Using GemRB to play it on Linux/BSD
A lot of the enjoyment I got out of this came from the fact that it wasn't Baldur's Gate: it's a game where party pathfinding works, the prerendered backgrounds are legible and occasionally interesting, and NPCs are mercifully terse and direct. In dispensing with all the design formalities of a Bioware which had not yet found its niche in dispensing nonthreating fantasy lovers to women ambivalent about becoming adults, it's able to engage with AD&D itself more than any of the other Infinity Engine games were. It's a nicely expedited version of the 2E 1-12 leveling and dungeon-crawling experience, and gives a little vicarious hint of what a late 90s campaign might have been like.
Naturally, this means it inherits a lot of the flaws of this era of D&D. The game's totally trivialized by a physical-damage oriented party capable of casting Haste and divine buffs, particularly if they're also given ranged weapons. Something like half of the game's runtime was devoted to sifting through piles of magic items to search out the most efficient distribution of THACO buffs, something not aided by Infinity's awful inventory menus. The absence of Baldur's Gate's occasional groups of human enemies with strategic equipment or spell lists means that tactics are almost never specific to a given encounter: every fight boils down to the simple contest of each group's health pool and average damage per round that typifies D&D for most of its history. The most that can be said for it is that it's a lot faster than rolling dice manually.
The good pacing makes up for a lot, though, and the look of turn-of-the-millennium D&D supplements is captured perfectly in the art direction. Favorite moment was the last boss killing everyone but the deeply unserious Fighter/Thief gnome, forcing her to survive via three sacks of unused potions. It's the sort of thing that makes it clear what's special about full-party customization: there's no extramechanical version of the character for whom that wasn't the defining moment.
Naturally, this means it inherits a lot of the flaws of this era of D&D. The game's totally trivialized by a physical-damage oriented party capable of casting Haste and divine buffs, particularly if they're also given ranged weapons. Something like half of the game's runtime was devoted to sifting through piles of magic items to search out the most efficient distribution of THACO buffs, something not aided by Infinity's awful inventory menus. The absence of Baldur's Gate's occasional groups of human enemies with strategic equipment or spell lists means that tactics are almost never specific to a given encounter: every fight boils down to the simple contest of each group's health pool and average damage per round that typifies D&D for most of its history. The most that can be said for it is that it's a lot faster than rolling dice manually.
The good pacing makes up for a lot, though, and the look of turn-of-the-millennium D&D supplements is captured perfectly in the art direction. Favorite moment was the last boss killing everyone but the deeply unserious Fighter/Thief gnome, forcing her to survive via three sacks of unused potions. It's the sort of thing that makes it clear what's special about full-party customization: there's no extramechanical version of the character for whom that wasn't the defining moment.
this game is beautiful and has hopeful snow
a straightforward dungeon crawl, icewind dale is as brutal as its winter-cold setting. the areas are surprisingly interesting to explore for a purely combat focused game. the narrative is also surprisingly well-written, but leaves little room for character reactivity and roleplay experience.
Strips out the RPG depth of Baldur's Gate for a fun linear romp through the very well realized titular Icewind Dale.
"I bet my dad could beat up your dad!" - Main Character(s)
This is essentially a more linear, action-focused baldur's gate 1 spin on the rpg genre. It means more fights, and more complex dungeon design inside the same box of that the infinity engine had shown on the first BG game by Bioware. Although it is simpler, this is the first game that Black Isle did after ceasing to work on the Fallout games (It released 1 year after fallout 2) and you can FEEL the dialogue is definitly made by the same group of people. Also, the first game with penned design by Joshua Sawyer and it shows!
Had a blast, it's fun, great with friends in co-op but also very chalenging (in the good way), many builds are viable and you can even beat it solo or with 2 members (maximum is 6 IIRC), it even has some of the best voice, not very frequent, voice acting of pc games from the 90's.
If you like CRPGS but don't mind a more restricted focused campaign then this game is for you.
This is essentially a more linear, action-focused baldur's gate 1 spin on the rpg genre. It means more fights, and more complex dungeon design inside the same box of that the infinity engine had shown on the first BG game by Bioware. Although it is simpler, this is the first game that Black Isle did after ceasing to work on the Fallout games (It released 1 year after fallout 2) and you can FEEL the dialogue is definitly made by the same group of people. Also, the first game with penned design by Joshua Sawyer and it shows!
Had a blast, it's fun, great with friends in co-op but also very chalenging (in the good way), many builds are viable and you can even beat it solo or with 2 members (maximum is 6 IIRC), it even has some of the best voice, not very frequent, voice acting of pc games from the 90's.
If you like CRPGS but don't mind a more restricted focused campaign then this game is for you.
Baldur's Gate, if you removed the characters and made it a more straight up action based dungeon crawler.
It's fine. I never warmed to it like I did Baldur's Gate, but there's some cool areas and the constant action keeps you on your toes.
It's fine. I never warmed to it like I did Baldur's Gate, but there's some cool areas and the constant action keeps you on your toes.
I remember playing this game when I was a kid but don’t remember much else about it. I used to like the setting for icewind dnd wise but yeah. Maybe I’ll revisit this game in the future for nostalgia.
A fun linear adventure. The game is mainly combat-driven, with well-thought and balanced encounters in big, multi-level dungeons filled with traps, akin to Baldur's Gate's Durlag's Tower. Obviously, the story and role-playing elements are lacking. I also have my qualms with the Real Time with Pause combat system in general, and found the final boss much too hard compared to previous boss encounters up to this point. However, the game is kept relatively short and well-paced, the enemy variety is good, and it has some of the best background art and music I've seen and heard in an isometric CRPG