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[Minsc]

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!

 

[Peronthious]

The Icewind Dale series has always sort of interested me, but I could never really get into the Infinity Engine combat in the BG series and Planescape. Is Icewind Dale that different, at least as far as combat is concerned?

 

[Cat in the Hat]

It's weird I'm not really a big lore guy in games or anything really but every time I identified a unique weapon I couldn't wait to read the story. ID II is actually my 4th favorite D&D game. Really loved it.

The Icewind Dale series has always sort of interested me, but I could never really get into the Infinity Engine combat in the BG series and Planescape. Is Icewind Dale that different, at least as far as combat is concerned?

No its pretty much exactly the same. To bad you can't get into them, fantastic games.

 

[Cat in the Hat]

Hey Minsc I have a question for ya.

Do you reload games or do you let what happens happen? Like a party member dying or something along those lines.

I hate to admit it but I reload playing these games ALOT, ALOT ALOT. Like if a battle didn't go so smooth I'd reload.

 

[Cohsae]

IDW2 is fantastic. Story is pretty much meaningless to me, but it wasn't trying to be Baldur's Gate so I'm fine with that because the combat is pretty awesome. Also I loved the changes to the system in terms of combat and levelling, like how any class could train in any weapon. Makes a lot more sense than the old system I think.

 

[Woo-Fu]

Is Icewind Dale that different, at least as far as combat is concerned?

Talking to npcs all the time ---- middle of the road ---- dungeon crawl

Torment --- Baldur's Gate 1&2 ---- Icewind Dale 1&2

ID 1&2 are my favorite, as I prefer maximal killing/looting and minimal talking. If you don't care for Infinity Engine combat then you will like ID1&2 the least of the three.

 

[Shake Appeal]

Talking to npcs all the time ---- middle of the road ---- dungeon crawl

Torment --- Baldur's Gate 1&2 ---- Icewind Dale 1&2

UNDYING LOVE ---- perishable but enduring love ---- short-lived infatuation

 

[BeeDog]

Game is AMAZING. That's all.

 

[McHuj]

My brother and I were trying to get through this game in co-op several years ago.

There was an unfortunate bug of some sort that prevented us from advancing at a certain point so we abandonned the effort.

Perhaps it's time to revist and finish this game.


These Infinity engine games are the golden era of RPGs in my opinion. BG, BGII, IWD, and Planescape. All I can continually replay and enjoy like I did the first time.


I love the art as well. Great sprites >>>> average 3d.

 

[Shake Appeal]

Yeah, even without the fanmade resolution/widescreen mods, the Infinity Engine games are still a joy to behold, whereas 3D games from even a few years ago already look painfully dated. 2D just ages better.

 

[Llyranor]

IWD easily has my favorite IE combat. BG2 isn't far off with its high-level mage duels. I actually haven't played IWD2.

It does have some pretty awesome music, though.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrWfJ9-zMCU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXFlak1DmZI

IIRC, Chris Avellone also worked a little bit on Targos.

 

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

I've been meaning to get the collection of this.

 

[Patryn]

It's funny. I just beat IWD2 for the first time a few weeks ago after having started and stopped a half dozen times over the years.

It's a great game, although I think the difficulty drops off after about Chapter 2, barring two or three fights.

However, you can't really talk about this game without telling what your team is. So what are you using? I went through with an evil pure fighter, a good monk, a good cleric, an evil specialized mage, a good fighter/rogue and a neutral bard.

Other things:

Fighters are still kind of unbalanced. By the end, mine had over double the amount of kills as the next nearest party member. And he wielded flails of all things (of which there are a ridiculous amount of good magical ones).

Raise Dead is the greatest spell in the game. It can basically single-handedly win you fights until pretty much the last chapter.

I hope you have at least one evil party member, or you'll get really annoyed by Blasphemy really fast.

I found Monks to be a little overrated. My monk kicked ass for the first couple chapters, then basically became a middling damage-soaker until the very, very end. Based on kill totals and versitility, my dual-wielding short sworded fighter/rogue was just as useful. I really think I should have taken a paladin instead.

On the other hand, I found my bard to be extremely useful. My mage couldn't cast haste or invisibility because of her chosen school, so my bard filled in nicely. Plus, he got healing spells. I was really impressed.

I stopped reloading so much once my cleric learned raise dead and started letting people die in a fight. After I got resurrection, I pretty much would only reload if my cleric died. One fight, all but two members died and I kept going.

 

[Baloonatic]

Hey Minsc I have a question for ya.

Do you reload games or do you let what happens happen? Like a party member dying or something along those lines.

