Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II

"Good, but feels like an expansion pack."

I want to start out this review by saying I loved the original Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance. It's one of my favorite Xbox games. I have always been a fan of Hack & Slash RPGs. When I heard a sequel was coming, I was a very happy man. Until the sequel arrived.

Here's the deal. Dark Alliance II seems WAY too much like the original. It feels like I am playing the original all over again. I guess the developers went with the ''ain't broke don't fix it'' idea for this game. The thing is, it just doesn't feel like a new game at all.

A lot of things from the original game has been sent over to the sequel. The menu style is the same, music is the same (some of it), the character setup is the game, most of the weapons are the same, and the gameplay is exactly the same. For a sequel to blow you away, it has to feel like the original, yet offer plenty of new things to make it feel like you are buying a new game too. Dark Alliance II does a great job by feeling like the original, but it doesn't feel like anything is new.

The game does have some new features. The Workshop feature allows you to collect rare jewels and things to create new weapons from the trader. There are some new character classes, but only the Dark Elf Monk and Necromancer feel new, and they both suck. The other three being the Cleric, Rogue, and Barbarian feel like the last three classes, but just switched around. For instance, the rogue is now a dwarf, the magical person is now a chick, and the Barbarian is just you're typical fighter with a new name.

The game does have some better graphics, but not too much better. I noticed some better texture work, that's about it. Everything else looks the same as the original. The music isn't anything great either, just typical dungeon hacker medieval music. The sound effects are all reused from the original, excluding some voice acting.

The core gameplay is all the same. Nothing has been tweaked that I can see. The only really new feature is the side quests, something that the original lacked. Right when you pick up the game, you will feel right at home if you played the original. This just bores me. I want some major features here, better combat, some new abilities added into the mix. There's just nothing making it different from the original.

Don't get me wrong though, the game is good. If you liked the first one, then you will no doubt enjoy this one too. I was just expecting so much more out of a sequel. Instead it feels like an overpriced expansion pack.

It feels like the developers took the original game, slapped some new levels in, a few new boring characters, and put s II in front of the name. Slap that bad boy on a disc, put it in a case, and you got a sequel. That's not how sequels work. You need to add enough things to make it feel new and make it feel like Dark Alliance as well. The developers simply did not do this, making Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance 2 a very big letdown. Buy when it drops in price.

6/10

-Ryudo88
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Pros:

+ Upgraded graphics (minor)
+ New Workshop feature is pretty cool
+ New character classes
+ Same good gameplay
+ Side Quests

Cons:

- No new gameplay enhancements
- Too many reused stuff from the original
- New characters kinda suck
- Bad, boring cliche music
- No online mode?

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 02/14/04