Dark Alliance 2 ended on a cliffhanger, which is a real shame-because not only did the series not get a third entry, but the entire region the cliffhanger was pointing towards got retconned out of existence with 4th edition, so the possibility of a third entry is all but impossible at this point. A shame, even if the campaign was shorter and less fulfilling in the second game, I thought the playable characters were more imaginative and a step up from the first game (how many D&D games can boast that they let you play a Drow Llothite monk?!?), and the item customization was a welcome improvement as well. Still, The Champions of Norrath game perfected the formula, so the series didn't die in vain IMO.
Temple of Elemental Evil had a great combat system, and utilized a lot of the more nonstandard weapons that don't appear in other games (spiked chain, anyone?) and remains the only D&D game to have a homosexual romance in it-all good things. It's a shame the plot was so rubbish and railroad in so many ways. Why have subdual damage if there's nowhere in the game when it's advantageous? I remember beating the first boss unconscious ( a drow cleric) only to find that the only way to advance in the story was to kill him... he had to die before you could recover his diary off his body (even though I had already stripped him of his armor and weapon)
The Baldur's Gate Trilogy is great, it's true-but not without it's flaws. The second game gets a lot of praise (rightfully so) but trades out a lot of the great things the first game had going for it. Very little exploration compared to the first game, a sharp reduction in party members (particularly evil aligned ones-not even enough left for a full party!) And the game can often be railroad-particularly for evil player characters. And of course, Throne of Bhaal was just plain awful.
I'd personally be rather hesitant to heap praise upon Neverwinter. If one is going to point out that the Dark Alliance series has little to do with the Baldur's Gate series outside the name and setting, then much the same could be said for Neverwinter. Also, Cryptic has a habit of paygating just about everything and in many ways aims to milk the so-called 'whales' of online games. IMO it's popularity also stems in no small part from the name and setting recognition-in an environment where it's pretty much the only modern D&D game around-and not necessarily because of it's quality as a game.