I hate to admit it but I reload playing these games ALOT, ALOT ALOT. Like if a battle didn't go so smooth I'd reload.

Yeah that's pretty much how I played these games and Baldur's Gate as well. I always felt like I MUST have been doing something wrong as I would be trying fights over again a stupid amount of times. Or maybe that's just how it is.

Still, I really love this series and have been thinking of playing through them again soon.

 

[Almak]

Bought IWD I/II collection a few weeks ago alongside BG2+Expansion on my retro bender. One thing I noticed that I disliked straight up is that parties are pre-determined from the get go. I'll eventually get around to play it as soon as I'm done with BG2 and expansion. It might be a while though, that game is huge!

 

[Danne-Danger]

I've played this game so many times and never finished it. I think the furthest I ever got was right past the ice temple (is that before or after the teleport forest?) or something.

And I almost always get stuck in the

Spoiler

blimp-crash-werewolf-area

, I don't know how but there's always something missing at that point.

 

[Count of Monte Sawed-Off]

Bought IWD I/II collection a few weeks ago alongside BG2+Expansion on my retro bender. One thing I noticed that I disliked straight up is that parties are pre-determined from the get go. I'll eventually get around to play it as soon as I'm done with BG2 and expansion. It might be a while though, that game is huge!

If you're talking about BG2 here, you can create your entire party if you play it on multiplayer, although you'll miss out on a lot.

Icewind Dale 2 is the only IE game I've never really played. I have it, but never got into it. I may have to try again...

 

[Almak]

If you're talking about BG2 here, you can create your entire party if you play it on multiplayer, although you'll miss out on a lot.

Icewind Dale 2 is the only IE game I've never really played. I have it, but never got into it. I may have to try again...

No I was talking about Icewind Dale 2 and the fact(?) that parties need to be formed before you get into the game.
I like the more subtle approach of Baldurs Gate when it comes to forming a party (a.i. more story driven as opposed to IWD)
Never had an incentive to play multiplayer in Baldurs Gate 2 however. At least not untill I finish single player.

 

[Tokubetsu]

Really really liked this game. What little voice acting there is great too btw, especially the villain? Isair! Voiced by Peter Stormare. Just awesome. I feel kinda ashamed to admit it but I always dug IWDII a bit more than BGII. IWD2 always felt a bit more "hands-on" to me if that makes any sense, which is what I really dug about it. You got out what you put in.

 

[Spruce Moose]

They really need to put this game up on Steam/Impules/GoG .... whatever. Any form of DD would be nice.

 

[Donos]

Talking to npcs all the time ---- middle of the road ---- dungeon crawl

Torment --- Baldur's Gate 1&2 ---- Icewind Dale 1&2

ID 1&2 are my favorite, as I prefer maximal killing/looting and minimal talking. If you don't care for Infinity Engine combat then you will like ID1&2 the least of the three.

same taste although BG2 and IWD2 are on the same level for me. Both great games. (both TOP10)

 

[Minsc]

Hey Minsc I have a question for ya.

Do you reload games or do you let what happens happen? Like a party member dying or something along those lines.

I hate to admit it but I reload playing these games ALOT, ALOT ALOT. Like if a battle didn't go so smooth I'd reload.

Well, I'm a bit in to chapter 1, and so far I haven't had to reload a battle once. I'm pretty familar with the D&D ruleset, so that helps, but I think I've developed a knack for the IE combat after enough playthroughs. A few close calls with less than 5 hp though. I find it helpful to simply retreat party members once they are getting hammered, keeps them alive. Usually the enemies will chase them relentlessly too, allowing the rest of your party to pluck away at them with ranged weapons, or you can lead them right in to other fighters and block their path.

It also helps once you get some resurrection spells like mentioned, and giving all 6 members ranged weapons goes a long way too.

It's funny. I just beat IWD2 for the first time a few weeks ago after having started and stopped a half dozen times over the years.

It's a great game, although I think the difficulty drops off after about Chapter 2, barring two or three fights.

However, you can't really talk about this game without telling what your team is. So what are you using? I went through with an evil pure fighter, a good monk, a good cleric, an evil specialized mage, a good fighter/rogue and a neutral bard.

Other things:

Fighters are still kind of unbalanced. By the end, mine had over double the amount of kills as the next nearest party member. And he wielded flails of all things (of which there are a ridiculous amount of good magical ones).

Raise Dead is the greatest spell in the game. It can basically single-handedly win you fights until pretty much the last chapter.

I hope you have at least one evil party member, or you'll get really annoyed by Blasphemy really fast.

