Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance 2

Let me begin by saying I've only played this game in two-player co-operation mode. Personally, I think it's the best way to play Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II. What's more fun than bashing away at rats, undead, and evil wenches with a friend or loved one?

Okay, so what's different and/or improved from the first release for the PS2? Not a whole lot, really. It's essentially the same game, and I suspect that the developers decided to follow the age old mantra of, ''If it ain't broke, don't fix it.''

With that being said, there are some improvements. The most notable, in my opinion, is the ability to assign several spells to a shortcut key. This makes it so much easier to switch between spells whilst lopping off the heads and arms of the hordes of enemies and beasts that you encounter throughout the game.

Graphics: More or less the same quality as the previous release, but just a bit smoother here and there. It's apparent that a lot of care was taken in...

THE GOOD:
fluid controls, nice length, fun exploration

THE BAD:
no real reply value, relatively simply combat, system of loading characters allows cheaters to generate an limitless supply of items, cash and XP

SUMMARY:
Just as with the first Dark Alliance, I can't give much insight into the single-player experience. If a game offers co-op, I play with co-op. In general, it's a decent title with good voice acting, high customization, and the ever-amazing Snowblind engine. The only real significant improvements from the original Baldur's Gate for PS2 is the presence of character devlopement--each option actually comes with a name and history this time around--and the ability to augment equipment using gems and other enchantments.
I suspect that this title may be somewhat dull in single-player mode, but I do reccommend it to those who love to play alongside friends. But buy, don't rent.

THE GOOD:
The game really does not get boring at any time, and the graphics have been a little improved since the last one. You can play with a little more varity, starting with 5 characters.

THE BAD:
Seems to have been rushed a bit, seeming as there really was not an ending. If there was, it was a very awful one.

SUMMARY:
Black Isle has done it again. After Baldur's Gate was such an acclaimed title, this game was a major suprise. A definite sleeper in my book. You start as one of five different characters, which leads to swerving and many twisting turns during the game. This game has definite replay value, but I would consider that you look into it. If you are good at this game, expect to spend at least 72 hours to get everything in this game. 2 Player Mode has been much improved since the first Dark Alliance, featuring the fact that you can share gold. Levels are a lot easier to build on, and the many varieties...

THE GOOD:
Two more characters
Tons more skills
Workshop to enhance your weapons with gems

THE BAD:
Both players share gold which is highly frustrating

SUMMARY:
This game carries on where the last one left off. The three heroes from the previous game went through the gate and were taken into custody. In this game you can play as one of five characters and battle your way to save Baldur's Gate. As far as storyline goes it almost exactly follows on from the last game with hardly any discontinuity at all. But many adventurers came to slay Eldrith (the end boss from the last game) and are now out of work because she's gone. But there is still plenty to do in this game.

The game plays almost exactly the same as the last one, and the basic principle is the same. But this time there are far more skills to be learned and much more to do. For a start you can only do one hit with your weapon. You have to buy...

THE GOOD:
First let me say thank god for the new characters. That was one of my gripes with DA1, not enough characters. I do still have some issues, but I'll get to that later.

The dungeons are much bigger with more items and monsters. What joy. I will also note that it can get very challenging at times, really keeps you on your toes. PLus, the voice overs are impeccable. Very nice. ANd the graphics have also improved. It creates a great dungeon ambience.

There are a lot of new spells and feats to boot, and leveling up brings many more rewards.

Also, it seems a bit more rolplay-ish, what with the quests that only certain characters can do, and the fact that you have some choice in what task you do for the main quests.

And last but most certainly not least, the new weapon/armor build-up workshop. BG really needed that to give it an extra kick!

THE BAD:
Okay, the characters. I am glad that there are more, but I...

THE GOOD:
Good qualities for BG-DA2, I will mention that the land search is a bit longer, the areas are bigger and more in depth, the quests are just as good if not better. There are obviously more characters to choose from, you can build up your weapons.. I could go on.

THE BAD:
There really isn't any bad qualities that I found in BG-DA2. The game still falls under the the same line as the first one, so there wasn't a dramatic change. So if your looking for something completely different, then this might not be to your liking.

SUMMARY:
Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance 2.

The game picks up where the first one left off. It allows you to still see and hear of some of the previous game characters. Which is a nice feature IMO. The graphics are a better, more detailed. The information center for the player is still the same, yet with added bonus's.

Such as when talking to a merchant, you not only have the...

THE GOOD:
better selection of characters
better skills and spells
custom equipment
character-specific

SUMMARY:
This is one of the best hack-n-slash games out on the playstation 2. There are few problems the game has, but they are problems none-the-less.
The first is that the game is short. While longer than the first Baldur's Gate, BGDA2 still only took me just under 11 hours to beat the first time through on normal difficulty.
Next is something I found dissatisfying, but if you dont play REAL RPG's ignore this paragraph. my second problem with BGDA2 is that it doesnt keep with the real D&D set-up with statistics and properties, immunities and resistances (aside from undead)
The final problem I found is that the characters, though they all have their own abilities, have inequalities in overall game play. this however wont be a problem for experienced gamers.

THE GOOD:
more characters
longer then average
vast array of skills and spells
custom equipment
unlockable characters
unique quests for each character
unlockable modes of play
amazingly addictive

THE BAD:
bird eye view camera
not all characters are equal

SUMMARY:
The only problems in this game are minor so not worth taking from the score. The bird eye view camera while in 2d this is the perfect angle not that great here but managable. Since no 3d game has good camera angles i will not deduct points.
The characters are not equally while good this can present numerous problems to inexperiance rpg gamers so i will lay it out for you. Ysuaron the moon elf necromancer has two great advantages ranged spells ans cheaper equipment creation but has substandard hp which will cuase problems in normal but infinatly more in extreme mode. Borador the dwarven rogue can lay explosives, gain additonal...

THE GOOD:
Game is longer then most games
more characters to choose from
intresting variety of skills/spells
character unqiue quests
custom equipment
Can earn unlock additonal characters
multplayer option
enemies are harder then orginal
oddly addictive

THE BAD:
camera angle can be irratating
Not all characters are even

SUMMARY:
This game is prob one of the closes games to perfection out there. But like all 3d games the camera angle is still off. This time unlike other games where it is to close to the character this one i to far from the character.
The characters are all unique and have an array of class specific skills and unlocked skills gotten through completiong thier unique quests. Various characters are better then others. Ysuron moon elf necromancer can rampage through normal games easily but extreme mode will find him torn to ribbons by missile weapons. Borador dwarven rogue...