Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance

No, honestly, you can't change any options in-game, even screen resolution is out of your bounds. Thankfuly, they did put some keybinding change possibility, but it's very recommended to play with gamepad, because in that case you'll save yourself some nerves. Imagine "Bard's Tale" (2004). Now put everything you'd imagined in D&D surroundings. Now you have an image of "Dark Alliance" in your head. I can't say that this game is bad or anything - because it's not - but with such a price they could not really have hope in such a lazy port, because it's basically a PS2-port with wide-screen resolutions support and keyboard+mouse input (and some ridiculous problems like crash to desktop while trying to use ladder from boss area to get back to town - don't be like me, use teleport instead). My overall impressions are "better than expected", but no revelations happened. The game is fine. The port is meh. The price is too high.

I loved this game on Xbox and PS2, and its sequel plus the two Champions of Norrath games by the same studio on the same engine are classics worth getting a PS2 and tracking down the discs for! They don't emulate well on some hardware, so I was eager for a modern port. But this frankly doesn't impress and feels overpriced for the effort I see.

Growing up during the PS2 era, it was both a surprise and a treat to discover that one of my all-time favorite games had found its way onto the PC. Reliving those gaming moments felt even more special this time around, especially when compared to my previous experiences with emulators like PCSX2. What sets this port apart right from the get-go is its native design – it's not merely an emulation. This distinction means that the game not only looks tremendously superior but also runs with a smoothness and stability that I never experienced when emulating it on PCSX2. The sheer beauty of this port, with its ability to play in native resolution and support for native frame rates, took me by surprise. The graphics, which I fondly remember admiring on my old CRT television, are now sharper and cleaner than I could have imagined. Yet, there are hiccups. The game sometimes "locks" on the loading screen, forcing a PC restart. Also, changing sound outputs requires game restarts, and the music, while nostalgic, occasionally drowns out dialogues. Another hiccup is the intermittent controller disconnection during map transitions, which I troubleshoot via my PC’s Bluetooth settings. Pros: Enhanced graphics, crisper than the original. Stable gameplay. Supports both mouse/keyboard and controller. A trip down memory lane for fans. Cons: Game can "freeze" on loading. No dynamic sound output detection. Controller issues during map changes. Overpowering music at times. Concluding thoughts, if I were to evaluate this game solely on its technical merits, it might only garner a 1/5 star rating, especially considering its price. But, factoring in the weight of nostalgia and the vast improvement over emulation, I'd be inclined to rate it 8/5. Deducting for the noted hiccups and pricing, the final tally is a solid 4/5. For enthusiasts of the original, the journey, despite its imperfections, remains worthwhile.

When it comes to ports from PC and console devs go out of their way to make it work on consoles, latest example the DIABLO 2 RESURRECTED console version actually puts those players at an advantage control-wise. Unfortunately that is rarely the case with PC ports of console games. A terrible example would be DARK SOULS. BALDUR'S GATE: DARK ALLIANCE isn't an terrible port, but it still is a bad port. While graphically it's been scaled up, the controls are just terrible with mouse & keyboard. Yes, the game was designed for consoles, but devs make games designed for PC work well on consoles and given the extra time between the PS5/XB1 release and the PC release of the game what we get is unacceptable. The controls are unintuitive and clunky. For the little effort that went into this port the price of $30 is an audacity.

if youre like me and loved champions of norrath on PS2 with your homies, this is a no brainer.