I found Monks to be a little overrated. My monk kicked ass for the first couple chapters, then basically became a middling damage-soaker until the very, very end. Based on kill totals and versitility, my dual-wielding short sworded fighter/rogue was just as useful. I really think I should have taken a paladin instead.

On the other hand, I found my bard to be extremely useful. My mage couldn't cast haste or invisibility because of her chosen school, so my bard filled in nicely. Plus, he got healing spells. I was really impressed.

I stopped reloading so much once my cleric learned raise dead and started letting people die in a fight. After I got resurrection, I pretty much would only reload if my cleric died. One fight, all but two members died and I kept going.

Well I went with an odd mix of all an good/neutral Wheel of Time inspired party, consisting of a Paladin/Wizard (Rand), Barbarian half-orc (Loial), Ranger (Birgitte), Bard/Sorcerer (Thom), Cleric/Druid (Moiraine), and one evil Wizard/Rogue (Mazrim Taim). The evil wizard/rogue and paladin/wizard will probably have to kill one another after the game is over. :lol I don't think you can change aliment's in the game, or else I'd have the wizard/rogue start out more neutral or chaotic. Some of the roles are more of a stretch than others, but I'm happy enough with the mix, and it is working nicely so far, 3 solid fighters, and 3 ranged casters.

My fighters also usually end up scoring the most kills, simply because I favor them more, not using many spells unless I feel I have to, except for summons, which I put in to the front lines and use for temporary tanks. The casters do get a handful of ranged kills, but it's not really comparable.

I did consider going with a mainly evil party, but I enjoy playing a good character more, even if it makes the game a bit harder. I'm also finding the bard class a nice addition, better than I gave it credit for.

Really really liked this game. What little voice acting there is great too btw, especially the villain? Isair! Voiced by Peter Stormare. Just awesome. I feel kinda ashamed to admit it but I always dug IWDII a bit more than BGII. IWD2 always felt a bit more "hands-on" to me if that makes any sense, which is what I really dug about it. You got out what you put in.

The elven mage Larrel, at the top of the Severed Hand was another great bit of voice acting, from the first Icewind Dale game. It's one of the dead giveaways that someone is important in these games, after reading tons and tons of written conversations, when you get to the voiced characters, it's a nice treat.

 

[HK-47]

A shame the plot is so thin. IWD is far superior in this regard. Combat's good though

 

[water_wendi]

One of my favorite moments was when i first got this game.. i loaded it up on the super hard difficulty just for fun. i then chose the premade evil party with the half-orc barbarian leader. We make it about 10 steps off the boat, run into the first goblin.. the goblin swings once and gets my leader to 1hp.. the next swing from the level 1 goblin connects and my badass half-orc goes flying into jibs with the death cry "Im-- IMPOSSIBLE!" :lol :lol

 

[Patryn]

I'd also advise having a character having a lot of points in Spellcraft, arcana and alchemy. Especially arcana. If you want, you can have one character for each skill, but never having to cast identify is one of the best things about 3rd Edition.

Spellcraft is just useful so you know when you absolutely have to cream that spellcaster before he gets off some annoying spell.

 

[epmode]

A shame the plot is so thin.

This is what keeps me away from this series. BG 1&2 + Torment are up in my best games ever list yet I've never even tried Icewind Dale.

 

[Cat in the Hat]

Does the widescreen mod support 1400x900?

I have a itch to play the game.

 

[shintoki]

Everytime I see one of these, I look to check to see if they finally chosen a DD service or a mega release including all of the BlackIsle games. Only one I still own is BGII.=[

 

[epmode]

Does the widescreen mod support 1400x900?

I have a itch to play the game.

I'm pretty sure it supports any resolution your monitor does. You manually specify the X and Y coordinates, after all.

Everytime I see one of these, I look to check to see if they finally chosen a DD service or a mega release including all of the BlackIsle games. Only one I still own is BGII.=[

There's an easy-to-find, cheap Baldur's Gate 1+2+expansions collection on Ebay or Amazon Marketplace for about $30. Icewind Dale 1+2 collection is also pretty common for $~50. Torment is the most rare but it's still pretty easy to find for $50. It's worth every single penny.

(By the way, Bioware made the Baldur's Gate games, not Black Isle. I'm not sure why the Black Isle logo appears before BG but there you go.)

 

[Kayos]

I read this thread earlier and it made me want to play this series. Anyhoo I stole my brother's copy of Icewind Dale 1 (and the expansion) and installed it.

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. [/I]

Does this apply to the original game as well? I only made one character at the start but I could of filled up the rest of the slots too?

On a side note I'm really liking the game. I'm going to try and find a copy of ID2 for sale soon.

