If you want an object lesson in how badly the loss of Black Isle Studios has been (and will be) felt in the computer role-playing game industry, rent Dark Alliance II and Champions of Norrath one weekend and compare the two. Both are based on Snowblind’s Dark Alliance Engine and both offer addictive fast-action hack and slash gameplay, but experiencing both together illustrates how much more effort Black Isle took toward improving gameplay and offering a better experience than the original.