A series of confounding choices, combined with poor balance and awful AI, make for a game that is a complete slog from the very start. Playing Dark Alliance is where things really fall apart.
I just wish this applied to the larger narrative and not only those small moments. Voice acting is mostly strong, too, allowing these moments to connect. Sometimes I didn’t want to interrupt their conversations because I enjoyed listening in on what they were saying. I enjoyed how often enemies would be talking and going about their day before I stumbled upon them. Little bits of dialogue traded among the party can be fun. The only time the storytelling in Dark Alliance becomes remotely interesting is while traversing its levels. I have to believe there’s more to these characters and world if they’ve won so many fans over the years, but Dark Alliance certainly never sold me on them. Oh no, this enemy is attacking Icewind Dale (I know that name!). Dark Alliance sends them on a series of mind-numbingly dull adventures. Wulfgar is a barbarian who likes to hit things. His daughter Cattie-Brie seems to have an upbeat personality, and she fights with a bow. You play as Drizzt, along with three other characters who’ve made such an impression that even I’ve heard of them. While Dark Alliance can be mild fun for short stretches, it’s a deeply flawed game. I have a hard time imagining even they’ll stick around for long. The story here is so lacking that I have to imagine fans of the material will have a stronger connection to it. Perhaps this game will work a bit better for fans of the series and the characters. I knew Drizzt Do’Urden by name but couldn’t have picked him out of a lineup. This is all to say that I entered Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance as a relative neophyte. They say the internet never forgets, but apparently, even the internet didn’t care to remember that one. The reviews I wrote both before and after it were, but that one seems lost to time. Some internet sleuthing via the Wayback Machine revealed I gave it a 7.5/10, but the review itself wasn’t archived. That would make sense, because I’ve forgotten everything else about it. I think I thought it was fine, but forgettable.
The one exception is Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes on the original Xbox back in 2003, which I reviewed. I’ve dipped my toe into a few video games but only briefly. A few of the books have found their way onto my bookshelf over the years but never gotten around to reading them. Okay, maybe a few of them, but it’s limited. I’ve enjoyed role-playing games for most of my life, but my knowledge of Dungeons & Dragons could fit in a thimble. Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance Review: Dungeons & Dragons Fans Deserve Better
0 kommentar(er)