 

[Agyar]

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.

I think this was the sticking point that made it hard for me to get into the IW series like I did BG. I enjoyed it, but it just never had the same longevity that I got from BG and especially BG2.

 

[Danne-Danger]

Does this apply to the original game as well? I only made one character at the start but I could of filled up the rest of the slots too?

Yep and yes (you can still fill the rest of the slots, no need to restart).

 

[speculawyer]

Ah . . . Sometimes I wonder if the best days of RPGs are behind us.

But I'm sure things will pick up.

 

[Kayos]

Yep and yes (you can still fill the rest of the slots, no need to restart).

Oh good. I really didn't want to start over.

 

[ElectricThunder]

Still in my backlog, but I'd totally buy this(them in the overall discussion again) via something like GoG and such to where hopefully they can be enjoyed many years from now.

 

[McHuj]

Maybe this has been a terrible mistake on my part, but I generally go with an all human party. If I recall correctly, the other races are usually level capped for certain classes, whereas human are not. Am I wrong here? Does this matter in the game and effect the game difficulty?

 

[water_wendi]

Maybe this has been a terrible mistake on my part, but I generally go with an all human party. If I recall correctly, the other races are usually level capped for certain classes, whereas human are not. Am I wrong here? Does this matter in the game and effect the game difficulty?

As far as i remember there are just Favored Classes and ECL to worry about. In some of the older D&D games some races could only get to certain levels but i think this was removed in 3rd edition and beyond.

And i dont think its a mistake to go all human. Without having to worry about ECL you get to mid-level fairly quick plus the extra feat at creation. Personally i never use the special abilities of the other races.. i always forget i have them :lol

 

[Minsc]

Difficulty's picking up, just cleared out the bridge, Bugbears are a pain if you don't take them out quick. Tactics weren't up to par, they pack a good punch, and had to reload for the first time. Nice big battle, wererats (bastard things are immune to my puny ranged weapons), giants, harpies, and a pathetic mage that got off one bolt of lightning before dropping like a fly after a few bolts and arrows. :lol

Time to take care of these troublesome goblins once and for all, at their headquarters. Evil is safe nowhere!

Perhaps the best thing about the IE games, is how effective the engine is at handling combat. Once you get the hang of it, manually controlling every action of all six party members is second nature, and doesn't even seem to slow the battles down. There's some nice parts in Icewind Dale, where you're facing upwards of 20 enemies at once, and it really does a great job of wrapping up such large battles in minutes.

This is what keeps me away from this series. BG 1&2 + Torment are up in my best games ever list yet I've never even tried Icewind Dale.

You should give the first Icewind Dale a try, the plot is better than it gets credit for.

So far I actually think Icewind Dale had nicer graphics, well, Kuldahar > Targos anyway. The frozen sea creatures in the Ice Palace (sharks, huge whale, jellyfish, etc) and Dorn's Deep (dwarven underground city) are impressive too. I'm sure there's some nice sights awaiting me once I break past this wintery wonderland.

I'm pretty sure it supports any resolution your monitor does. You manually specify the X and Y coordinates, after all.There's an easy-to-find, cheap Baldur's Gate 1+2+expansions collection on Ebay or Amazon Marketplace for about $30. Icewind Dale 1+2 collection is also pretty common for $~50. Torment is the most rare but it's still pretty easy to find for $50. It's worth every single penny.

(By the way, Bioware made the Baldur's Gate games, not Black Isle. I'm not sure why the Black Isle logo appears before BG but there you go.)

It's just under $25 shipped, and brand new, from Amazon actually. And there's no protection afaik, just a simple disc check, so if you don't like to deal with discs a simple image should suffice. Bioware really needs to get these games on a good DD service, I agree.

 

[Patryn]

I went with mostly human parties myself, mostly for the extra feats. But I could never go all-human, because it felt wrong to simply ignore the large selection out there.

It almost felt to me like they were making up for the earlier Infinity Engine games, in which the only reason to go human was to be a paladin or monk. Otherwise, you'd be stupid not to go half-elf as default and get the extra resistances.

As for the bridge, I kinda loved how if you tried to negotiate with the guy it ended up that he was stalling for time. A nice twist on the whole always being good thing.

I forget: Do you get something extra for saving the bridge?

 

[Ledsen]

I'm pretty sure it supports any resolution your monitor does. You manually specify the X and Y coordinates, after all.There's an easy-to-find, cheap Baldur's Gate 1+2+expansions collection on Ebay or Amazon Marketplace for about $30. Icewind Dale 1+2 collection is also pretty common for $~50. Torment is the most rare but it's still pretty easy to find for $50. It's worth every single penny.

