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My family plays this over and over.....

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: April 11, 2008
Author: Amazon User

The opportunity to play alongside somebody else is SO worth every penny you spend on this game. People may have some complaints about it from a RPG perspective or other perpectives but the advantage of playing with my son or daughter has provided years of enjoyment and common experience. 2 Thumbs WAY up!

Good fun

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 2
Date: September 28, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This game was fun to play, it was more like hack 'n slash than anything else. Not a lot of real rpg storyline, but the game is fun to play anyway.

Overall = Good

MANY THINGS TO LOVE :)

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: August 12, 2007
Author: Amazon User

FIRST I WILL START OF BY CORRECTING EVERYONE WHO SAID IF THEY BEAT THE GAME ON EXTREME THEY WOULD GET THE FOURTH CHARACTER.THE ONLY WAY YOU CAN GET DRIZZT IS IF YOU BEAT THE GAUNTLET....ON TO MY REAL POINT NOW,THIS GAME IS REALLY FUN,ADDICTIVE(WARNING),AND A GREAT GAME FOR MULTIPLAYER..MY FAVORITE CHARACTER IS THE ELVEN SOURCERER(DESCRIBED AS MAGE).SHE HAS A GREAT AMOUNT OF INTRESTING AND SUITABLE MAGIC ATTACKS,SHE CAN THROW A BALL OF FIRE,SHOOT AND ACID ARROW,FIRE OF LIGHTINING(WHICH CAN CHANGE TO CHAIN LIGHTINING IF UPGRADED MAXIMUM).SHOOT BOTH A COOL ICY MIST,AND A HOT FIREY MIST FROM HER HANDS(SNOW BLIND,AND BURNING HANDS),SHE CAN SHOOT A MAGIC MISSLE-THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVORITES BECAUSE AS U UPGRADE IT THE MORE SHE SENDS.FOR EXAMPLE WITH EVERY LEVEL SHE UPGRADES THIS SHE FIRE AN EXTRA(FIRST BUBBLE ONE,SECOND 2,AND SO ON).AND THE MONSTER OF ALL METEOR SWARM.SHE CALLS ABOUT 8 METEORS TO STRIKE HER OPPONENT.THESE ARE JUST FEW SHE HAS MANY MORE.WE MOVE ON TO THE ARCHER.HE CHANNELS ELEMENTS INTO HIS ARROWS(FLAMING ARROWS,ELECTRIC ARROWS,ANDMANY MORE).HIS TARGETING IS PERCISE AS WELL AS HIS USE IN THE GAME.THEN WE MOVE ON TO THE DWARF(NO REALLY HIS NAME IS DWARF SOMETHING),THIS CHARACTER IS THE ONLY THING THAT DISAPPOINTED ME IN THIS GAME.HE ONLY HAS TWO OR THREE MAGIC ABILITIES.AND IN THIS GAME MAGIC ABILITIE ARE A PRIME REQUIREMENT.ALL HE IS REALLY GOOD WITH IS CLOSE QUARTERS COMBAT,WHICH LEADS TO HIS DEATH SOME TIMES,BUT HE IS GOOD AT WIELDING TWO WEAPONS. BY THE WAY THERE IS A MUCH EASIER WAY TO GET THE EXTRA CHARACTER IN THE GAUNTLET. FIRST USE THIS CHEAT TO GIVE ELF SOURCERESS ALL POWERS: LEFT TRIGGER ALL WAY DOWN,THEN PRESS R,Y,AND A.SHE NOW HAS ALL HER SPELLS(SCROLL THROUGH THEM USING DIRCTIONAL PAD).AFTER YOU ENTERED THE CHEAT SAVE THE GAME,THEN LOAD THE GAME OVER AND PRESS EXIT TO MAIN MENU.PRESS START NEW GAME THEN CHOOSE THE ARCHER PRESS START AND THEN IMPORT CHARACTERS.TAKE THE ELF SOURCERER,SAVE THAT GAME IN THE TAVERN THEN PRESS GO TO MAIN MENU AGAIN.THEN GO TO THE GAUNTLET,YOU WILL PLAY AS DRIZZT.WHEN YOU DIE RIGHT BEFORE IT TELLS YOU TO EITHER QUIT OR TRY AGAIN PRESS START THE IMPORT CHARACTERS AND CHOOSE THE SOURCERES.YOU NOW HOLD CONTROL OVER THE MOST POWERFUL CHARACTER.THEN IF YOU DIE WITH THE SOURCERER,CHOOSE THE ARCHERER FROM IMPORT CHARACTERS,THEN FIGHT IF YOU DIE.DO IT AGAIN IMPORT THE SOURCERES UNTIL U BEAT THE GUANTLET AND HAVE DRIZZT.EVERYBODY SHOULD ENJOY THIS GAME.RPG GAME REALLY OUTDONE ITSELF WITH THIS RELEASE:))) PS.I THINK YOU CAN ONLY GET THE GAUNTLET IF YOU BEAT THE GAME ON EXTREME IF SO,USE THIS CHEAT FOR LEVEL WARP:LEFT TRIGER ALL WAY DOWN,RIGHT TRIGGER HALF WAY DOWN,THEN PRESS Y+A+LEFT STICK,RIGHT STICK,AND START.THIS IS TRICKY IT COULD TAKE TWO PEOPLE TO DO THIS.

it freezes

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: May 12, 2007
Author: Amazon User

i luv this game.. BUT when i get to a certain spot in it it just keeps repeating itselfs.. i cant get past it.. iv tried it on 2 dofferent
x-boxes.. same thing.. i even rented the same game,, same thing.. and now im stuck with the game that wont play. i want to return it!!!

