Is Icewind Dale worth getting? I'm in the middle of BG 2 right now

[Chris Boney]

And don't forget, Icewind Dale will run very smooth on your computer. Quicksaving once and reloading until you get a nice hp-roll is just a matter of seconds, which means I did it 8 times in about half a minute, which is probably what it took me to quickload a game in BG2 in the same time.
Same goes with area-transitions and launching the game, I love it for that extra-speed.

[Ron]

Yea well on BG2 you have all the
"Ahh the child of Bhaal has awoken, blah blah blah blah!"
When I first got the game, i restarted so many times i have that memorized. http://www.gamebanshee.com/ubb/frown.gif

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Shadows of the Midnight Hour
My Ultima Online Guild Page

[The_Pope]

Ah the child of Bhaal has awoken.
It is time for more experiments.
The pain will only be passing, you should survive the process.
Interesting, you have much untapped power.
Do you even realize your potential?
More intruders have entered the complex, master.
They act sooner than we had anticipated.
No matter, they will only prove a slight delay.
...
AAAAARGH!!!
...
Wake up you! blablabla...

Yeah I know what you mean.

About IWD, I thought it was too linear. Also, there was too much fighting involved and only a weak storyline. I always had the feeling "Another floor? Geez... Am I in the Empire State Building or what?"
It was a very difficult game as well.

You could say it's the exact contrary of Planescape Torment. PT was all about the storyline and almost no hack & slashin'. Icewind Dale is nothing but fighting.
Both were linear though...

Anyway, it all depends on your own style? I prefer a strong storyline myself. Baldur's Gate 2 is perfectly balanced. The story is great, the adventuring part rules too, and it ain't linear at all.


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-Amen

[Gruntboy]

There's a lot of stuff in the downloads/special edition which refer to IWD - Everard's mace etc. Drizzt and his party.

Its nce to be able to fill in the gaps.

[Ron]

Evan if you dont like it, it will hold you over untill [i]POR[i/] or NWN comes out http://www.gamebanshee.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

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Just a couple &cent from Ron!
Shadows of the Midnight Hour
My Ultima Online Guild Page

[Dangerman]

icewind dale is a classic, but im afraid it just doesn't compare to bg2 at all. by all means get it, but be prepared for a disapointment if you expect something better.

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... and you know it's true!

[Ron]

Its something different. Helps to differ from the norm.

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Just a couple &cent from Ron!
Shadows of the Midnight Hour
My Ultima Online Guild Page

[millwall]

I have played through both and although on the surface they appear similar in reality they will appeal to different types of people. IWD has a much more linear story and harks back much more to the original D&D days. The reality is that it essentially consists of a number of dungeon quests of increasing difficulty. Each one is normally split into a number of levels which you have to fight your way through to find a relic or similar. Each level is made up of a number of rooms, so its a case of clearing a room and then moving on to the next. It is very combat oriented. In BG2 you are never likely to have to face more than a handfull of foes but get it wrong in IWD and you could be hit with between 10 and 20. Also the starting levels are totally different. All your party in IWD start at level 1, and many of these will have less than 10 hit points.

At the end of the day its what you want to get from your gaming experience. If hack and slash, and honing your fighting skill is your thing then IWD is a very good game. If you prefer a good storyline with multiple side quests and real choices to make, then it probably has less appeal.

[escape velocity]

I might be unique here, but I played IWD before I played BGII (I'm still playing BGII right now). I really liked the locations and the maps in IWD. Many of them had a very realistically creepy quality that when combined with IMHO was awesome music really gave them atmosphere when you explored them.

Don't expect much actual "role playing" from IWD. Even though you get to create six different characters, they really have very little interaction. In addition, your alignment really doesn't mean much at all -- except for certain magic items that are restricted to those of good or evil alignment. I've seen a couple of strategy guides recommmend that you take a few of each alignment type -- it doesn't really affect game play and that way you can take advantage of more of the cool weapons.

I thought that for what it needed to do, IWD had plenty of story. It is very linear, but that means that you are always pursuing things that are going to give you more information about what is going on. And there are very few of the "meaningless wierd quest" things that people have complained about with BGII.

Finally, IWD really forces you to focus on STRATEGY. There are many places where no matter what you do you are going to end up in a room with 10-20 enemies to take out. IWD definitely makes you think about approaches and tactics with all your characters -- whether they are magic users and fighters. If you don't build a balanced party and use all their talents you probably will have a very difficult time in IWD.

Well, that's my very long winded 2 cents worth... http://www.gamebanshee.com/ubb/smile.gif

EV

[Ron]

Yea Shattered Hand comes to mind(i think thats what it was called) You are fighting like 34567 Shadow Elf things. constantly!

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Just a couple &cent from Ron!
Shadows of the Midnight Hour
My Ultima Online Guild Page

[Gruntboy]

I concur with 'EV' (is that a sick reference to the dreaded 'back hole disease'? http://www.gamebanshee.com/ubb/wink.gif)

IWD is very combat oriented. You have to play your party as a team. Level 1 party running into a ogre? Only teamwork can help you there.

Both are great, just different types of game. Oh and I played BG1, IWD, then BG2. Love them all. http://www.gamebanshee.com/ubb/smile.gif

[escape velocity]

Hmmm.... I'm feeling ignorant of an interesting reference here... http://www.gamebanshee.com/ubb/smile.gif someone is going to have to fill me in on what this dreaded disease really is and how EV would be a reference to it http://www.gamebanshee.com/ubb/smile.gif.

All it really is a shortening of "escape velocity" (a handle I use everywhere and which inevitably gets shortened to "EV" by whomever I share a board with.

I agree though -- I have enjoyed all the Black Isle games I've gotten my hands on: BGI, Fallout2 (just incredible the story there and how much you can do), BGII, and IWD. I'm really looking forward to HoW.

[Gruntboy]

Well if you have 'black hole disease' it is associated with syptoms of 'escape velocity'.

Its like diarrheoa... http://www.gamebanshee.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

Can't remember what Sci-Fi thing I hear that on.

[bootlegcorndogs]

Frankly, I wasn't crazy about IWD, but I'm a huge storymonger. Also, BG and BG2 have spoiled me with all the NPC interaction, so it's hard for me to get into a game where you create your entire party. If you're not too hung up on that minor flaw, though, it's a cool game, and good for something to do if you've finished BG2, can't wait for the expansion, and the thought of having to go through that mind-numbing first Irenicus dungeon AGAIN just to try a new character class is enough to make you have an aneurysm. (Gah! They have GOT to introduce a way to skip the prologue with the next patch. That, and a fix for the myriad Jaheira script problems.) Basically, if you've got $30 to burn there are many, MANY worse games you could spend it on.

[Avariel]

Thanks for all the replies, I never expected one of my topics to actually GET replies, let alone 30 of them.

I actually bought IWD not too long ago, when I was actually employed, and it's a solid game.

Thanks again!

Avariel

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