Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II

GamingWorld X

A great game and worthy sequel. It keeps the core gameplay intact, but improves on it significantly, and then adds a plethora of new additions that only enhance what’s already on offer.

Gamezilla!

It’s highly polished in every way and offers a lot more content - it just doesn’t offer many new features nor does it fix some of the game’s original problems.

GamePro

The quest is absolutely enormous, especially for this style of game, with tons of lengthy missions and a few character-specific side-quests. There’s also a great weapon-and-item customization feature that vastly increases the already impressive equipment possibilities.

Game Over Online

Just like the first one, but there's more of it...It isn't going to win any new fans over to the genre, but it is very good at what it does.

GameZone

Somewhat linear, but boasts a lot of eye candy and solid gameplay. This is a good title in solo play, but much better in cooperative game play.

Gamers' Temple

Support for three or four players would have been nice, but an online component is far more conspicuously absent.

Gamer's Pulse

Even though it doesn’t offer much improvement over the original in terms of gameplay and presentation, Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance II stands as a solid role-playing game both sides of the gate can appreciate.

Game Informer

As much as I enjoy the online play and random dungeon generation in "Champions of Norrath," Dark Alliance II's quest has a better flow to it, the stages show more variety, and the hack n' slash gameplay is more dynamic. [Feb 2004, p.100]

DailyGame

Its lack of online multiplayer, and the fact that you can’t control an entire party at once hamper the overall game a bit, but as a whole, it’s an enjoyable fantasy romp.

IGN

The workshop feature creates a bit of an added experience and some new weapons to play with, but if the system was opened even further to make the weapons and armor more fluid, it would have been a better choice.

Next Level Gaming

Definitely better than the first game. It's better than "Fallout." But it loses points on the biggest component it needed to compete with the upcoming "Champions of Norrath"; online gameplay. The fact is, if you have two games of similar quality, chances are you're heading for the one that's online.

Play Magazine

No less than the new king of the dungeon crawl, easily beating the upcoming Norrath in my opinion (although Norrath is online, so if you so desire, its allure is obvious). [Jan 2004, p.54]

Gamer.tv

For some it will be just a bit too much of a mindless button-basher, but for those with a bit of imagination it's a compulsive, if short-lived, fantasy world come alive.

Entertainment Weekly

While the game's top-down perspective doesn't make axing the skeletal demons any more realistic, working your way through this adventure can be a magical experience. [13 Feb 2004, p.L2T 18]

TotalGames.net

Great for hardcore Forgotten Realms fans as well as a tasty prospect for those of us who would rather read real books and have never played a single game of Dungeons & Dragons, but still want a decent dabble into an agreeable world where numbers aren't as important as your ability to slay hordes of evil monsters and find keys.

Gaming Illustrated

Its story and character development options kept me more involved than Champions’ linear quests, weak story, and more limited skill system. Still, it’s impossible to overlook DA2’s lack of online play or multitap options.

Worth Playing

The lack of four-player co-op is regrettable, and the lack of graphical sheen is disappointing, but the highly addictive gameplay is fully intact.

G4 TV

Some may say that Dark Alliance II is an average hack-'n'-slash outing with minimal replay value. We wish these critics the best with their crack habit.

Australian GamePro

Another RPG game that dives straight into action territory, yet without sacrificing all of the depth. It is undeniably entertaining and well presented.

netjak

Little more than a full-price expansion set. Nevertheless, with fifteen to twenty hours of gameplay and cooperative play, there is plenty to like.

Inside Gamer Online

An action game for people who don't usually play RPGs.

Console Gameworld

While it does have its share of bugs and bad points, overall this game is well worth buying if you enjoy the genre. The multitude of items and armors keep things interesting, while socketed items and armor take customization to higher levels.

Armchair Empire

With plenty of characters to choose from, solid combat, and the ability to customize items without the whole process becoming overwhelming the game manages to be highly accessible to a wide variety of gamers.

