Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance

After the many games that spawned from the one PC RPG hit, Baldur's Gate, a console version is finally underway. The PlayStation 2's Baldur's Gate world, though, will not be like any other of the previous stories you may or may not have played in a Baldur's Gate game. Rather, Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance is a completely new experience for any fan of the series. And as for any fan of the series, some vast improvements have been made to welcome both new and old fans alike.

You are a young traveler. Entering into the town of Baldur's Gate, a group of thieves knock you unconscious, and plunder your goods. What have you left? Well, nothing. The only option for your character is to now search for your stolen items from the mysterious men who took them. The journey may be dangerous, the mission may be long, but if you're to get back what's rightfully yours, you've got to scour through caves of ice, steam filled swamps, and even creepy woodland areas to find your treasure.

It's said that Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance shows off some of the best graphics on any system to date. Whether your preference is in a game's look, as I see it, Dark Alliance shares some of the said traits. The towns themselves are done in full 3D. You'll notice the firelight highlighting your character's reflections off of water, and some very impressive human and monster models that make things as though you were actually living hundreds of years back. The game's humans have that certain medieval style to them. The monsters, all different, all unique, and all scary mix into the game's look with creatures like a carnivorous dragon, to a snow furred abominable snowman, or even the mythical one eyed floating Beholder. The monsters are real enough to make your thoughts quiver.

Dark Alliance, while it's not a traditional console RPG game, has an overhead view for dungeon exploration. In this view you'll find yourself facing the enemy through it, as to make the whole screen a visual impact. Much of the time in battle is a real treat, when your character is able to both cast spells and use hand-to-hand combat. The three characters in Dark Alliance that you'll be able to choose from in the beginning are an Elven Sorceress; a woman that's great with magical attacks, but weak otherwise, a Dwarven Fighter; powerful in melee style attacks, this guy can sustain hard attacks and dish them out in return, and a Human Ranger; varies in both magical attacks and regular ones, he uses a bow and arrow that combine the two with great effect. Whichever selectable player you'll choose form in the beginning, you'll find a difference in each, and in each, whatever you find you can use best.

Also in the untraditional RPG sense, Dark Alliance falls into the action category, where much of the game takes place in real time. From battling a horde of enemies, to solving puzzles within the enormous town of Baldur's Gate, the real time, real good looking in-game graphics is abounding. In battle, there's much to do and much to learn. As a character moves up through the levels, your character can gain points, which are otherwise called "feats". With the feats, you'll be able to choose where exactly you're going to distribute these points. If you're lacking in magical ability, using the points enhances the magical category. The game's magic system contains so many spells that you'd think a witch were the game's designer. For multiple enemies, there are menacing spells like comets that will hail from the heavens, circles of fire that burn the enemy around you, or even ice walls that plummet your opponent's lives away in an instant. There are of course simpler attacks like for instance, your weapon abilities. Later in the game as your character builds stats, you'll be able to obtain such excellent weapons like a flame sword. The Human Ranger, who is great in both magic and normal attacks, has the ability to perform magic with use of his arrow. Whichever style you prefer, magic or weaponry, there's plenty of mix in both ways.

A true RPG stylish game deserves the beckoning of music. Fortunately, Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance is filled with just that. Including great voice work for the game's characters, the music should line up decently. The game's music while mysterious in more ways than one fits its title greatly. Listening to the firefights against your foes, clashing of the swords, or even the in-game score that's moving, is a fact you'd come to expect. True to the very essence, walking around town or in other areas reacts with the character. Imagine the realism of strolling through a river, and how the liquid has a purified rippling sound. Monsters, like they would be in real life, growl, and haunt your very ears. The game's sound: It's like magic.

Not forgetting about the puzzles, because they're in the game as well. Attempting to heave boxes inside of a dungeon's belly to move further ahead, or aiding a town's member, like any other RPG, you'll get your fair share of thinking in the game. Just about all of Dark Alliance's puzzles are mini ones. There are just about too many mini ones to complete. And as that is so, they're also all optional. Of course, completing puzzles will reward you with money or objects to aid you further along the way. Talking with any person in town, they'll each have their own story from which to express. Some folks are even missing an object. If you're to find their missing item, and thus bring it back to them, they'll reward your character generously.

One very good feature of this particular RPG is that the game's two player. Yes, you guessed it, two people can actually explore a dungeon at the same time, and do whatever they'd like in the free roaming areas. Together, you and a friend or family member can take on the demon hordes, as they'll come at you in many shapes and sizes. And, it's not often that you'd find an RPG without its one player truism on a console today.