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YOU WANT THIS

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 71 / 190
Date: May 29, 2000
Author: Amazon User

If you have searched this title down and are thinking of getting it there is no doubt in my mind that YOU SHOULD GET THIS GAME. Excellent interaction graphics and playablity will enthrall you for weeks on end!

What an excellent game!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 9 / 31
Date: June 27, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Just when you thought it was safe to put off Baldurs Gate, here comes Icewind Dale. A magnificent combination of BG and the older games in the gold box series. Dungeon hacking and roleplaying at their best.

In Icewind Dale, you form an entire party of your Player Characters, compared other BG engine games in which you were allowed one main player. This makes it more fun, allowing you to watch your adventurers progress one at a time as they grow so much more powerful than they were when the game began.

Another added bonus is the addition of new spells and monsters. The enemy AI is stronger, and the new monsters such as mind flayers will provide enough fun and frustration to make this game a challenge for any level player.

Look out Diablo 2, Icewind Dale is a major contender to knock you off the number one spot! One error for Diable 2 and its gone, because Icewind Dale is perfect.

Nice game while waiting for BG 2.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 14 / 15
Date: June 30, 2000
Author: Amazon User

This game while not being as story driven as Planescape and Baulders Gate is still a fun game. You get to create you party at the start of the game so choose wisely. NPC interaction, while there, is at a minimum. That doesn't take away from the game. The enviornments are big and very nicely done taking you from dungeons and ruins to the "10 towns" of Icewind Dale. This game is a good buy but it is not for everybody, so if you want good dungeon action pick it up if you want a story wait till BG2.

Simply Spectacular

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 28 / 31
Date: July 02, 2000
Author: Amazon User

This game is absolutely awesome. The spell effects are far and away better than Baldur's Gate. The action is fast and furious and the music is perfect for the settings. The portraits for the characters are eery and spooky, just right for Icewind Dale. I heartily recommend the purchase of this game.

Pleasantly Surprised!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: July 03, 2000
Author: Amazon User

I was apprehensive to buy this game. The idea of another Hack & Slash game on the market was like nails on a chalkboard to me. But, I've never played anything like this before. This game took my breath away! It took me two days to tear myself away from this game...and a lot of resistance not to call in sick at work. The story and action move smoothly, and the increased speed in movement is a definite enhancement compared to its predecessor, Baldur's Gate. It is difficult to write this review without giving spoilers. I will just end by saying, if you didn't buy this game for some of the same reasons, I almost didn't. Or, if you didn't buy it because you thought it would be filler between Baldur's Gate and Shadows of Amn, YOU ARE MISSING OUT! This game is incredible. Luckily, I'm a die-hard Pen & Paper RPGer and R.A. Salvatore fan or I would have missed out on this experience. This game definitely has meat, most of it decayed, diseased, or regenerating fast...eek! ;)

Is it Baldur's Gate? No, but it's just as great.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: July 03, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Fans of Baldur's Gate will love Icewind Dale. Granted, it doesn't have the level of story that BG did, but it's still phenominal in its own right.

A longtime D&D player, I highly recommend this game. Imagine D&D, sans the GM's hideous sense of humor, and with great fantasy graphics, and you have Icewind Dale, a good, ole-fashioned dungeon romp in the truest sense.

As a computer gamer, I can again offer positive recommendation for this game. It's not just a walk in the park, but it's not impossible, so the difficulty level was good. The graphics aren't hideously overbearing, instead seeming perfectly suited to the game material. And, of course, who can resist a dungeon romp?

I hate to say this again, but you really should buy this great game, and while you're at it, pick up Baldur's Gate.

This game is still Baldur's Gate

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: July 04, 2000
Author: Amazon User

After playing Baldur's Gate and Planescape: Torment, my expectations for this game was very high. While it is a solid game, I must say that it fell short of my expectations. This game could have been called Baldur's Gate 1.5 -- it has almost exactly the same graphics, interface and gameplay. I greatly preferred the larger sized characters in Planescape. The sound and music are better and the spell effects have also been improved. Path finding still seems to be flawed. Buy this game if you can't get enough of Baldur's Gate. Otherwise, you may want to reconsider.

