Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance

"Better than a monkey fight... or is it?"

If you liked any D & D or Diablo games, you will enjoy this game. This game is way better than a monkey fight, in a ring of fire with knives... well not really, but it‘s still a great game.

GAME PLAY 8/10- This game is extremely fun and addictive, it is your basic Hack n Slash but with enhanced graphics and huge levels, though the scenery can get boring at times in this game, it still fits the level perfectly. This game can be easy at times when you get better weapons and armor etc. But it gets hard if you have low damage weapons and low defense armor and you are fighting twenty monsters at a time. But keep in mind that most hack n slash get repetitive after awhile. The controls are easy to learn, A button is attack, B is magical attack, Y is jump, and X is the ''action button,'' you use it to talk to people and open doors. L refills you mana, and R refills health. Very simple controls and it doesn't take a long time to learn.

STORY 7/10- The game starts out in a cut scene where you just entered the town of Balders Gate, but then you get mugged by some strangers, the game starts off right there, basically you are looking for the muggers that stole your stuff.

AUDIO/VISUAL 9/10- The graphics are great in this game, every explosion is done right, and the enemies look like the designers had put a lot of effort into them. The only problem is the frame rate, it can slow down sometimes but usually you don't notice it. The sounds are spectacular, the voice over are well done, and the sounds of the screaming monsters are awesome. Though there isn’t much music, and sometimes when you are talking to people, you will have a hard time hearing them because of the loud music that pops up every now and then.

REPLAY ABILITY 9/10- You can play through this game at least four times, once with each character, and one on the hardest difficulty. You could search for the strongest weapon, the most defensive armor and many other things. Sure you can play it more than four times, but you probably won’t want to... But later, when you beat all of the new games that you’ve bought, you will take this game out and play it again. This game is like your favorite food.

RENT or BUY - Buy this game if you are the type of person that likes to play D & D or Diablo type games, or if you just like Hack n Slash games. Rent it if you are not sure, and would like to test it out.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 05/19/03, Updated 02/17/04