So, Where Were We?
When we last left Baldur's Gate, our trio of heroes had just destroyed Eldrith the Betrayer and her dreaded Onyx Tower. However, they had been deceived by an ally, and vanished along with the tower. In typical Dungeons and Dragons tradition, more heroes came to the city of Baldur's Gate to find fame and fortune. Despite Eldrith's passing, the city still remains threatened by evil forces, and you must stop them.
The unfortunate thing about Dark Alliance II is that virtually nothing has been added which significantly changes the playing experience. There are now 5 characters to choose from: a barbarian, cleric, necromancer, monk and rogue. There are also two unlockable characters available later on. Each character has their own proficiencies and abilities - the barbarian can fight with two weapons at once and the necromancer can raise the dead and so on. Abilities are gained through gaining levels - the higher the level, the more new points you get to spend. Players can now also craft their own weapons using gems found throughout the world. It all seems all too similar to Diablo II, whereas the predecessor at least stood out on its on merits a little more.
The game is still structured in exactly the same way - you crawl through various dungeons, slaying enemies until you complete your objective. Dark Alliance II does give you the option between quests at certain points in the game, e.g. you can either go to Bloodmire Manor or investigate a series of kidnappings. The game does branch out into different environments, which is a relaxing change from the dank dungeons of the first game.
Length was a major criticism of the first game and this has been addressed in Dark Alliance II. The main campaign lasts for about 12-15 hours, and you can expect to get a lot more playtime out of strengthening your characters and playing co-operative mode with a friend. There are also two more characters to unlock once the game is beaten.
Nasty Goblins
In 2001, Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance was praised for its high quality graphics. Fast forward two years later, and the visuals are virtually unchanged, which is somewhat disappointing considering the amount of time the game was in development. The only perceivable differences between the original game and Dark Alliance II are the sequel's use of more colourful environments, more characters on screen and no slowdown. No 60 Hz mode has been included this time either, which is disappointing.
Dark Alliance II's soundtrack is virtually indistinguishable from the music from the first game - only the diehard fans of the first are likely to know the difference. Voice acting is much improved in the second game, though the dialog does feature a lot of cheesy moments, such as the Barbarian character hitting on virtually every female character he speaks to.
More of the Same
The unfortunate thing about Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance II is that the developer never took any time to add anything seriously different to the experience. If you were a die hard fan of the first game, and want to do the same thing all over again in a different location with 5 different characters, then you might find Dark Alliance II to be very compelling. Everyone else will most likely be able to live without playing it.
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