Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance Review

Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance is an action role-playing video game that was developed by Snowblind Studios and published by Interplay Entertainment for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube in 2001. It is based on a popular tabletop RPG called "Dungeons & Dragons", which uses dice to determine various outcomes of the player's choices and actions.

The game features three playable characters, each with their own unique abilities: Battle-hardened warrior Kromlech Elven thief Alleria Human Wizard Eldrith Two additional characters have been released as Downloadable Content (DLC), providing an alternate story path from the original adventure: Dwarven fighter Morcant Goblin archer Rogrog When playing through this game, there are three difficulty levels available: Normal, Hard and Expert. A fourth difficulty level is unlocked upon defeating the final boss: Insane Mode. Each one of these levels will affect the strength of enemies faced in the game, as well as other factors (e.g. damage dealt by player characters).

This game was reviewed using an original PlayStation 2 retail disc with manual and box. [ARTICLE END]

# [Starting a New Game.]

When starting a new game, you must first choose between three available character classes for your protagonist that have their own strengths and weaknesses: Battle-hardened warrior: Can use melee attacks to defeat enemies more easily; Lacks some magical abilities; Relies on heavy armor and brute strength rather than agility or magic skills Elven thief: Can use ranged attacks to defeat enemies from a safe distance; Can find hidden items in some areas that other characters cannot access; Uses leather armor, sneaking skills and agility over brute strength Human wizard: Can cast powerful magical spells to attack or defend against enemies; Lacks some physical combat abilities; Relies on wits and knowledge of the arcane arts

Each character also has the ability to equip one secondary weapon for battle. There are four types of weapons available to choose from, each with their own advantages and disadvantages: Swords (increases chance of scoring critical hits) Axes (deals more damage than Swords) Maces (decreases enemy's chance of blocking your attacks at higher levels) Staffs (increase amount of Mana [magic points] and spellcasting speed)

The game begins with the player selecting between one of three predefined characters: Kromlech, Alleria or Eldrith. Once a character has been selected, the player's chosen name will appear in the dialogue box where Nijel asks about the protagonist's identity. Then, there are four difficulty settings available from which to choose: Normal, Hard, Expert and Insane Mode (unlocked after defeating final boss). The game is saved by using an item called a "Gem of Many Facets", which can store up to 9 save files. Each file takes 5 blocks on PlayStation 2 memory cards and 1 block on Xbox hard drives.

# [Player Character Selection.]

After some introductory information (such as controls, difficulty levels and the use of Gems), Nijel explains the rules of this game: "A dark evil has awoken in the realm below. Four wizards sealed it away with untold power." Then, a choice between three main protagonists is offered and the player must select one of them to play through the entire game. After making a decision, the chosen character will appear in front of Nijel's house living out their daily lives until they hear rumors about a dungeon beneath an abandoned town called Stone Cove.

# [Starting on Normal Difficulty.]

When starting a new game on any difficulty level, all three selected characters start in different areas outside Stone Cove because each one belongs to a separate faction: Kromlech (Warrior) - Starts with his house, which is located at the outskirts of Greenmont. Alleria (Thief) - Starts with her home, located on the west side of Greenmont. Eldrith (Wizard) - Starts with his home, which is in the east section of Greenmont. Each character starts off by living out their daily lives and earning enough money to pay for a ferry ride to Stone Cove so they can enter its abandoned tunnels and search for hidden treasure... Of course, each one of them has their own agenda: Kromlech wishes to learn what happened there in the past; Alleria wants to steal as much gold as possible; and Eldrith hopes to discover ancient Lore that will help him overcome the trials he faces in his quest to become a powerful wizard.