Minsc
Gold Member
2002. Black Isle Studios. D&D 3rd edition. Get ready Boo, the butts of evil await my bootprint!!
Mini-FAQ
What is it?
A hack-n-slash cRPG from the days of 2D isometric gaming, one of the last games to use the famous Infinity engine. The Icewind Dale games were less focused on plot, and more on combat than the Baldur's Gate games and you don't have the inter-party banter, or even the opportunity to pick up NPCs, you simply make your full 6 member party from the start. There's still plenty of story, don't worry, and a decent amount of excellent voice acting. The music is really good too.
Why should I play it?
Black Isle Studios, the people who made Fallout and Planescape: Torment, made it. Do you really need another reason?
Where can I get it?
Amazon's selling the whole trilogy for $24.92 new, w/ free shipping on $25 o more orders, just to piss you off. :lol It's not anywhere for download afaik.
Will it run on my PC, it's pretty old?
Yes. All the Infinity Engine games run perfectly in XP/Vista/Windows 7. Grab the v2.01 patch and mods (if you desire, I'm skipping them). You can also use the widescreen mod if you desire.
Should I play Icewind Dale first?
Yes, not because you need to for the plot, but because it is a great game in itself. And if you get the compilation above, you'll have it anyway. The interface is a little more dated, so it's better not to get spoiled by the new interface first. It's not a terribly long game, I played it for just a few nights a week, and made it each of the six or seven chapters every three or so nights. ~30 hours would be a safe bet, + ~8 or so for the expansion.
Having just replayed Icewind Dale + Heart of Winter a few months ago, I'm ready for some more. Given you travel to the Spine of the World, it seems fitting to outfit myself with a WoT-themed party.
So let's begin!
*** SPOILERS follow ***
We're greeted in the midst of a little chaos after docking in Targos village. Goblins (surprise, surprise) are running wild, and in just the first 10 minutes, we save a warehouse full of explosives, from exploding.
It looked like just another town at first glance, but the townspeople slowly start to become fleshed out, and in no time the game grabs a hold of me. A crazy cat lady, a weeping spirit, and a short-fused mayor are among the first people you encounter. After making our way through the town, and helping with a variety of problems, we finally prepare for the inevitable goblin assault.
As you can see above, the town is setup nicely to defend itself, though the barricaded circle ended up nicer in theory than reality. The large number of enemies made this battle a bit more challenging than the goblins we've been running into so far. Nothing a little well planned tactics can't solve. We find the mayor requesting our aid once more after holding off the assault, an important bridge needs to be reclaimed. Onward, and through the snowy path it is!
After a little voiced text introducing the first chapter (I saw that coming), we find ourselves put right in to another large battle, but with some help from an enraged priestess on your side, short work is made of the Orcs.
It looks like the beginning of a fun journey, and every bit as fun as the first game. Really like all the detail in infinity engine games, even the weapons and armor have stories of their own!
Maybe it's just me, but these games seem every bit as fun as they used to be. I can't promise more long posts like this, but I look forward to the rest of the game all the same! Swords, not words!