The Baldur's Gate series redefined and reinvigorated the PC role-playing scene, and now Interplay brings it to the Xbox. Don't be fooled, however. 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 Diablo. It nonetheless conforms to the Dungeons & Dragons Third Edition rule set. Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance casts you as one of three basic characters: an elf sorceress, a human archer or a dwarf fighter. 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 magic 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 grow even more powerful. You can swap equipment in an inventory "paper doll" screen and those changes will be reflected in your onscreen character: you'll start with simple weapons and a drab appearance and you'll end up a big, mean superhero. The graphics are simply wonderful and the controls are accurate, responsive and fun to use--which is necessary for the constant hacking and slashing required. The game is all the more fun when you recruit a buddy and play the game in cooperative mode. --Bob Andrews