| Platform | OVERALL |
|---|---|
| PlayStation 2 | 8.50 |
| Overall | 8.50 |
|
If I worked for a professional game reviewing outfit there is no way the reviews editor would assign this game to me. I know so little about WRPGs that I wasn't even sure starting this game that that is what it was. With my previous exposure to the genre being limited to Record of Lodoss War (Dreamcast) and the Untold Legends games for the PSP I was ignorant of the rich heritage of Baldur's Gate. Before being released by Interplay for the Playstation 2 in late 2001 there were two Baldur Gate's games on the PC by a then obscure developer named Bioware. Snowblind studios worked with Black Isle Studios to develop the console version, then moved on to make the two Champions of Norrath games for SOE, while Black Isle made Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II. Add to this alphabet soup of developers and licensees that the game is set in the Forgotten Realms section of the Dungeons and Dragons canon. So to be exact, this is a game published by Vivendi Universal Games, brought to you by Interplay, developed by Black Isle and Snowblind Studios, based on art from Dungeons and Dragons, The Forgotten Realms, licensed by Wizards of the Coast -- a Hasbro Company. Phew. Unlike most RPGs the story is fortunately less complicated than the game's heritage. It takes an ambling path from killing rats in the local bar's basement culminating in a face-off with a mystical evil force that wishes to control the region. Story is dispensed in bite-size pieces, so the unfolding story makes sense as you go along. The story is hardly the compelling part of the game though, the essence of Baldur's Gate is killing, looting and upgrading armor, skills and weapons. It is a lot like Animal Crossing in that manner as the main gameplay involves collecting things and then selling them so that you can buy better things. The action oriented battles are satisfying only for the loot they reward you with as controlling the aim of your weapons does not appear to be an option. None-the-less it remains a compulsive type of activity, always being fun enough for you to plunder one more enemy group before saving. Which brings up saving. I played through the game on normal difficulty and found it entirely too easy due to the profusion of save points. I never felt like I had strayed too far from a safe area because I could always load from a nearby point if I had died. Another aspect of the game that made it too easy was he ability to recall (return) to a village at almost any time – even in the midst of battle. There was never a shortage of recall potions available in the field, or the store, so it was difficult to fail at the game. As a result of the low difficulty the game, consisting of three acts was shorter than expected, around 12-13 hours, though that felt about right when the cliffhanger ending came around. Graphically, this remains an impressive game, even as it approaches its first decade. Since the game is presented in a isometric top down view, there was little to challenge the PS2. Character animations are appropriate, and when talking to the handful of NPCs that can be interacted with, the character models seen in first-person view are fine. Voice acting for those characters, and sound overall, does not detract from the game. This game was good enough that upon completion I immediately started Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance 2, which was released in 2004. I also went and bought the two similar games from Snowblind in the Champions series, so by the time I'm finished I may know a bit more about WRPGs. |
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Posted by aspro Fri, 12 Mar 2010 04:31:22
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travo (4m)
This first one was my favorite out of all 4 of them { 2 Dark Alliance games & 2 Champions games). It was just really fun and well done.
I think you'll enjoy Champions more than Dark Alliance 2, as DA2 wasn't made by Snowblind and you can tell. Still a good game though, but Champions is much more impressive.
Dark Alliance 2 is turning out to be a bit of a disappointment compared to the first. It's not bad, it is just not made with the same level of care. I can't imagine how disappointed I would hae been if I had waited over 2 years for this sequel (like people had to in 2003).
It was disappointing, but I knew not to expect the same greatness before playing it thanks to Snowblind ditching the series and Black Isle going under.
Yeah its still a good game, but in the same way RE Zero is still a good game.
Good review.