Icewind Dale 2 Complete

Icewind Dale II has proven to be a solid mixture of fun and frustration. If you've enjoyed the original icewind Dale, you'll have fun with it, but it's not the same as it's predecessor. In fact, where Icewind Dale 2 differs is in it's struggle to be more than the original. Surely, a worthy goal for any sequel - take the original, include the things about it that made it good, and add more. Taking the original elements of Icewind Dale, the development team went back to original pen and paper games and took notes on what makes a good pen and paper game so unique and enjoyable. Then, using the proven success of the original, added those wonderful pen and paper elements. Sounds good right? Well, not really. A deep, immersive plot that requires thinking and deductive reasoning to figure out is a key element in a real life D&D game; but when part of a CRPG, it becomes obtuse and wears your patience thin, and usually just is flat out confusing. Puzzles, riddles, and suddenly being forced into a bad situation in a pen and paper game results in amazingly creative solutions that can make your characters real heroes. When it's tried here, the infinity engine just falters and fails, leaving a frustrating situation where you're clueless and looking up walkthroughs to figure out the exact thing the game wants you to do. It gets worse as well - when you get it wrong, and you can get it wrong, you can break the game and prevent forward progress; speaking from experience, I ended up having to either re-start via a very old saved game, give up, or cheat through a level because a key plot element wasnt working because i missed a 'trigger' somewhere that flagged a variable the game needed to proceed. It all sounds bleak, I know. But not everyong runs into issues, and maybe you wont. But in general, you'll likely have periods of the same fun you had in IWD, broken up by forced puzzles that arent much fun at best, and frustrating at worst. For IWD fans, still recommended.

Icewind Dale 2 is on par with Baldur's Gate 2 in terms of quality. The DnD 3.0 ruleset was excellently integrated into an isometric CRPG and this game corrects all the mistakes of its predecessor. Character customization is much more detailed (especially noticeable for the Cleric class), battles reward strategy instead of the original's reliance on artificially-increased difficulty via human wave tactics and the entire game no longer feels like you're just drifting aimlessly from dungeon to dungeon as you seek the next McGuffin. If you enjoyed Baldur's Gate 1 & 2 or Neverwinter Nights 2, don't skip this one as it will offer you more of what you love from the above classics.

One of the best out there. Super story and gameplay with awesome replayness. Every game will be different than the others. The game is not easy in the beginning but it sure gives you a lot of fun and good moments. Fantastic music and graphics, no metter it is retro style. The gameplay is at its best.

It is a wonderful game that has succumbed to the advancements of technology. I would hope (if not Beamdog) someone would undertake this monstrosity of code and turn into a fluid, amazing game utilizing either 2nd or 3rd edition rules. Mayhaps even 3.5 edition rules. I'm leaning towards 2nd edition.

I played this game when it came out. And just got back into it again. From a mechanics standpoint it is superior to baldurs gate. Comparatively, it has less narrative due to party members not having subplots. However, there is still a lot of story here. Character creation and development is better than baldurs gate as well. If you are a fan of DnD, or character creation and development, this is your bread and butter. FAR more to customize than most modern CRPGs. Even giants like divinity original sin 2 dont hold a candle to this in that regard. Combat is not about just run and gun. There is a LOT of strategy. Each action needs careful planning. And that planning extends beyond battles themselves. Lots of loot and gear to find. Lots of puzzles. Lots of fun battles. Lots of great story. Play a good guy, or a bad guy. Kill and pillage, or save the world. Its all up to you.