All Xbox owners know there is a fair bit of graphic power under the hood of the console, however only a handful of the titles on the platform have really made full use of it. We can happily say that Dark Alliance seems to use every last bit of grunt and it is a visually spectacular game. Set in the Forgotten Realms Mythos, Dark Alliance takes players to the depths of Baldur's Gate and beyond in a game that loosely utilises the 3^rd Edition rules of Dungeon & Dragons.

You can play the game as either a Human Ranger, Female Sorceress or a Dwarven Fighter (any similarity of the Dwarf to "Gunner" is purely coincidental – Ed). The stage is set as you enter Baldur's Gate and are immediately mugged by the new Thieves Guild. From then on you are dragged into a battle against the guild and an evil that is extending its grip on the town. But, like all good adventures, there is more than meets the eye. There are some beautiful cut-scenes which utilise the game engine well to quickly round out the story for you. There are also some neat little side-quests that add spice to the overall adventure and let you earn extra dosh and experience. The story is great and continously drives you to keep playing to see how it develops.

As you would expect, you commence play with a base ability level and with very limited equipment. Of course this will soon be rectified as the dungeons have no shortage of chests and barrels just waiting for would-be adventurers to relieve them of their contents. The dungeons have been carefully designed to challenge you but not over-power you in the early levels so your character's development is at its quickest at this time.

The game plays largely in a top down isometric view with players having the ability to pan the camera view a full 360 degrees. Lighting and shadow effects are done brilliantly and complement the effort that has been put into creating some awesome dungeon environments.

The animation of the monsters is also done to a high standard. To see a limbless and headless corpse shambling after you down a corridor gives an indication of some of work that has gone into making this game an immersive experience. Of special note is the water effects. As you enter an area of water it realistically flows out behind you, and when the wave encounters an object it rebounds as it would in real life.

Combat effects have been well thought out with sword blows resulting both in a satisfying 'thwack' and a resulting spray of body fluids as the enemy is thrown back. Missile and spell effects are equally well done.

Throughout the game you have the ability (through the use of a recall potion) to return to the ACT starting point where you can off load your load and tool up with the latest and greatest from the local arms dealer. This aspect is well balanced with item costs being such that you have to make some big decisions on whether to buy the +1 sword now or hold out until you have more money to buy the frost blade (it's worth the wait!). Game saves can be done at this point, as well as in-game at pre-defined pedestals. It would have been nice to have the ability to save at anytime; but these pedestals are placed with enough regularity that it's not such a big issue.

Controls are well laid for a standard controller. Attacks are done through the "A" button while potion drinking is relegated to the triggers. You have the ability to be able to pull up a submenu (back button) that gives you access to your inventory and your character statistics. In the spirit of the 3^rd addition rules as you level up you have the opportunity to add to your starting skills and feats. There is the tried and true health and magic energy bar with a neat feature where when your health is low the controller will vibrate to simulate a tortured heart beat.

Where the game does disappoint is in multi-player mode. Unfortunately this is done in full screen mode and players can not separate more than the width of the current on-screen area. This is a shame as sometimes you can be in a frustrating position where you can't quite deal to a monster as your partner is busy looting a chest in another room. This aspect we understand will be resolved in the sequel.

The music and voice overs are also of a high standard and full-faced NPC character animation is particularly well done (the barmaid in the opening act being especially distracting.)