Icewind Dale (PC)

Maybe I’ve been spoiled, as the last two games I’ve played have been the excellent Baldurs Gate (BG) and the even better Planescape: Torment (PS:T). If you’re not already aware, Icewind Dale (IWD) was developed on the same game engine as these two (the Bioware Infinity Engine), and released by the same company, Interplay. The same team didn’t create it though, and in my opinion this shows. All three games are role playing games, where you play a character and lead a party of adventurers through quests and battles, with swords and sorcery, but here the resemblances end So what’s wrong with it? Maybe I’d better say ...

Icewind Dale is an excellent game whose release was, unfortunately, overshadowed by bigger titles such as Diablo II and Baldur's Gate II. If you like RPGs though, this game definitely deserves a spot on your shelf. At first glance, it might entirely be possible to confuse Icewind Dale with Baldur's Gate II. Both games were published by Interplay and both games are based on the story lines of Forgotten Realms, within the Advanced Dugeons and Dragons Universe. Icewind Dale, however, is a quality game in its own right and is sufficiently different from Baldur's Gate II to warrant a place for both games in your collection. ...

Icewind Dale is a good game. However, It should not be compared to Baldurs Gate or Planescape Torment, as it has a different focus than these games. Just as Planescape Torment was about a quest for identity where fighting was (almost) ignored in favour of dialog, and Baldurs Gate was an epic story of self-discovery and heroic adventures, Icewind Dale is a game which centers around mighty adventurers hacking their way through hordes of monsters to discover powerful magical items. There is nothing wrong about this. Many of the most popular AD&D modules released were simple dungeon crawls, and there is a certain degree of satisfaction to be gained from this style ...