Stuff

While it’s fun to watch the dwarf hacking away with his ax, the death spells cast by the necromancer make for far more enjoyable viewing.

Yahoo! Games

But with a friend, Dark Alliance II's polished, addictive and comparatively deep gameplay, along with much improved replay value, makes it one of the best cooperative games around.

GameSpot

Though the ending is a little unsatisfying, and the actual adventure is a little short, the game offers plenty of replay value with five appreciably different character classes and a really satisfying cooperative mode.

PSM Magazine

It's big, it's beautiful, and there are few games available that are more fun for two players. Don't look for an epic story or any kind of online support, though. [Feb 2004, p.28]

eToychest

A wonderful example of how to craft a fun and exciting game out of a genre that is ageing poorly. This game shows that there is still some life yet in the hack and slash RPG, and for that I am grateful.

PSX Nation

The boys and girls at Black Isle Studios put over 100,000 hours into the development of Dark Alliance II and it shows. Dark Alliance II is a great experience to enjoy either alone or with a friend and greatly improves upon almost every feature available in its 2001 predecessor.

Maxim Online

Ignore the nonsensical story—centered on Mordoc, the vampire king, and his Onyx Tower of Eldritch—and stay on course with your barbarian, dwarf, cleric, or elf, traversing time and eerie environments.

Gamenikki

Rent this and "Champions of Norrath," since they compete against each other, or just buy both if you're rich. Both are fine games with something great to offer.

WHAM! Gaming

Though it's definitely the low-carb, low-cal version of a traditional role-playing game, Dark Alliance II is a stellar sequel to a great title.

GameSpy

While some of the areas are bigger than the ones found in the original, almost all of them are less interesting. The game's dungeons and outdoor areas are, for the most part, boring.

Game Revolution

It might not be the fanciest bong [don't you mean water pipe? ~GR-Ed.] in town anymore, but it still delivers the drug.

Gaming Age

The levels and quests are less interesting than other RPGs, with less of the puzzle solving and interesting characters that appeared in the original.

Official U.S. Playstation Magazine

If incessant hack-n-slash doesn't bore you, Dark Alliance II has enough solid gameplay to entertain you until "Champion (of Norrath)." But you're better off waiting. [Feb 2004, p.105]

Edge Magazine

What was once a pleasing console compromise now seems overly restrictive post-"Knights of the Old Republic." Despite hints of moral choices and a dusting of side-quests, it soon boils down to a straight slog, mashing the 'A' button as you wander through prettily rendered - if largely linear - dungeons. [Feb 2004, p.100]

games(TM)

It's possible to sit through the game in one (admittedly long) sitting and this comes dangerously close to ruining the game. Fortunately, with five initial characters to play as and the typical Dark Alliance secrets, you'll still find yourself going back long after the main adventure is finished. [Feb 2004, p.100]

1UP

There's just something about raising hell and experience points in Dark Alliance II that makes it more addictive than any of the Dark Alliance clones out there.

Adrenaline Vault

Additional equipment and spells are nice, and the characters are now much more versatile, but design and pacing problems abound.

TotalPlayStation

I’m not entirely sure where it happened, but somewhere during the development of the sequel, the magic that had permeated every refractive chunk of ice and rippling pool of water in the first game gave way to tired, monotonous trudges through vaguely different environments explored on endless fetch quests.

GMR Magazine

Although there are plenty of missions to complete and mosters to vanquish, even die-hard D&D fans might struggle to stay awake throughout this game. [Mar 2004, p.84]

GamerFeed

New characters and the ability to customize your weapons and armor add to the title, but it's still very much the same game.

Electronic Gaming Monthly

If Dark Alliance II were a creature in the "D&D Monster Manual," it'd be called the Yawnisian Mind Borer, and it would lure victims into repetitive dungeons, make them wander until they fell asleep, then swipe 50 gold from their wallets. [Feb 2004, p.111]