alliance is a technical showcase for the PlayStation 2, pulling off many cool special effects. The most prominent would be its lighting and real time shadow effects, which are absolutely stunning. The texture work is also superb; many surfaces have reflective properties and seeing both the floor, armor, enemies, and environment all subtly reflect light is still incredible to this day. And it does this all at a rock solid 60 frames per second.
At least on the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. Whether it is due to a shorter dev time or lack of talent, the GameCube version of Dark Alliance suffers from severe frame rate issues. When surrounded by many little creatures in an outdoor area it slows to a crawl. Indoor environments run fine for the most part but the game’s performance is embarrassing overall.
The soundtrack and voice acting are of a similar high quality to the graphics. The music is atmospheric and content to stay in the background during action moments. But it picks up during slower character moments, becoming moody and depressing to reflect the game’s gloomy tone. And its all backed by expert voice acting.
In Closing
Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance is a fantastic action rpg that makes for a quick appetizer between massive epic adventures. The lack of options when building your character can lead to tedium. But I feel the overall experience is still worth revisiting today. The frame rate problems don’t completely ruin the GameCube version but if you have the choice the other editions are better.
GameCube
PlayStation 2
