After playing this game for 16 years on and off, I finally just finished it now. Icewind Dale 2 is the last of the Infinity Engine era and a masterpiece in its own right. For its time it was the pinnacle of polish and a welcome sendoff. Luckily, I now know that I wasn't alone in wanting more of these and isometric crpgs have made a comeback with Pillars of Eternity etc... So the game: create your own party and save the 10 towns in an adventure that took me way over 50 hours altogether. In terms of content, without having to buy DLC etc, this game is chock full. Great story, wonderfully written dialogue and very fun combat. At the end you look back at all you've seen and really think you've been through an epic adventure which you created yourself with your personal band of adventurers. Tip: If you want a richer experience with a talking party that banter back and forth with each other, check out the IWD2 NPC project, which mods in a party like in Baldur's Gate. In short, an unreserved recommendation for crpg lovers, both on and off sale. A classic that I will never forget.
This game in a sense reminds how I have aged. I remember in the late 90s reading about this game in magazines, scouring the internet for all the most up to date details before release, waiting long and hard till it finally came out, on which day I bought it immediately. I finished it years later, thanks in no small part the great mods that were released that enriched the game experience. Since then, Oblivion and Skyrim have come and I have enjoyed, yet 17 years later I have nonetheless decided not only buy the game again and have enjoyed it even more than I did back then... Why? Nostalgia is the least of it. There is an immense amount of replay value in and of itself. An unparalleled amount of freedome exploring the world and discovering parts of the world and details of the plot that you missed the first time. HOWEVER, the modding community in all these 17 years has remained active and have expanded the game into something that was originally promised... Tamriel rebuilt is adding and has already added large parts of the mainland outside of the island of Vvardenfell with amazingly detailed new cities, new quests that tie into the pre-existing guilds. A talented modder (abot) has added rideable guars (mounts, which was originally promised before release), transportation that you can actually experience rather than simply fast travel with (silt riders, gondolas, boats). Indybank adds a banking system to place your gold in and buy houses with.... and there's so much more... the Telvanni mods to increase the House experience... Playing Skyrim now isn't just like playing a game, it's ultimately like taking a holiday in a different world in ways that even Skyrim has not been able to match. If you love timeless RPGs that grow younger with time, Morrowind has to be experienced.