(By the way, Bioware made the Baldur's Gate games, not Black Isle. I'm not sure why the Black Isle logo appears before BG but there you go.)

There is also the Forgotten Realms Deluxe Edition, which includes

Baldur's Gate 1+expansion
Baldur's Gate 2+expansion
Icewind Dale+expansion
Icewind Dale 2
Neverwinter Nights+both expansions

I own it and it's awesome

 

[Gattsu25]

Glad to see IWD2 get some love

There is also the Forgotten Realms Deluxe Edition, which includes

Baldur's Gate 1+expansion
Baldur's Gate 2+expansion
Icewind Dale+expansion
Icewind Dale 2
Neverwinter Nights+both expansions

I own it and it's awesome

 

[Agyar]

There is also the Forgotten Realms Deluxe Edition, which includes

Baldur's Gate 1+expansion
Baldur's Gate 2+expansion
Icewind Dale+expansion
Icewind Dale 2
Neverwinter Nights+both expansions

I own it and it's awesome

This package is made for 'desert island' lists.

 

[Ledsen]

This package is made for 'desert island' lists.

It is (or was, can't seem to find it online anymore) really cheap as well, I payed about 35 euro for it.

 

[Ruuppa]

I love the IWD-series slightly more than the BG-series for a simple reason: The ability to run solo without losing much on the story. Granted it's pretty much suicide on harder difficulties(Ahoy there, HoF Goblins!), but it's a grand thing, seeing a single character wipe out the Goblin fortress. Not to mention dragons.

Too bad IWD2 uses the 3.5 ruleset, though. I used to spend hours rolling the dice for the most efficient min/max combo for my mage/thief in IWD1. Oh well, at least I could make a monk in the sequel.

 

[Giolon]

I played the BG "trilogy" (Throne of Bhaal was big enough to be considered its own game), but never got into IWD. I was always put off by comments that they were more hack-and-slashy and focused on dungeon crawling. If I liked BG more for the story elements and characters than the actual specifics of the gameplay (kiting dragons or hoping an exact sequence of spells vs a ridiculously protected mage weren't particularly spectacularly fun), how much enjoyment am I likely to derive from the IWDs?

 

[Brashnir]

I think I'm one of the few who preferred the IWD games to Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 and Planescape:Torment.

God, I loved those games.

 

[Ruuppa]

I played the BG "trilogy" (Throne of Bhaal was big enough to be considered its own game), but never got into IWD. I was always put off by comments that they were more hack-and-slashy and focused on dungeon crawling. If I liked BG more for the story elements and characters than the actual specifics of the gameplay (kiting dragons or hoping an exact sequence of spells vs a ridiculously protected mage weren't particularly spectacularly fun), how much enjoyment am I likely to derive from the IWDs?

IWDs are pretty much BGs, but with more linearity and none of the NPC-allies. IWDs' stories are plenty solid. The pacing is slightly better, in fact, since there are no intermittent minor quests to break it up.

 

[Minsc]

I went with mostly human parties myself, mostly for the extra feats. But I could never go all-human, because it felt wrong to simply ignore the large selection out there.

It almost felt to me like they were making up for the earlier Infinity Engine games, in which the only reason to go human was to be a paladin or monk. Otherwise, you'd be stupid not to go half-elf as default and get the extra resistances.

As for the bridge, I kinda loved how if you tried to negotiate with the guy it ended up that he was stalling for time. A nice twist on the whole always being good thing.

I forget: Do you get something extra for saving the bridge?

I felt like the experience reward was a bit low for all that. I guess they'll just have to send some people over to fix that bridge when they're done with the wall in the town. I didn't even get to talk to anyone, there was a short scene about taking the bridge down initially, and the rest was all battle for me. That's probably because the bridge was down by the time I got there. That's what I get for taking an 8-hour rest in-between that battle :lol

Soloing also sounds like a neat way to experience the games, I read about people doing it for BG as well. It makes more sense in Ice Dale, as you don't miss much, except a wide selection to all the different class abilities and you'd be very limited on the amount of magical weapons and armor you can use, since you're only one person.

 

[HK-47]

IWDs are pretty much BGs, but with more linearity and none of the NPC-allies. IWDs' stories are plenty solid. The pacing is slightly better, in fact, since there are no intermittent minor quests to break it up.

Maybe I but II is pretty brainless.

 

[Almak]

Dammit guys stop reminiscing so much about IWDII, you're going to make me reinstall it all over again! And I'm not even done with BGII (not even remotely).