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Nice visual enhancements, but really buggy.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: February 27, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I really like what has been done with the overall graphics. The textures and monsters are much improved. The increased detail to the characters is spetacular. All of this is without a 3D card. Using a 3D card enhances the graphics even further making the textures even richer and adding to shadows as well. The main problem with HoW....bugs. HoW is really touchy, especially when trying to play multiplayer. You may have trouble getting it to run smoothly on your machine, but just mess with the settings a little and you can fix that. For example: I turned off ambient sounds and mine runs great. For multiplayer problems you might try turning off all your feedback options and you will want to check to make sure all the people you are playing with have the same version of directX installed.

I hope this helps. I know there are probably a lot of you out there having these problems.

Its Cold Again!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 26 / 28
Date: February 28, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Icewind Dale: Heart of Winter is a wonderful add-on to Icewind Dale (see my review of Icewind Dale dated January 13, 2001 for further information). You must have the original game to play this add-on.

Icewind Dale: Heart of Winter begins in the town of Lonelywood. It is a town in fear of invasion with little in the way of amenities. The story builds from there.

The following features of ID:HOW are great: 1) New Area's to adventure in. 2) Requires 9th level or higher characters to play in the expansion. These can be imported from a completed game of ID. Alternatively, you can move in to the expansion from Kuldahar if you have not completed ID. Finally, you can create a brand new party of characters to adventure in ID:HOW. 3) You get to create all the members of your party to give you exactly the kind of party you want. 4) Capability to advance to 30th level (though you will probably need to adjust the difficulty of the game to do this). 5) Wonderful graphics that make you feel like you are in a very cold painting. 6) Partial use of D&D 3rd Edition Rules. 6) Special Abilities as follows: a) Paladin (Smite Evil, Divine Courage, Immunity to Disease, Spell access at 6th level). b) Ranger (Tracking, Spell access at 6th level). c) Druid (Shape change at 5th level, Elemental form at 11th level, Immunity to poison at 9th level, Immunity to fatigue, New experience table allowing progression past 14th level). d) Thief (Sneak Attack, Evasion at 7th level, Crippling Strike at 5th level). e) Bard (New songs that affect the party in different ways. New songs appear at the following levels-3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 11th). 7) Transport items such as gem bag (holds 20 gems or jewelry), potion bag (20 potions) and scroll cases (20 scrolls). 8) Hot key to illuminate doors (does not show you secret doors) and any items on the ground. 9) New spells for Mage and Cleric. The mage has 17 new spells of the following levels (Level 2: 1 spell, Level 3: 1 spell, Level 4: 3 spells, Level 5: 3 spells, Level 6: 3 spells, Level 7: 2 spells, Level 8: 4 spells). A Priest has 42 new spells of the following levels (Level 1: 2 spells, Level 2: 3 spells, Level 3: 10 spells, Level 4: 9 spells, Level 5: 7 spells, Level 6: 4 spells, Level 7: 7 spells). 10) New high level monsters. 11) Improved screen resolution for computers that can support it.

I believe you will enjoy this add-on to Icewind Dale. Be prepared to sleep at the computer. Make sure you have a wife who is understanding (and forgiving).

A Worthy Expansion to an Amazing Game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: March 03, 2001
Author: Amazon User

When the original Icewind Dale came out, I was absolutely stunned by the depth and story that it contained. The combat system (same one as Baldur's Gate) is truly amazing. And this expansion only makes it better. The new resolution (800x600) is great and all of the little interface features alone make it worth the purchase. But the kicker is the raised experiance cap (30th level baby!) and the new lands to explore. All in all, if you've got Icewind Dale (or even if you don't), then you need to buy this game.

Too Short

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: March 04, 2001
Author: Amazon User

It's a good game but much too short to be worth the price. I played it in about 20 hours. They speak of going up to 30th level but you would be hard pressed to do that unless you start the game at 25th level. You can count on going up 4-6 levels that's about it. Cut the price in half or add twice the content and you would have a five star game.

Fun, but...

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 8 / 8
Date: March 06, 2001
Author: Amazon User

The expansion was really fun, Icewind dale was great, Heart of winter was interesting, EXCEPT that it was incredibly short. They set the experience caps to level 30, and playing on hard mode I took my level 11s and 12s (imported) to level 16-17... I beat the game in 2 hours. It would take AGES to get to 30. 5000000+ exp.

