Game Informer Review
Approximately eight hours into this quest, I ran into a merchant who had an assortment of weapon enhancement gems for sale. After perusing his inventory, I decided to spend my hard-earned gold on a Moonstone and a Ruby. Applying both of these jewels to my reliable blade resulted in the creation of a +1 Fine Stirge's Bastard Sword. Curious as to how my concoction would fare, I returned to the battlefield with haste. In no time flat, I confronted a goblin rider mounted atop a wolf. Just as I engaged this foe, I noticed that fluids began oozing from my sword. With much bewilderment, I suddenly realized that it was bleeding…and not just a droplet or two, either. It was gushing buckets of blood. With each swing that this steel abomination would make, a brilliant crimson trail would follow. It was at this point that I mirthfully marched through the remainder of this game with an ear-to-ear smile on my face.
This is just a small taste of the role-playing bliss that can be found in Dark Alliance II. With roughly 90 levels spread across four expansive acts, this sequel absolutely shatters any fears that you may have had about this game being as short as the original. Although the development responsibilities have changed hands from Snowblind Studios to Black Isle Studios, significant enhancements accompany every inch of this game's coding.
Characters can now dual-wield armaments, sprint, and switch between three fighting styles on the fly. Missions are introduced in a non-linear fashion, with players having two to three path choices at any given time. Item customization can be tapped to create an unbelievable number of unique weapons and armors. Black Isle also did a great job of diversifying the experience that players have. You never spend too much time in the same environment, and different enemy types are interspersed with great frequency.
If anything, this is a much deeper play with a higher level of interaction. As notable as these improvements may be, I don't agree with all of the changes that Black Isle has instituted. In the original game's co-op play, the player who defeated a foe would get 60 percent of the experience from a kill. The other player would get 40 percent. Whoever touched the gold that dropped got it. This time round, both gold and EXP are equally divided. Because of this, the game no longer has such a high level of competitiveness amongst players. I was also hoping that the camera system would have been upgraded. Every minute or so, I found myself rotating the camera to reveal blanketed corners.
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. That said, Dark Alliance II is the better playing game of the two, but it doesn't have the longevity of its rival.
Concept:
A straight-up sequel with the same great hack n' slash play and tons of new features
Graphics:
Same quality…yet still beautiful by today's standards. The lighting effects, water, and detail in the models are very impressive.
Sound:
Not much of a soundtrack, but it does a nice job of creating realistic ambience for its stages
Playability:
The high level of interaction really brings you in and makes you want to tinker with everything
Entertainment:
Lacking online play, but longer and more dynamic than the original.
Replay: High
Rated: 8.5 out of 10
Editor: Andrew Reiner
Issue: February 2004
2nd Opinion:
With all of the dungeon crawlers coming out of the woodwork at the same time you would think that the quality of at least one of them would be poor, but nothing could be further from the truth. Sure, Dark Alliance II looks a little dated, but that doesn't stop the game from delivering top-notch action. It's so good, in fact, that I'd be hard-pressed to pick between this title and Champions of Norrath, as they both deliver great gameplay. Obviously, the lack of online action hurts this one, but the item creation angle in Alliance II is so absolutely brilliant, it would be a shame to miss it. In the end, I have to give the slight nod to Champions of Norrath, but if you don't plan to adventure online I would give Alliance II a serious look. --ANDY
Rated: 8.5 out of 10
Editor: Andy McNamara
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