Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II is a 2004 hack and slash action role-playing game for PlayStation 2 and Xbox developed by Black Isle Studios and published by Interplay Entertainment, with distribution handled by Vivendi Universal Games in North America and Avalon Interactive/Acclaim Entertainment in Europe. It is the sequel to the 2001 game Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance.
The game is set in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting of Dungeons & Dragons, and the gameplay is based on the rules of Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition, which were released in 2000. Dark Alliance II is a direct sequel to the original Dark Alliance game, with the story following five adventurers attempting to save Baldur's Gate from a growing evil, and ascertain the fate of the protagonists from the first game.
Dark Alliance II was well received on both platforms, although many critics felt it was not much of an advancement on the first game. A sequel was planned, but was cancelled early in development due to legal problems and the closure of Black Isle Studios after Interplay went bankrupt. The use of the Dark Alliance game engine led to a lawsuit filed by the engine's creators, Snowblind Studios, against publisher Interplay, which alleged the engine had been used in the game without Snowblind's permission.
The game was later re-released being ported for Linux, macOS, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S in July of 2022.
Gameplay
thumb|left|230px|Gameplay in the PlayStation 2 version of Dark Alliance II, showing Ysuran fighting an ettin. His [[Health (gaming)|health and mana meters are at the top left of the screen. The green meter between them is his experience meter. The gold icon below indicates he has acquired enough experience to level up.]]
Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II is a real-time hack and slash action role-playing game presented in a 3D perspective, with a rotatable isometric three-quarter top-down view.
At the beginning of the game, character stats are preset, with the player able to choose from five race/class combinations; a human barbarian (Dorn Redbear), a drow monk (Vhaidra Uoswiir), a moon-elf necromancer (Ysuran Auondril), a dwarven rogue (Borador Goldhand) or a human cleric (Allessia Faithhammer). The player can customize their character's stats through gaining experience points from defeating enemies. Every time the character increases in level, points are awarded corresponding to that level; i.e. if a character increases to level twelve, the player will gain twelve experience points to spend on the character's spells and feats. For every four levels which the character increases, the player is given one ability point to spend on one of the six core attributes (strength, intelligence, wisdom, dexterity, constitution, charisma).
Each of the five characters have their own unique fighting style and their own specific set of spells and feats. Gameplay strategy is thus different for each character. Dorn is a Barbarian, and his feats tend to focus on increasing his brute strength and ability to resist damage, as well as granting him powerful abilities to aid in melee combat, such as the ability to wield two-handed weapons in each hand. Vhaidra relies on unarmed combat, so her feats tend to focus on increasing her speed and combos, as well as granting her close-range abilities, such as pushing enemies away from her. As Ysuran is a necromancer, his feats tend to focus on increasing the power of his magic and granting him new spells, such as the ability to use shadow magic. Borador tends more towards archery, but is also capable of melee combat. His spells tend to focus on allowing him to use a shield offensively, and granting him the ability to set traps for enemies and disarm traps intended for the player. Allessia is a cleric and has access to many healing and defensive spells. She can also use melee combat. Later in the game she gains the ability to reanimate the dead, and have them fight alongside her.
Gameplay is semi-linear; most of the main quests can be performed in different orders, but only from within a group of given quests. For example, in Act I, the player can choose to tackle a series of kidnappings or investigate a spate of murders, but no other main quests are made available until both quests are complete. There are also optional side-quests, which do not have to be completed. There are more NPCs than in the first game, and the player can interact with many of them. Depending on which character the player is using, these NPCs may or may not provide information and assistance. Weapons, armor and items are only available for purchase from one location throughout the game, a shop in Baldur's Gate, although the stock changes at the commencement of each act, with the weapons increasing in expense and power. The HUD features the option to use either a transparent map that covers most of the screen, or a mini-map, with the player also given the option to turn the map off entirely.
The game also features cooperative gameplay with another player. Both players share the same screen, and are thus limited in how far they can move away from one another. In co-op mode, both players get 50% of the experience for each kill, no matter which player makes the kill. Additionally, unlike in the original game, all treasure is pooled for both players, regardless of which player collects it.
A new feature in Dark Alliance II gives players the ability to create custom weapons and armor. Players can improve items by using runestones and gems. To increase the strength of an item, at least one runestone must be used. Gems are optional, although adding gems increases the strength further and enhances certain of the items' attributes. The player cannot place more gems on an item than runestones; if the player wishes to place four gems, they must have a minimum of four runestones attached. Each item can have two different types of gem attached at any one time, in addition to the required runestones. There are several different kinds of gem and each has a different effect on different types of item. For example, a pearl attached to a piece of armor gives +1 additional treasure drop, attached to a weapon gives +1 "Improved Critical", and attached to a trinket gives +1 Wisdom.
The game contains four difficulty levels: "Easy", "Normal", "Hard" and "Extreme". Extreme is unlocked once the player has completed any of the other three levels. Extreme mode takes the form of a New Game Plus, and can only be played by importing a saved character from another game. The game also contains two secret characters: Drizzt Do'Urden and Artemis Entreri. Drizzt becomes available to use in the main game upon beating any difficulty level. Artemis is unlocked upon defeating Extreme.
