Baldur's Gate Review - W

"Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II" is shallow, patronizing, and repetitive. It's also one of the finest console action role-playing experiences we've seen in years. Join us as we formerly skeptical critics don sword and shield in the Dungeon & Dragons universe on tonight's "X-Play."

Five alive

Character creation, the beginning of any Dungeons & Dragons experience, is effortless. As the tale opens, you choose from one of five preset heroes, including human barbarian, dark elf monk, moon elf necromancer, dwarven rogue, and human cleric. Purists will surely scoff, since dice rolling is done away with. Fear not! Opportunities for bolstering base attributes and adding skills, spells, and feats abound. You'll soon discover as much by following a hackneyed (yet skillfully scripted) nonlinear story line as you explore the collaboration among sinister forces allied against the city of Baldur's Gate.


Appearances can be deceiving

On the surface, "Dark Alliance II" looks like an eye-catching anomaly, and one that does away with the statistical tedium that plagues traditional RPGs. Tentative stabs at the action reveal it to be but a clone of the coin-op classic "Gauntlet," albeit one with prettier spell effects and support for just two simultaneous players. Keep an open mind for 15 minutes, though, and you'll soon be stunned at how much depth the disc can cram into a largely transparent user interface.

"Dark Alliance II" excels at automating the numerous saving throws, ability checks, and armor class adjustments that typically color pen-and-paper gaming sessions. Because of this, the title effectively transforms "3rd Edition Dungeons & Dragons" -- a complex diversion targeted at a niche market -- into something appropriate for the unwashed masses.
Plumbing the depths

Unless you studied musty old rule books or rolled many a 20-sided die back in the day, you probably won't comprehend just how impressive this game is. Hot keys let you breeze through character readouts, enhance skills, equip weapons, wield magic, create items, quaff potions, and engage in combat. Accessing most functions, including levying attacks at adversaries and invoking feats, requires naught but the press of a button. Even encounters with exotic creatures -- many among the most feared in the official D&D Monster Manual -- are handled via the one-touch method.

Look a little deeper, however, and you'll witness just how much content is crammed into an expertly streamlined presentation and control scheme. Knockdown effects, combo hits, dual-weapon specialization, instant kills, vulnerabilities, critical hits, and spell chaining are all accounted for. Smacking a zombie prone and then disintegrating it with a crushing blow from a mace of disruption might not mean much to the average hobbyist, but watching the process unfold in real-time will cause a stiffening sensation in any fantasy fan's codpiece. That the game accounts for so many factors earns it an award unto itself.

We can't complain much about plot development, either. Extraneous banter is minimal, as you only chat with important characters. Signing on for missions -- with many offered as optional side-quests -- takes virtually no time at all. Conversely, working your way through them can take hours, as maps are large, enemies are plentiful, and sub-quests are presented in every scenario.

Chinks in the armor

Ambitious as the game is, it's not without flaws. Although players level up frequently and thus quickly gain in power, combat can grow monotonous, since you're often faced with waves of similar baddies. Collecting objects is also important in certain sequences, but you'll often overlook them. Furthermore, intelligent as they are, opponents regularly circle and retreat or flank your position, causing frustration as your alter-ego must be lined up with a target to strike true. Mundane sound effects and unexceptional voice acting also cheapen the proceedings. And we'd be surprised if anyone but the hardest of the hard-core made use of new item-creation options.

Looking like a million bucks

The orchestral score that complements the product's four acts is excellent. The objects and textures adorning each chapter are even better. Viewed from an isometric perspective, the graphical engine displays adventurers, monsters, and backdrops with equal aplomb. From viscera-strewn laboratories to seedy hideouts teeming with assassins, you'll enjoy respectable, if not first-class, production values that accurately capture the epic flavor of the campaign.

A pocketful of gold

Some may say that "Dark Alliance II" is an average hack-'n'-slash outing with minimal replay value. We wish these critics the best with their crack habit. For the "Dungeons & Dragons" devotee or role-playing enthusiast tired of drowning in minutia and non-playable character banter, this is a refreshingly original and addictive take on the swords and sorcery canon.

"Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II"
Also available on Xbox