CNET Networks Entertainment GameSpot | GameFAQs | SportsGamer | Metacritic | MP3.com | TV.com
Home | About Metacritic | About Metascores | What's New | Wireless Versions | Discussion Forums | Advertising Inquiries | Contact Us | RSS
Metacritic.com: We Deal With Criticism
     Help
> Switch to Advanced Search  
Film Video/DVD Music Games TV

Games

Playstation Reviews
PS3 | PS2 | PS One | PSP

Xbox Reviews
Xbox 360 | Xbox

Nintendo Reviews
Wii | DS | GBA | Cube | N64


PC | N-Gage | Dreamcast

How Metascores Are Calculated
Discuss Games In Our Forums

 

Upcoming & Recent Releases

sort by name sort by score

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed games.



Printer-Friendly Version Email This Page Discuss In Our Forums
Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance cube Game Reviews
Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance
Critic Score
Metascore: 79 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
8.8 out of 10
based on 10 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 13 votes
Read user comments
Rate this game

A darkness is gathering in the sprawling port town of Baldur's Gate. Members of the deteriorating city have been found dead, people fear leaving home, and rumors abound of a thieves' guild civil war brewing beneath the streets of the city. The player, down on his luck and carrying little other than a sword strapped to his back, comes fresh to the town and becomes all that stands in the way of the greatest threat ever to strike Baldur's Gate and the Sword Coast. [Interplay]

PUBLISHER: Interplay / Black Isle Studios
DEVELOPER: Snowblind Studios
GENRE(S): Role-Playing Game
PLAYERS: 2
ESRB RATING: T (Teen)
RELEASE DATE: November 19, 2002

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

88
GameZone
Does have a few stumbling points, but challenges and entertains with exceptional graphics, and wonderful sound.
Read Full Review
86
Armchair Empire
Manages to walk the line between hardcore RPG and straight action. It’s fun and it’s polished – definitely worth your time as well.
Read Full Review
86
Gamers' Temple
If you like your RPGs heavy on the action, Dark Alliance provides some great monster-kicking gameplay.
Read Full Review
84
Nintendo Power
The action is shown from an overhead view, with small characters in detailed environments. [Jan 2003, p.172]
80
GamePro
It's outlandishly short (10 hours if you're good), the controls take getting used to, and the multiplayer mode's limited to only two players, but the whole of Baldur's Gate is still far greater than the sum of its parts.
Read Full Review
80
Play Magazine
Inspired by AD&D, this marvelously detailed, richly atmospheric action-RPG is a ceaselessly entertaining example of how valuable highly focused, simplistic adventuring can really be. [Jan 2003, p.78]
79
Nintendojo
The game looks and plays better, but still, even after a year on the PS2, this one is basically the same title.
Read Full Review
77
GameSpy
An excellent choice for someone who enjoys the genre. If only High Voltage and Interplay had paid due respect to the source material.
Read Full Review
76
GameSpot
While it's easily the weakest version of the three versions of Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance, it can still be worth playing for GameCube owners feeling the lack of decent fantasy role-playing games for their only system.
Read Full Review
75
IGN
If you're not a stickler for framerate, then ignore what we've said about it. Dark Alliance is still an awesome experience that holds up a year later.
Read Full Review

What Our Users Said

Vote Now! The average user rating for this game is 8.8 (out of 10) based on 13 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

B-Dog gave it an 8:
I wish the gamecube would make more games like this. Fun to play multiplayer, and it never runs out. THe only complaint that I have is that they didn't make DA 2 for gamecube!

Eric L. gave it a 7:
Your classic uninspiring dungeon hack and slash "Rpg". note the quotes around rpg. as far as hack and slash collect treasure games this one is ok.

Mithrend gave it a 10:
Great game wish game cube had more like this title.

Uter gave it a 6:
It's an above average game. the repetitiveness of battles is reminiscient of diablo. there's no skill really involved. you kinda walk up to them and press the a button rapidly for the most part. But even with the repetitiveness, i found the game a bit too short. it will take you about 10 hours to get through - very small for an action rpg. overall it was quite enjoyable. i did beat it 4 times in total.

Richard N. gave it a 10:
Just a kicken game so fun to play a bit like diable lod so i love it.

Barbara B. gave it a 10:
I enjoyed playing this game very much and I hope they come out with several more very similar except longer-playing and with many more character choices. I especially liked being able to choose which difficulty level to play - I am vision impaired with lazy eye so many times games are 200% more difficult for me than normal people. The Thieves Guild level where fairly precise jumps at precise times were required was a nightmare though. I wish there would have been more character choices but it was interesting to play as each of those three. It was just right in beating the boss's too - not too easy and not too hard - I liked the balance in each difficulty level for all the characters.

Donetha G. gave it an 8:
Great game, but very easy to defeat.

Read more user comments...

Discuss this game in our forums

Return to top of page
Home | FILM | DVD/VIDEO | MUSIC | GAMES | TV | Forums | About Metacritic metacritic.com

Popular on CBS sites: World News | Fantasy Football | Amy Winehouse | Baseball | E3 | Batman | Firefox 3 | iPhone 3G

About CNET Networks | Jobs | Advertise

© 2008 CNET Networks, Inc., a CBS Company. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use