Co-Optimus

The Co-Op Experience

This is one good-looking game. Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance is powered by one of the best 3D engines yet devised for the PlayStation 2, a feat for which developer Snowblind Studios deserves considerable acclaim. All the Lobotomy veterans on the team are well overdue a fete, considering how little credit they got for the brilliant programming of their Sega Saturn games. Powerslave had a heck of an engine, it was just that nobody played it. That problem shouldn't plague Dark Alliance, though -- it should receive all the success it deserves.

It is based, after all, on one of the most reliable concepts in videogames. It's a dungeon hack. It's a good dungeon hack. Boy, do I love a good dungeon hack. In terms of depth, there will not ever be anything to touch the glory of NetHack, but Dark Alliance does more than enough to make it a standout in the genre. It has deep dungeons, twisting passages, tricky puzzles, dangerous traps, a wide variety of opponents, and +3 Masterwork Flaming Long Swords. Or something like that. You get the idea, right?

Game Background