I have a lot of pleasant memories of playing Chaser when it was released. But memories tend to make everything better (or worse) than it actually is, right? And knowing this i tried to remember bad things about the game. And i certainly did, because there are quite a lot of them. But let's start with the good things. First of all, the story and the presentation in the game were a blast in 2003 and might still look very cool today. The game has very cool moments here and there throughout the entire game. It was the first (as far as i remember) FPS with the "bullet time" ability. The design is very stylish. The music is great. And the gameplay itself is rather solid. Thing is, cool moments are constant but rare. Solid gameplay is good when the game is shorter than this one is. And bullet time is good when it doesn't take an eternity to regenerate. In 2003 it was good. Rather bland, at times boring, but a good take on the "Total Recall" theme. Now i think it will fell much more boring and certainly dated. Still rather good, and might be worth 6$. But only for a person who can like it despite it's obvious flaws. 4 for a patient person, who can deal with the dated game design. If you don't, that's a harder choice for you. But look out for it when it goes on sale anyway.
A strange tittle, wouldn't you say? What i meant is - sometimes the game's goodness lies in the newer stuff - expansions and DLCs. This is precisely the case. NWN, as it was at the day one release date, was the most boring adventure Bioware ever created. Overfilled with dull characters and Bioware cliches, they still use, it was a disappointment. It looked good, played OK, had tons of modding potential, yet the main story itself left you wonder, if Bioware truly made Baldur's Gate before, or it was mostly Black Isle's work. The first expansion didn't really change the situation to better, it was done by some unknown studio and was rather short and not really exciting. But at least it returned the interest in companions, with Deekin being pure joy to walk with. So why on earth would i rate the game 5 stars? The final expansion, Hordes of the Underdark, is what makes NWN truly shine. It's three Acts of awesome were atmospheric, familiar yet unique. "Act 1: Is it Icewind Dale? Act 2: Wow, it's like BG2! Act 3: Oh my God, this could be Planescape: Torment's sequel!" So as it stands, this game is worthy of your time, but only because of Hordes of the Underdark and premium modules/mods. And it's surprising, how can an expansion change the way you feel towards the whole package.
Memorable characters, immersive story, innovative quests... This game doesn't have any of it, so go play BG or something for these elements. But, nobody plays Icewind Dale for these anyway. More of the exciting combat system from BG, full party customization, still-good visuals. Gameplay is simple yet surprisingly fun and exciting. And the only reason I'm giving Icewind Dale 4/5 is because i'm more of a story/character-loving person. But if YOU want a BG-like RPG with nothing except for the RPG-part - this is the very essence of your wish. You won't regret the experience.