A great hack-n-slash dungeon crawl for the Xbox

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: August 21, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance has already been released for the PS2 months earlier, but this doesn't mean that the newly, ported version to the Xbox video game console should be ignored. Developer Snowblind Studios has seemlessly ported the PS2 version over to the Xbox and, using the Xbox's higher graphical processing power, made the game look even better. But graphics alone doesn't make a great a fun and great time for a gamer. This Xbox port also includes the great gameplay of the original PS2 version. The intuitive and easy-to-use control scheme remains intact.

Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance still allows a player to choose between three different types of player characters. One can either choose to be a dwarf warrior, a human ranger, or an elfin sorceress. Each type of character has their own advantages and disadvantages and all three could be used to go through the game and finish it. Though I learned after doing so that the best class to pick would be the elfin sorceress. Her high level of magic spells available to her in addition to being able to have some success using a melee weapon makes her slightly better overall. And for the prurient minded gamers out there, the elfin sorceress could be seen in all her near-nakedness glory in the menu-system.

The 3/4 top down viewpoint of the fight makes it easy for th eplayer not to be surprised by enemies and traps as he goes from one dungeon, cave system and, at time, overland area to the next. Similar to Blizzard's Diablo, BG:DA is pretty much the same game as that hack and slash, but using the 3rd edition rules of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons and its world of the Forgotten Realms. The city of Baldur's Gate and the surrounding region of the Sword Coast are done beautifully by the Snowblind developers. From the deep, underground mine tunnel complexes of the dwarves to the festering, swamp area of Chelimber.

The enemies are designed well and pretty much follows the description of the creatures in the many Forgotten Realms game books and novels. Whether its Umber Hulks, beholders, giants, displacer beasts, etc...the developers did their job well in bringing these varied and dangerous creatures of Faerun to life in BG:DA. Even the many different races introduced and used in the game follows their description in the FR books and guides. The dwarves speak with a heavy Scottish brogue, while elves, both high and dark speak in a high and might English-manner. The voice-acting in this game is also top-notch and I would say some of the best video game VA ever. There's not a false note with any of the spoken dialogue and that just makes the game much more immersive.

Overall, Interplay and Snowblind Studios' Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance is a great looking and very fun game to play. It's not as deep and rich as the straight-up rpg that the PC games int he series were well-known for. What Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance does bring is the themes and storytelling of the PC games but in a much more simple, hack and slash dungeon-crawl a la Diablo and Dungeon Siege. For those with an Xbox, but not a PS2 then I suggest they go out and get this game. They won't be disappointed.

Suprisingly good, one of the best of its genre

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: March 10, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I picked up a copy of Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance not too long ago (yah, I know it has been out for a while). Anyway, found the game surprisingly good and much better than expected.

In case you haven't read any of the other reviews or are completely confused, this game is typical hack-and-slash. You guide your charachter from an overhead perspective and control their attacks, blocks and magics. There is little in the way of skill needed here, which is refreshing in its own right. You have only three charachters to select from (Elven Sorceress, Human Archer and Dwarven Rogue), which was my first complaint. Each plays roughly the same, though they have slightly different starting stats and their list of spells/feats (which can be purchased when you level up) are different.

The game uses the Dungeons and Dragons roleplaying game ruleset, but takes a lot of liberties with it. But for fans of DnD you will see spells, feats and classes you recognize. The use of the DnD rules is not without its flaws though, and of most note is the flaw in the way armor works in this game (or doesn't work). As you improve your armor don't expect to take any less damage when you get hit, it doesn't work that way and armor doesn't absorb any damage. What the armor does is make it harder (supposedly) for enemies to hit you in the first place (yah, you will see them swing at you and have it deal no damage, or you swing at them and see your weapon slice them but don't deal any damage). While this sounds good, the problem is that the enemies you are going up against in the early stages of the game can hit you 99% of the time even with the best armor you could find at that point. In the later stages, the enemies will hit you no matter what, you simply can't get your armor high enough to cause them any concern - the developers of the game actually released a statement acknowledging this. Oh well, you do have a manual block (provided you are using melee weapons) and it works pretty well against most attacks except those of bosses. All armor does is make you look cool and take up a huge chunk of your limited carrying capacity.

Graphically the game looks really good, the colors are clear and vibrant and your charachter model looks good and usually stands out nicely from the surroundings. As you change your equipment you will notice that it reflects on your charachter. Magical weapons also have a nice blue shine and as enemies near some will burst into flame or something similar. The enemies as well look really, really well done, and again, if you are familiar with DnD you will recognize them. The visual representation of your spells is also very well done with bright colors, dancing flames and showers of magical energy - nice! When you strike an opponents you will be rewarded with blood spatter, and smaller enemies like rats can be cut clean in half. Spiders also goo nicely (and can be pretty creepy to anyone who happens to not like spiders).

