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Icewind Dale
With the enormous Baldurs Gate it's clear that gamers enjoy spending time in the Forgotten Realms. Not only has it revitalized Role Playing games but it also made the AD&D license the hot property it deserves to be. With Baldur's Gate 2 continuing the epic "Child Of Bhaal" saga Icewind Dale delivers a nice little spin-off set in the "Spine Of The World". Icewind Dale is actually a based on a series of books written by R. A Salvatore. In fact it's set long before the events in the books and actually serve as a kind of prequel. Don't worry if you've never heard of the books though. All you need is a lot of free time and a appreciation for RPGs to enjoy what Icewind Dale has to offer. While Icewind Dale is more a classic "hack-and-slash" dungeon trawl ( think Diablo ) it's definitely no slouch in the storyline department. There's evil brewing in the snowy peaks of the Spine Of The World mountains and there's lots of opportunities for the intrepid adventurer to make some cash and score some cool gear as well. While the plot might not twist and turn like Baldurs Gate it does serve as a fascinating backdrop to the events that unfold in the game. While I'm not going to give away any details rest assure all the right ingredients for a heroic quest is present.
You start of Icewind Dale with a party of 6 characters all created by yourself. There's no central character who is vital to the plot and no party members that want to join up with you along the way so make sure your party has what it takes to survive the harsh northern wastes of Faurun. While a party created entirely by you gives you a lot more scope to create your dream party you'll definitely miss those party member banter and conflicts that made BG such a joy to play. Multi-player fans will have a blast with the new characters and spells though and there's nothing like playing the game with five other friends covering your back. Since the game uses Biowares "Infinity" engine you should know what to expect from the interface. The graphics might only be restricted to 640x480 but even so manages to impress. The combination of awesome pre-rendered backgrounds & smoothly animated characters and monsters really set this game apart. It's strange that the Planetscape Torment engine wasn't used but this game definitely won't disappoint when it comes to graphics. There's also optional support for OpenGL compatible 3D cards to make all that eye candy even more sweeter. You'll be spending most of your time in the caves, crypts and ruins but there's always something that catches the eye and impress you with the attention to detail. There's also more than enough variety in the foes you'll face and the spells are as always something to behold. Your overworld map might only have 9 locations marked but trust me most of them are huge and are divided into numerous smaller locations. Prepare to visit exotic locales like the "Vale Of Shadows", Wyrms Tooth, Temple Of The Forgotten God and Elven ruins of Severed Hand. Your progress through the game is fairly linear and I definitely missed all the extras and sub-quests that Baldurs Gate is famous for but even so there's never a lack of something to do in Icewind Dale. The main focus of the game is to kill creatures and acquire treasure and you'll definitely be doing a lot of that. There were times when this became a bit tedious and the game can become bogged down with too much combat but it still kept me hooked and for every boring half hour there were stretches of up to four hours where I couldn't tear myself away from the game. Things really pick up towards the end and you'll soon end up with more magical items and equipment than you'll know what to do with. The game is very tricky at first with your weak low-level characters but with the amount of combat they'll soon be battle hardened veterans. The lack of any real puzzles and limited character interaction is a bit disappointing but then again this game isn't trying to be a carbon copy of Baldurs Gate. Diablo fans will appreciate it though and Diablo 2 might even face some stiff competition. Since the game only comes on 2 CDs there's obviously not that much speech but overall the voice acting is of a high caliber. The voices you can assign to your party members seem to be strangely comedic but since you can import your own sounds this isn't much of a issue. The soundtrack is very atmospheric and interspersed with some great ambient effects to flesh it out even more. Those with Environmental Audio capable soundtracks are in for a treat. As long as you're not expecting another Baldur's Gate you should have a blast with Icewind Dale. There's no denying that it's aimed more at the instant action crowd but don't dismiss it as a bland hack-and-slash either. Icewind Dale is perfect for those who don't have the months of spare time to complete titles like BG and just want to kill and pillage everything in sight. There's still enough to see and do to keep you playing for a long time and don't be surprised if you find yourself playing through it again with new character classes. It does have it's annoying bits but in the end Icewind Dale is a fun and addictive game that will provide you with hours of entertainment. Definitely not just a average title thrown out to fill the gap between Baldurs Gate 1 and 2. Watch out Diablo 2 there's some new competition in town. Review Written 2002 No Mods |
System Requirements
TAGS: Icewind Dale, Forgotten Realms, Role Playing, AD&D, Spine Of The World, R.A Salvatore, Infinity Engine
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