The Baldur's Gate series redefined and reinvigorated the PC role-playing scene, and now Interplay brings it to the Playstation 2. But don't be fooled; this isn't a traditional role-playing game, but rather a fun, wall-to-wall action hack-'n'-slash adventure in the mould carved by Gauntlet and the storied Diablo series--one that nonetheless conforms to the 3rd Edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons ruleset. The game casts you as one of three basic characters: an elf sorceress, a human archer or a dwarf fighter. And from there you're set free inside a huge Dungeons & Dragons world replete with dungeons, forests, ice caves and much more. Naturally, it's all filled to the brim with horrible monsters, wicked traps, treasures and fabled magical weapons. As you go, you're constantly rewarded with new weaponry, new monsters to fight and experience points you can put into your character stats to get even more powerful. You can swap out equipment in an inventory "paper-doll" screen, and those changes are reflected in your onscreen character so you'll start with simple weapons and a drab look, and you'll look like a big, mean superhero by the end of the game.
The graphics are simply wonderful and the controls are accurate, responsive and fun to use--necessary for the constant hacking and slashing required. It gets all the more fun when you recruit a buddy and play the game in cooperative mode. --Bob Andrews