Lost Holiday Weekend!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: July 04, 2000
Author: Amazon User

I bought this game the thursday before the holiday weekend. Now it's the fourth of july, and I don't remember doing anything but play this game! Every waking moment, must stop! CAN'T! MUST KILL MONSTERS! Fantastic game!

Icewind Dale

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: July 04, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Great artwork and music enhance the tried and true Baldur's Gate game engine. So far I have found that, to my surprise, the game has a pretty good story and is not just a dungeon hack. But I have to admit that going on the old-fashioned monster and treasure hunts is fun in its own regard. I'd recommend this game for any fans of old-school adventure games, where half of the fun was finding the loot after the battle.

A sense of adventure, a touch of awe.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 146 / 150
Date: July 06, 2000
Author: Amazon User

If you've never played Baldur's Gate, then I'd recommend playing that before you ever come near Icewind Dale. Playing Icewind Dale will make it nearly impossible for you to enjoy BG. If you've also never played Planescape: Torment -- the same applies (relatively), although you should probably play BG before Torment as well. The engine enhancements make it difficult to enjoy the earlier games once you've experienced the new capabilities.

Icewind Dale is a "Baldur's Gate Engine" game set in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting. The game takes place in the northern lands of Faerun known as Icewind Dale. The game is labeled, and plays, as a traditional 'dungeon crawl.' The combat in IWD is a lot more intense than in both the previous BG/TotSC and Torment titles. That being said...

-- What Icewind Dale Does Right --

[Music & Sound] The compositions in this title are by far the best of any Black Isle game released. The game is filled with deep, rich, orchestral pieces that fill the air with the spirit of the Dale. The beautiful, Celtic music of the town of Kuldahar is spectacular, and the dark, sinister sounds of some of the more ... exotic ... places you visit are awe inspiring. The battle sounds have been improved upon as well, with more bass and bigger clashes. Voice acting and dialogue are a lot more prevelant in this game, because the dialogue is sparser and not as present as in earlier games. The voice-sets for your characters are much more diverse, and superbly done.

[Graphics] The artwork of Icewind Dale is something to dream about. The maps and landscapes are done with such attention to hues and moods that I almost felt cold as I walked though a frozen Dwarven museum. The portraits of your characters are also given this same depth and attention to detail, making it infinitely more enjoyable to construct your unique party. One of the greatest improvements to the engine is the support for large creatures. No longer do you have to imagine a frost giant ten times your height -- to say more would ruin the surprise. Just be assured that the first time you see a frost giant tower over your players like an oak over an acorn, you will be humbled. The spell effects for this game are much more like Torment than BG, and you'd require knowledge of both games to know exactly what I mean. Basically, the spell effects have some of that gothic-imbued tone that Torment lent to them.

[Gameplay] With the improvements to the BG engine, including increased walking speed, bumping, and increased animations the game is a pleasure to play. The game is situated mostly in underground locales, but you'll never miss the overland of BG or the landscapes of the Planes. Icewind Dale has its own mood and setting -- one that lends itself extremely well to a dungeon crawl. The last thing you have to be worried about in Icewind Dale is gameplay. You'll always have some battle to wage, some mystery to solve and places to explore. Unlike BG, there is absolutely no "empty space." There are no large areas of maps with nothing in them, or any at all so to speak. Every inch of this game is filled with things to do. The game also includes an enormous amount of items, armors, weapons, etc -- much more variety than ever experienced with BG or Torment.

-- What Icewind Dale Doesn't Do Right --

Basically, this game is a Baldur's Gate Engine game (Bioware Infinity Engine). What I saw that dissapointed me was the lack of new paper dolls for the characters, a lack of animations for some of the new weapon types, and for lack of icons for new types of magical weapons and armors. Such things are not incredibly difficult to include in a modification of an engine, and I wish that BIS had taken the time to include them.

Basically, IWD delivers more of the things that have made BIS the RPG leader that it has become. Icewind Dale and Baldur's Gate 2 will be the last two games to make use of the Bioware Infinity Engine. If you've never experienced these epic RPGs before, you're missing out on a fantastic experience. If you're familiar with both BG and Torment, and enjoyed both, then you won't regret purchasing Icewind Dale.

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