The gameplay is smooth, no glitches, and the controls are easy. Spell management is a little cumbersome as you have to use the direction pad to scroll through your list of spells/feats to find the one you want to use for the current situation, but simply pressing the B button uses the selected spell, and A delivers your attack. Switching between close and ranged weapons is very simple (press a direction on the D-pad) and pressing the other direction turns the automap on and off. As far as the map is concerned you don't really need it because the game pretty much uses invisible barriers, stones, walls, green foilage, ravines and what have you to keep your from exploring out of the desired area. In all respects the game is extrememly linear, but as you are basically playing for the hack-and-slash aspect, that is not too bad. And you can also have a friend control a second charachter on the screen, which adds to the fun.

As far as sound, that is never too much of a big deal for me, but the voice acting in this game is fine, the spells, blows and weapon effects sound great for the most part, and I didn't really notice the background music, so obviously it isn't a probem either.

I did give the game 5 stars, but it does have some flaws. The graphics are nice and the levels are laid out ok, but not great. And they re-use a lot of the texture tiles and what have you, so in that respect some of the areas have similiar appearance to what you would expect to see on the super nintendo with the same brick tile pattern repated every so many inches (most annoying when you are outdoors and they reuse trees and rock formations). Also, as I mentioned, there are only 3 classes to play as, and each one is somewhat limited in their spells and feats. For example, as the Sorceress I found only a few of the spells to be worth investing in and none of them did more damage than a fine sword and a lot of them take a pretty good amount of magical energy to cast for only a limited effect. Using ranged weapons and spells can also be aggravating as it is not always easy to tell exactly where your character is facing, so they will miss a few times while you try and line them up. This gets harder when you are farther away from your target, or trying to fire diagnally.

Overall I really enjoyed this game. There are a few aggravating spots (like jumping across tiles that fall out from under you) but overall very fun and a great way to burn away the time. If you overlooked it before, give it a try.

Excellent - for what it is.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: January 15, 2005
Author: Amazon User

First, I have to admit that I've been out of gaming since atari and early nintendo 1990's. So I may be easily impressed.

Dark Alliance - the drageons, characters, exploration, buying, etc really appealed to me.

I found this to be an exploration type game and destroy everything you could. Yes, you had to do certain things, but I wouldn't have considered them puzzles. The most difficult part of the game was getting over these floating stone circles.

The ablity to upgrade and tryout new armour, weapons, and powers also drew me into this game. What would this do - burn or turn them to ice! For the scale of the game, the graphics were cool and detailed. However, I would have liked to see this world up closer.

If I had any complaints, it would be that towards the end - you felt like everything became repetative and the ending disappointing. I would have liked more puzzles. And, as I found out - circling your enemies was the easiest way to defeat them. The ending was, well, short - I would have expected some sort of 5 minute clip of celebration, reward ceremony, etc at Baldur's Gate.

Recommendation - I would suspect that hardcore gamers would find this simplistic and I bet they have already buzzed through it. However, being a beginner and moving to controllers with more buttons - its a nice dive into a world that kept me coming back and wanting more.

Not enough campaign time for the money

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: December 23, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I feel sorry for anyone who has spent more than ten dollars on this game. I purchased it for [...] at Toys 'R' Us. Basically a dollar for every hour of campaign time I got out of it.

I'm a huge rpg, particularly forgotten realms fantasy fan, and I was sorely dissapointed in this game. While, the story is missing in detail, the adventuring is fun, heavy hack n slash type, very little to no RP at all. The ending was just that, an ending, a real let down. We went through this game tooth and nail, making sure to uncover every stone, secret and bad guy and it still only took me 8 and a half hours to beat. I was really dissapointed. Just when we thought there was going to be a spectacular plot twist and the game was really going to start kicking, it just ended, promising yet 'another installment' in the Baldurs Gate series. Honestly, instead of purchasing the next game, I'll just pass. I just can't justify paying new game prices for what amounts to the time you would get out of a free community expansion.

If you want to purchase an RPG, save your money and put it towards the NWN platinum pack for the PC. Now there you can waste the hours away!!!

AWSOME

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: August 02, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This game is fun and good for 2 players.It has exceptionaly good graphics.3 diferent levels of gameplay easy,medium, and hard.3 different caracters to choose from:Archer, Dwarf, and scorceres.There is a large solection of weapons including;mourning stars,bows,axes, and warhammers.you can upgrade ur character to make his or hers skills better and more powerful.

Great RPG fun

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: July 28, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance is one of the most fun games i have played in a long time. The hack 'n slash action is instantly addictive and the smooth polished graphics add to the appeal of this excellant game. It is jam packed with different weapons and spells to use while battling in the three extensive worlds. I thouroghly enjoyed every second of this Dungeons & Dragons themed RPG, however i just wish there was more. the game ends rather abruptly, forcing you to by the game's sequel in order to finish the story. that aside this is an wonderful game with tons of replay value and personality to boot.

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