Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance I or II?

Wassermelone

As the title states, Dark Alliance I or Dark Alliance II? Im really looking forward to finally having a coop game to play with my wife

I have the opportunity to get them rather cheaply at a local mom&pop game store and was wondering which one, if either, of them was preferred of the other.

Makershot

II all the way.

SteevL

They're great games, especially to play with a significant other. We never did complete the second one, though. I do remember hearing people prefer the first one. Not sure why.

The second one is also apparently a lot more rare. Look at the "new" prices for it on Amazon! Starting at $75!

Zombiemambo

I liked the 1st a lot more, personally.

Diorinix

The first one has more "basic" character archetypes and is a lot of fun to play. #2 has more character archetypes and allows more customization of playstyle within that archetype...but is more tedious to manage.

#2 has Drizzt as an unlockable player-character.

Nappuccino

I is really easy to get into and just have a slashing good time.

Wheezer

The differences are really in pacing and some mechanics.

The first one is better in that it doesn't take as long to get started. You start to get magic items reasonably quickly, and while you're having great fun you progress towards the bosses and to the end. The game is suitably long.

The second has more mechanics. The players can create their own magic items and there are more options to choose from. You have to balance your gold between players to get the sweetest gear. The game is longer, and because of this there are fewer magic drops.

Because of this, I felt the first part was more fun. It can be a little unbalanced (some magic causes a stagger animation, so a caster can lock a boss) but I preferred it over the second. Me and my friends completed part one but never managed to hack through part two. They are very similar games however, and if one is cheaper than the other don't feel bad picking up only one.

NibCrom

I prefer the second one, but why not play them both and start with the first one?

AlyceInWonderland

I'd play them both, they're both incredibly fun and good games.
They're actually one of my absolute favorite ps2 games ever.

jorax

I liked both quite a bit. I remember the first being tough until you got through the first area and then pacing nicely. The second ranged depending on how much you were using the upgrade system. Dungeons and Dragons Heros wasn't bad either (and had 4 player local co-op!) and was similar in nature.

Zombiemambo

Diorinix wrote: »

The first one has more "basic" character archetypes and is a lot of fun to play. #2 has more character archetypes and allows more customization of playstyle within that archetype...but is more tedious to manage.

#2 has Drizzt as an unlockable player-character.

So does the first.

Wassermelone

So I went out and bought Dark Alliance 1, came home and Dark Alliance 2 in the box.

I'm going to go clear up the mix up, but I thought it was a bit funny.

tofu

If the second one is rare you should hang onto it!

EdS25

I seem to remember vastly preferring the first one. There was a point in the DAII where I had a couple of options on where to go, and every area sucked for some reason. One was this cloud level where you constantly got blown off and lost your progress. Another had these weird ants or roaches or some kind of bug that would permanently eat your equipment. I forget if I had any other choices but I just said F it and quit. There's also a strong possibility I'm thinking of one of the Champions of Norrath games but you can understand the confusion.

Caswynben

DA2 is really expensive relative to #1. DA1 is like 4 bucks used, DA2 is 30ish

Derrick

DA1 is really a great co-op game. I see that you've made your choice, and I commend you on it.

DA2 is not without it's charms, but with the crafting and such, it's a bit of a drag to play multi with someone.

RubberAC

If you play and enjoy both those games, look into the Champions games as well
I had equal amounts of fun with Dark Alliance 1 and Champions of Norrath,
although the sequel to the latter was rather lackluster, it's more of an expansion, really.

Thanatos

Champions of Norrath had a huge balance problem; the barbarian levels up way faster than anyone else, since you don't split experience evenly.

I seem to recall that one of the two DA games had an ability that made you sell stuff for more and buy it for less, and if you maxed it out, you could sell it for less than it cost to buy.

Hunter: The Reckoning and its sequel are similar multiplayer co-op games; for those, whoever is less-good at video games should take the Judge.

Burden of Proof

Play the one that doesn't have the shared currency.

It will end in fist-fights.

Elimination

You know whats a really awesome co op game/games? Legends of Norrath 1 and 2...i played them and had an absolute blast with my (now ex) SO a few years back. Both were fantastic, and awesome in co-op...they dont make games like these and BG: DA anymore. I miss same console co op.

Jimmy King

To add to the games you should check out if you like DA I and DA II (I really liked both), Dungeons and Dragons: Heroes was also awesome. I actually liked it a bit more, if I remember right (it's been years).

Hunter: The Reckoning as mentioned is pretty sweet, but can be hard as hell. The boss in the church, though, man that's like my favorite thing to ever happen in a video game.