Spells, Monsters, and Graphics

Spells and Monsters

While the play mechanics aren't quite true to the pen and paper game like Baldur's Gate, there are a number of AD&D elements that are present in the game. Some familiar spells make an appearance, including favorites like Burning Hands and Magic Missile. A lot of the monsters are familiar as well. Giant Rats, Green Slimes, Yetis, Wolves, and Kobolds all make up part of the mix. I also got to peek at a huge Beholder and an even bigger White (frost) Dragon. So far though, my favorite monster in Dark Alliance is the infamous Gelatinous Cube. Wiggling and jiggling around the sewer level like a gigantic blue Jell-O shot, the Gelatinous Cube comes complete with the bones and skulls of unfortunate victims suspended inside of its translucent body.

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Not so stylish

There are around 30 monsters in Dark Alliance, but the ability to snap on clothing, helmets, armor, weapons, and more on to any model in the game means that there will be plenty of variety in what you see on screen. Dark Alliance's lead programmer, Ezra Dreisbach, showed off a number of the game's models and how easily his team can modify a monster's appearance by popping accessories on and off.

Special abilities

Dark Alliance will feature a number of special abilities as well, which can be used like spells. One of these is the Bull Rush, which will allow you to charge and plow your shoulder into an enemy for a good deal of damage. Miss your target, and hit the wall? You take a bit of damage yourself. The other abilities in our demo included Multishot Arrow (fire three arrows at once), Flame Arrow, and Exploding Arrow. As you level up, you are able to choose more spells and abilities for your character

Now HE's a badass

Ooooh, ripply

Graphics

Powering Dark Alliance is a custom built engine from Snowblind Studios. Unlike the PS2's lackluster launch titles, Snowblind's engine appears to actually harness a lot of the vaunted power of the "Emotion Engine." Characters and monsters consist of 3,000 to 20,000 polygons, rivaling anything you might see on a PC game. Animations on all the models are smoothly rendered. It's almost hypnotic watching the legs of a Giant Spider working together as it scurries toward you from the opposite end of a room. I was also impressed by the way the engine renders water - moving about in a puddle or shallow water results in a rippling wake trailing behind you. The player gets a real feeling that the water on screen is a liquid being displaced. Maybe those old Sony tech demos weren't fake after all!

Rodent problem

Kobolds, Kobolds everywhere

Perhaps most appealing about Dark Alliance's engine is its implementation of dynamic lighting and shadows. Every spell effect in the game features dazzling (perhaps exaggerated) lighting effects. A swarm of Magic Missiles casts an eerie blue glow as they home in on their targets. Walking around in a dark crypt level, I used Burning Hands to light the way in front of me. Snowblind was thorough when it came to lighting, even going to far as to simulate heat distortion waves just above a flame. Also, each character and monster casts its own shadow on the ground, with no noticeable slowdown. Dreisbach beamed as he showed off a town level from the game. Dozens of NPCs swarmed over an open quad, with up to 15 or 20 people on screen at once, without so much as a dropped frame.