It's good, But extremely short. If you want something more satisfing, Baldur's gate 2 is pretty good. Pretty long.

Another "too short" review

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 11 / 12
Date: March 08, 2001
Author: Amazon User

If this expansion were ... cheaper I would go up a star. The fixes to the original engine were outstanding. If you haven't already played Icewind Dale and are playing it for the first time with the expansion, you'll get a lot more for your money. For those who already completed I.D. and are hungry for more, I don't think this will calm your hunger. It's more like a snack than a meal. The bonus missions were a lot of fun, but were brief and simple. At least one extra long term quest would have been appreciated after shelling out "my money". My advice: wait for the price to go down.

Icewind Dale: Heart of Winter

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 7 / 12
Date: March 08, 2001
Author: Amazon User

This was a hugely disappointing game. Extremely linear, and ridiculously short. Not, repeat, not worth the money! If you've played Baldurs Gate II, basically this was the equivalent of a single quest. If you haven't played Baldurs Gate II, buy that game instead. You definitely won't be disappointed.

Good game, but yes, a little too short.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: March 08, 2001
Author: Amazon User

This is a great add-on to a great game, but way too short. One good thing though, is that if you set the difficulty to insane, monsters do double damage and give double experience. However, even with this feature, it is hard to reach level 30, as they SAY you can. I played through the entire game, including the expansion and then most of the original game again, all on insane mode, but still my highest character is level 25. Still, the new additions are incredible. The new abilities are cool (I play a paladin) and the monsters are cool too. Some of the old monsters got new looks, and then there are some new ones. Yes there is a dragon, and it is really cool. There are a lot more side quests in the expansion too, even better ones than the original game. There is one really neat feature of the original game that is really handy if you have the expansion. Since you create all the characters in your party, you can export chracters and then import them into other games. This helps for getting experience. Example: I import my level 19 paladin into an old saved game. There he meets an evil snake goddess, and kills her and her snake minions for a total of 108800 experience or so. Poof, he levels up. Repeat 20 times. With this feature you can essentially play through the game as many times as you want. All in all, a great game for any RPG fan, especially if you liked Baldur's Gate. THIS GAME IS MUCH BETTER THAN DIABLO 2. Get this game. -CoWgOd

Not Really The Game I Wanted

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 20 / 23
Date: March 11, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Sometimes you get what you hope for... And sometimes you don't. This add-on to Icewind Dale from Interplay is simply too little, too late. The story line is extremely short. As barbarians mass to attack the tiny town of Lonelywood our heroes are approached by a barbarian shaman to intervene somehow and save both sides from disaster. A short investigation in Lonelywood and a meeting with the barbarian chief leave you basically clueless and in severe disfavor. The rest of the story is primarily composed of hacking your way across one desolate scene or another in your effort to resolve the mystery. Which, after several not quite titanic battles, you finally do. All in all, about 8 hours of gameplay at the most.

Perhaps the best parts of the add-in are the improvements it makes to Icewind Dale overall. The 800x600 resolution and improved 3D acceleration are beneficial. There are 59 new spells to master, and a bunch of new items. Best of all, you can take your characters up to the 20th level!

The short storyline I found singularly dissatisfying. Not so much due to weakness, but due to the fact that there was material in it for a full sized game with, perhaps, a more uplifting ending. For, to tell the truth, the villain of the piece is by far the most interesting character. It was with some regret that I won the final battle.

.... If you haven't played Icewind Dale, I suggest waiting to see what kind of combination deal Interplay Offers. If you have already played the original game and don't want to replay it, then you may find Heart of Winter a disappointment.

not worth the money

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: April 04, 2001
Author: Amazon User

As a diehard fan of CRPGs, and especially of BG1, BG2, and Icewind Dale I was sorely disappointed in this expansion pack. Unlike Tales of the Sword Coast, which proved to be a challenge, my "final save" party from IWD breezed through this easily. I finished this expansion pack on the second day. Sure there were some graphic improvements and higher experience levels, but this thing was nowhere near worth..., not for just the few quests that you get for it. The boss, or "foozle," or whatever you might call him, was a disappointment, too, much less difficult than similar monsters in BG2. If you have unlimited funds, go for it, but I would say that you should wait for it to show up in the bargain bin.

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