Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II

The PC port of this PS2 game is done like the predecessor, so mouse + keyboard controlling is just too clumsy. Once again a Xbox controller is must to have for the full gaming enjoyment. Everything works the same like in the predecessor: the combat, blocking and the gameplay. Ranged combat seems better with some sort of auto-aim which sometimes target things like barrels in the heat of combat. There are more character classes to choose which gives more replay value than in the predecessor. Though I'm not sure if the classes are equal especially for the final boss battle which is messy, unclear and disapointing. There are also some improvements like possibility to dual-wield weapons, better ranged weapon selection, more enemy types and few side quests to complete. There are less magical equipments to be looted, but you can make your own magic equipments by using rune stones and different gems. First, I had no clue how did this magic item crafting work. After some google search I finally got the idea. Though the magic bonuses from the gems are very minor and the whole process can be very costly. The game gets quite repetitive eventually. There is only one merchant in the game who has not much good to sell, and there is not much use of money besides buying things and the magic item crafting. The game level themes are varied, but the layout is pretty straightforward mostly lke the gameplay generally. Besides, the jumping mechanic is still pointless in this game. Besides, I have noticed that there are some recycled musics from Icewind Dale and recycled ambient sound and SFX sounds from Baldur's Gate PC series.

The complaints in these reviews are simply unfounded. This game plays just as well on this port as it did twenty years ago. It's still a twenty year old game with only a handful of character options, but once you settle in for your chosen character, it's off to the races. The game plays perfectly with a controller and responds smoothly. The action gets fast and furious and the dive into the lore and world of Baldur's Gate has never been better. Baldur's Gate and its sequel were the gold standard for top down dungeon crawlers for years. It wasn't until the release of Diablo III that another game even came close. There is no new content and the graphics look dated, but they still look great. The sound FX and environments really help immerse you into the game. Fans of classic dungeon crawlers can sit back, plug in your controller, turn down the lights and get ready for a good time!

Bien que les graphismes ont été améliorés (légèrement), le moteur reste le même avec ses qualités et défauts. Je n'ai pas grand chose à dire ce côté si ce n'est que notre personnage est pas mal détaillé : ça fait plaisir ! La musique est OK, c'est souvent des sons d'ambiances (gouttes, etc...) MAIS mon ouïe affutée a repéré quelque chose : n'aurait-ils pas recyclés des musiques d'Icewind Dale 2 ? Je pense notamment à celle d'un combat de boss où il me semble bien que c'est la même que celle qui se joue lors de l'attaque de la palissade au tout début. Je me trompe peut-être mais j'ai une très forte suspicion ! Je rajoute aussi que parfois, la bande son est trop forte et on entend pas ce que raconte les PNJ. Les dialogues sont pas palpitant mais quand même : c'est un problème de réglage du jeu d’origine ? C'est curieux. Quant à l'histoire : clichée. Franchement, elle est sans intérêt ! Nous avons 5 héros et 2 personnages à débloqués. C'est plutôt cool. Mais la durée de vie limitée (9 h à tout casser) et le fait que ça soit que des combats peut devenir très vite redondants. Vous êtes à un point A et vous devez aller au B en tuant tout. Ce n'est pas du tout varié ! Et nous avons quasiment pas de quêtes secondaires. Mention aux civils que l'ont sauve : nous avons des remerciements et pouf ! Ils disparaissent comme par magie ! Pourquoi ne pas avoir fait ce tour quand vous étiez enfermés ? On notera l'absence de barre de vie des ennemis (hors boss), c'est assez déroutant. Vous ne savez pas si vous faites beaucoup de dégât par rapport à leur vie. On peut certes activer les chiffres des coups mais c'est pas pareil ! J'ai aussi eu quelques bugs notamment des ennemis qui se figent et sont invincibles... Ok, toujours un délice. Cette suite est certes correct mais ne prends aucun risque. Si vous avez joué au premier, vous ne verrez pas de différence notable. Ceci dit, je vous conseille ce jeu. Ce n'est pas incroyable mais ça fait le café comme on dit !

I played through Dark Alliance 1 three or four times with various friends, and always loved it. This more of the same, but with more classes and a bit more freedom to explore. My sister is home visiting from Japan, so we bought this and fired it up. We're about 4 hours in, and having a blast. Yes, the price is high. I had waited for it to go on sale for a very long time...with no luck. That being said, we've already gotten our money's worth & we still have a long way to go. It is solid fun. The graphics definitely are sharper (you can adjust it), though the textures on a lot of things are still very pixelated. A main gain is the MUCH faster loading times. The first game had the same problem and, even if you emulated these games like many suggest, the load times are still as if you were loading off of a DVD. Is is pricey perhaps beyond what it should cost? Yes. Is the fun-factor there if you have a friend to go on the ride with, though? Absolutely. :)

love it!!