Shadow Hearts (Sony PlayStation 2, 2001)

Great action-RPG for those who like dungeon crawlers with a lightweight story.

This is a great action-RPG, which I highly recommend. Here's a rundown of some of the various aspects of the game.

Gameplay: Excellent! This is what you buy the game for. If you like some good ol' fashioned hack and slash action, this is it! Find magic items, mass your gold to buy that awesome armor, endless hoards of enemies at every turn... what more could you want? If you're into dungeon crawlers with lots of fighting, like Diablo games, then you'll want to consider this. It is very similar to Champions: Return to Arms and Champions of Norrath.

Replay: Excellent! There are 3 different characters (and 1 secret one), which all give you a different experience on a playthrough. Add to that different difficulty levels, and a "gauntlet" mode you can unlock, and you have a lot of reasons to play through this game more than once.

Controls: Excellent! This is one of those games where you really feel you have full control of your character. You may face many challenges in-game, but a confusing or difficult controller won't be one of them.

Difficulty: Great. There are multiple difficulties, so you do have options. It can get frustrating at times, but it's a game I feel that most people can play and enjoy, at least on lower difficulties.

Graphics: Great. I liked the look of the game, and felt it was part of the game's charm.

Sound: Good. The sound effects are on par with or better than other games of the time.

Music: Good. Nothing very memorable to me, but decent background music.

Story: Poor... The story is secondary to the action aspect. If you're looking for an engrossing stroyline, look elsewhere.

Best Version: PS2. This title is available on multiple systems, but I recommend the PS2 version. I feel that it is a bit more polished in most aspects.

Of all of the games released on the PS2, I feel that this was one of the better ones. It's definitely worth getting a copy. It's also available on the GameCube, Xbox, and Game Boy Advance, in case you don't have a PS2.Read full review

Verified purchase:  Yes • Condition: pre-owned • Sold by: 2014-jamerson

Love this game

I used to watch my mom play this when I was a kid. I thought we needed a second copy.
I have beaten Koudelka, the first Shadow Hearts, and the third From the New World. I never cared for Covenant. Frankly, Koudelka and the first are the best because they are darker and balance seriousness with humor. 2 and 3 go a little far with trying to be funny when it should be serious. The graphics and game play options expand in 2 and 3 with more videos, combo attacks, and double attacks in 3. The music in the first is definitely the best. I was glad they simplified the fusion monsters down to 4 in the third game instead of a billion as it grew old very fast collecting them in the first two games. The games take about 30-40 hours to beat if you do everything and are definitely worth replaying.
The judgement ring is tricky when you have never played the game before. The amount of dialogue in the first game can be annoying.
All in all, the game has great graphics for a PS2 game, the characters and story are interesting, the game play is fun, the music is great, and the replay value is good.Read full review

Verified purchase:  Yes • Condition: pre-owned • Sold by: a.j.collectibles

Old School D&D Adventure ... great retro gaming

Baldurs Gate Dark Alliance is a very compelling old school D&D adventure ... it keeps very well to the D&D feel, and is a great implementation of the Forgotten Realms campaign setting.

The game does not go easy on you ... it's a wonderful slug fest, and really give you a great dungeon crawling adventure. Loads of gameplay, great graphics, really great voice acting. Read full review

Verified purchase:  Yes • Condition: pre-owned • Sold by: forevernevermore

One of my all time favorite games.

Building characters that you import to and from the sequal. Collect and drop items for other players. Several levels of play and three different modes.

Verified purchase:  Yes • Condition: pre-owned • Sold by: vigilantsteve

Rare game!

I finally own this copy of Shadow Hearts and it's very rare. A great price also. Now I have the very rare and hard to find promotional copy. Great RPG also.

Verified purchase:  Yes • Condition: pre-owned • Sold by: nontoast

Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance

the game is adventurous and i have really enjoyed playing multiple times.

Phenomenal Game

One of the best cult classic games out there! I could play this game again and again - and the music is phenomenal! very dark and foreboding but catchy at the same time.

Verified purchase:  Yes • Condition: pre-owned • Sold by: jocopatt

PS2 4 Life

I love this game just finished beating it

Verified purchase:  Yes • Condition: pre-owned • Sold by: t_6wspdfqyk@del...

It is a great classic, fun game.

It is a great classic, fun game.

Verified purchase:  Yes • Condition: pre-owned • Sold by: gboutique123

Best RPG on PS2!

One of my all time favorite games ever made for the PS2

Verified purchase:  Yes • Condition: pre-owned • Sold by: grantjz