Baldur's Gate worth keeping? (1 Viewer)

[Frank Grimes]

Just got Dark Alliance for Christmas, but don't know whether it's worth keeping. The only RPG I've been into is the FF series. And does anyone know if I can return it sans reciept to Wal Mart? I've had my eye on PGR2 and Crimson Skies, so really those are the two games I would like BG compared to...

 

[John Doran]

well, i'd definitely say it's worth keeping...

and comparing it to other non-action/RPG games is difficult, since, for instance, BG us so throroughly different from crimson skies. which i also love, by the way...

if you have any affection for the fantasy genre as seen through the lens of D&D, then i'd say crack the seal, play, and enjoy.

however, if you hated diablo, then go for crimson skies.

 

[Frank Grimes]

Never been into the whole D&D thing. I did, however, play Crimson Skies for the PC (I'm pretty sure it was Crimson Skies, but it was a good 3 years ago, so maybe I'm off), and I enjoyed it quite a bit. I'm tempted to take the sure thing in CS, but I don't know if I'll be able to exchange it, and since I'm saving for a front projector, I don't much want to buy any new games now.

 

[John Doran]

again - hard to say, then: if you remember liking crimson skies on the PC more than, say, diablo, and if you're more risk-averse than not, then dump BG and get CS.

both dark alliance and crimson skies are awesome games. at least as far as i'm concerned....

good luck.

 

[Alanna]

Dark Alliance is great and you don't really need any prior D&D love to get into it. Its one of the better (and better looking) games that I have played on the next gen consoles. The bonus "level" at the end is worth playing through the main game to get to. Its a $20 game now so you won't get to swap it with a $50 one unless you front some cash for whatever shiny new game you are eyeing. =) BG: DA is great, I'd definitely keep it (oh yea I have it, nevermind).

 

[Romier S]

Dark Alliance on the Xbox is still retailing for 39.99 at several Walmarts and smaller shops in my experience so that $20 price tag (at least for the Xbox version) is really dependant on the establishment. The PS2 game however is a Greatest Hit and is indeed only 20 beans.

 

[Alanna]

Really? MSRP I believe is $19.99 now for all versions. Ebgames is selling it for this...for XBox and I think even lower for Gamecube. =) www.ebgames.com - which is what i usually go by. The PS2 one has been Greatest Hits for forever.

 

[Frank Grimes]

Bah. I went to return it last night, but they actually have the nerve to not accept returns at 3AM. I didn't even bother to check the price, but if it's between this game and a movie, I'm going to open the game.

 

[AlexanderS]

The game is good but the replay value isnt. Granted you can build up three different characters but the levels are all the same and so are the enemies and bosses. Its just like Diablo 2 without the online support. Going through the same areas and killing the same enemies in the quest for experience gets old after a while.

 

[Alanna]

Depends on the person I guess... Diablo 2 I have played through roughly 8 times by myself with three different characters (several times as the same - sorceress with stat leveling like a warrior. kickass!!!) and just thinking about it makes me want to go through it again. D2. Yum. Oh yeah but Baldur's Gate: DA, yeah it doesn't really have that same kind of replay value... except for "The Gauntlet" - I played that *so* much. =) Its more fun than the main quest I think. Although its cool too (I love the displacer beasts, yay!)

 

[Brian E]

I'd keep it, but I love RPG's. MSRP is $20 so unless WalMart hasn't updated things that's all you're likely to get. I can't wait for the sequel next month.

 

[Joseph Young]

The sequel to BG-DA was developed by different people, and lacks just about everything the first game had to its credit.

My recommendation -- if you like the first game, avoid the sequel. If you don't like the first game, stick with the depth offered by the PC iterations of the genre.

When I first saw movies/screens of Dark Alliance 2, they struck me as unpolished, and rough. I figured this was due to early beta versions of the game. I was wrong.

~j

 

[Aaron Silverman]

Is Frank talking about Dark Alliance, the console game, or one of the PC Baldur's Gate titles? The gameplay is quite different.

I was never into Diablo, but I really enjoyed Dark Alliance, especially the 2-player cooperative game. My girlfriend and I played it so much, we managed to finish it!

Does the PS2 version have the bonus level? How do you access it?

 

[AlexanderS]

I just got my new EGM in and they hammered the sequel. Said it was exactly like the first with no improvements and nothing special. Just more characters. Definately will be avioding this one.

 

[Romier S]

Doesn't sound like too horrible a problem to me. Its not as though the first game did anything horribly wrong to begin with so if there are more classes to try out and more areas to explore I'll gladly give it a whirl upon release.

Many reviewers hammered D&D Heroes and I had quite a good time with that game as well.

Keep in mind that the now defunct Black Isle Studios developed the sequel. The original development team of Snowblind Studios is currently hard at work on Champions of Norrath, the Everquest based dungeon crawl that is using a modified version of the Dark Alliance engine. (With 4 player online play to boot).

 

[Frank Grimes]

I opened it a few days ago. It's better than I thought, though I'm sure I would have prefered Crimson Skies. The sad thing is that I somewhat struggled through the first few levels before I discovered that I could block, so now it's fairly easy (though I'm only on the crypt).

 

[MikeFR]

Dark Alliance is one of the best games Ive played on PS2, I loved it, my only complaint was that its too short.

Cant wait for the sequal as well as Champions of Norrath which is developped by Snowblind.

 

[Damien]

I got the new EGM as well and they prefered the first game to this one design wise and felt technically the game hasn't advanced an inch.

 

[John Madia]

I got this game for $10 a while back but never bothered to finish it. I know I'm very close to the end but it started getting really repetitive. I'll probably finish it one day but I still have half of Panzer Dragoon Orta (another $10 find) which I have yet to finish.

 

[BrianShort]

I really liked BGA, though I think it makes a better rental than a buy, at least for me. I don't usually replay games, even if they do have supposedly great replay value, and BGA is pretty short. I was able to beat it in a weekend of casually playing it.

Brian