Plot
Setting and characters
While the original game focused on three areas in the Sword Coast and Western Heartlands regions of the Faerûnian continent, the second game is predominately based in and around the city of Baldur's Gate itself.
The game features five main playable characters; Dorn Redbear, Ysuran Aundril, Borador Goldhand, Vhaidra Uoswiir and Allessia Faithhammer, each of whom has come to Baldur's Gate for different reasons. Dorn seeks fame and glory. Vhaidra has come looking for vengeance against those who have attempted to destroy her family. Ysuran is suffering from amnesia and has come in the hope of finding clues to his past. Borador comes for wealth, in order to release his clan from its debt to the drow. Allessia comes to spread the word of Helm and advance to become a high-ranking priest. The game was officially announced in March 2003 for PlayStation 2 and Xbox. The only information available at that time was that the game would introduce item crafting, have five playable characters and was slated for a simultaneous PlayStation/Xbox release in the winter of 2003.
At E3 in May 2003, Interplay showcased the Xbox version of the game, revealing three of the new characters: a human barbarian, a moon-elf necromancer and a drow monk. Interplay considered porting the game to GameCube if the PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions sold well. In July, demos for both the PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions were released. All five characters were available for play, and their character-specific sidequests were finalized. Weapon creation was also showcased, as was co-op mode. Both IGN and GameSpot were impressed with the demo, although both expressed some concern that the graphics was essentially the same as in the first game. At the 2003 Gen Con in July, the game was revealed to be 90% complete and was on schedule for an October release.
In September, Interplay canceled its distribution deal with Vivendi Universal Games, due to alleged breaches of the working agreement and failure of payment. According to Herve Caen, CEO of Interplay:
In October, EB Games and GameStop websites changed the release dates for the game to January 2004. Interplay initially denied the delay, stating it was still aiming for a fourth quarter release, and would distribute the game itself if necessary. Interplay also stated that despite the fallout, Vivendi Universal would still distribute the title and any future installments in the series in Europe. By November, Interplay had resolved its legal dispute with Vivendi, and returned to their prior distribution agreement. The game was also confirmed to be delayed until early 2004.
In December, reports surfaced that Interplay had shut down Black Isle Studios, although Interplay itself made no formal statement. According to IGN, Black Isle Studios was closed that month, and that existed only as a brand under the Interplay label. They reported that when Black Isle's director had quit, the studio was placed under the management of Digital Mayhem, but with the agreement that Interplay would adopt a more hands-off approach. By this stage, Black Isle had already begun work on Dark Alliance III. The title was cancelled after Interplay failed to retain the license to use the Dungeons & Dragons label from Wizards of the Coast, so Black Isle shifted focus to Fallout 3. They handed in a 95% complete demo, including all game functionality. Interplay however, who was several million dollars in debt, with just over $1 million in the bank, began to fire people from Digital Mayhem. Two weeks later, all but two members of the Fallout team were fired. This effectively meant Black Isle Studios no longer existed as anything other than a brand. Apparently, staff were told by Interplay that they will continue to produce titles under that brand. Interplay however denied the rumors about shutting the studio, saying that Black Isle Studios was involved with other projects, which included Fallout 3 (under the working title Van Buren) and Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel. An anonymous former Black Isle employee later confirmed to IGN that the studio had been closed, and that although Dark Alliance II would still be released, Fallout 3 and Dark Alliance III had been officially cancelled.
Dark Alliance II was released for both PlayStation 2 and Xbox on January 20, 2004, with Vivendi Universal Games handling North American distribution of the title. Initially, Vivendi Universal planned on distributing the game in Europe as well,
A version of the game was later re-released for Linux, macOS, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on July 20, 2022.
Lawsuit
In November 2003, Snowblind Studios, developers of the original Dark Alliance and creators of the Dark Alliance engine, filed a lawsuit against Interplay. Snowblind alleged that Interplay had used the game engine in several games without their permission and withheld royalties due from the sale of those games. These games were the GameCube version of the first Dark Alliance game, which was developed by High Voltage Software, Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel, and Dark Alliance II. The lawsuit was settled in April 2005, and determined that while Interplay could continue to publish materials already using the Dark Alliance engine, they could not use the engine in any future projects. The lawsuit also saw Interplay transfer the Baldur's Gate trademark to Atari and temporarily transfer the Dark Alliance trademark to Snowblind.
Soundtrack
A soundtrack for Dark Alliance II has not been released. In September 2013, composer Craig Stuart Garfinkle released an album called Songs of the Dragon, V2 featuring primarily music from the game.
Reception
Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II received "generally favorable reviews", with the PlayStation 2 version holding an aggregate score of 78 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on forty-four reviews,
Eurogamers Ronan Jennings scored the Xbox version 7 out of 10. While generally positive to the gameplay and graphics, he felt that "DAII feels more like an expansion pack" rather than as a full-fledged sequel and that the game does not have the same "magic" as the original game had.
In 2015, Ian Williams of Paste rated the game #7 on his list of "The 10 Greatest Dungeons and Dragons Videogames". He called its gameplay to be more akin to Diablo than Baldur's Gate, in which the characters cannot be created from scratch, but that the game offers a wide variety of playstyles for playable characters, the game's customization while leveling up, and a co-op mode, compared to other DnD games for PC platform.
Re-release
The re-release version of the game received "mixed or average" reviews, according to Metacritic.