Rating: 
Summary: It's fun, but it is also frustrating and tedious
Review: What did I miss here? This is not a great game at all. It is above average, and that is about it, unless you think that good cosmetics like graphics and sound effects are all that's needed to make a great game.In case you weren't aware, this game uses a real-time action system, where you issue orders to the characters and they perform them all simultaneously with your enemies, in real-time. It adds a realistic element to combat that turn-based combat doesn't have. However, the real-time combat system isn't all that it's cranked up to be. Let's just say that it's a royal pain. It's impossible to manage your characters without babysitting them and pausing the game every five seconds to issue a new order. So, although it might be more realistic, it isn't any more exciting. I had a lot more fun playing turn-based "Fallout" than I did playing Baldurs Gate or Icewind Dale. If you don't know what the word "micromanage" means, you will find out playing this game. Another drawback to this game is that it is almost a pure brute force game. Slash and hack. Don't get me wrong, I love my fantasy violence as much as the next guy, but it should be mixed in with some problem-solving too. Icewind Dale has almost none of that. If you like that stuff, on the other hand, then you might like this game even more. The worst part about this game though, is that the "fight, die and reload routine" is frustrating. You know that routine. You keep saving your game and playing an encounter over and over until you win. In Icewind Dale, this routine consists of... 1. Entering a room guarded by beasts too powerful for your party to defeat(as an added twist for fun, the game sometimes puts your magic user at the front of the marching order when you enter a new room). 2. Getting slaughtered. 3. Loading your most recent saved game. 4. Repeating steps 1-3, preparing for battle a little different each time and hoping that your luck is different. Eventually, you win. 5. Immediately clicking "save". I hope that you like saving your game often, because you will find out how badly you really do need to do it. Icewind Dale has a lot of "fight, die, and reload". There are other little problems in this game as well. One of them is the automatic pathfinding function. You would think that in this day and age, someone could make a game where if you click a point on the map the game can figure out the quickest way to get there. Not so. You will find this especially annoying in combat, when you want one of your priests to heal someone, and you find him wandering around the room because of the lousy pathfinding function. But, like I said, I am satisfied with this game. The visual and sound effects are truly stunning. I usually don't care about this stuff, but it adds so much to the game (especially spellcasting) that it is worth mentioning. If you have ever wanted to know what a magical ice storm, fireball, or noxious stinking cloud looks like, you'll get to see it here. Icewind Dale is a game that is fun, but it is not addictive.
Rating: 
Summary: Extremely well-done Baldur's Gate offshoot
Review: Afetr getting my federal tax refund check, I went looking for a promised $14.99 deal on the Baldur's Gate/Tales of the Sword Coast pack at my local computer store. Needless to say they'd sold out between running the ad (Sunday) and me getting there (Monday), so I shelled out the extra thirty bucks for Icewind Dale, since it was based on the same engine. Did I get my money's worth? You better believe it. The basic premise as about as tissue-thin and unnecessary as it usually is in AD&D-world games; you're new in town, the town elder is forming an expedition to help a neighboring town, you sign on, things go wrong, you have to save the day. Nothing at all new here. But who cares? The whole idea is to lose yourself in a party of characters who are capable of doing all sorts of things you're not, and along the way you get to pummel a bunch of nasty things that will otherwise have you for dinner. Back in the days when Pool of Radiance had just come out (I'm talking SSI gold box here, not Ruins of Myth Drannor!), I could never have imagined how great AD&D computer gaming would become. (Not that it wasn't then: I still play the gold box games now and then when I'm feelnig nostalgic.) Icewind Dale is just the next step in the evolution of the wonderful world that is AD&D computer gaming. If you're looking for something original and spectacular, get yourself a copy of Lords of Magic, but for comfortable and spectacular, you need look no further than this.
Rating: 
Summary: Great game that nets tons of fun!
Review: This game is a big improvement over Baldur's Gate. PROS: Simpler, better pathfinding, and more spells. The best improvement is that you can make up the entire party, not just one character. That gives you the freedom to custom-made your ideal party. Cons: While the pathfinder has been improved it is still weak in some ways. Overall: Faster, Stronger, Better game than BG1!!
Rating:
Summary: A fast fun RPG!
Review: This was a very fun and promising game to play.Some of my friends have been saying "Best game Ever-Icewind Dale."No,Not the best game,but more like "As fast as Diablo,as dialouge-filled as Baldur's Gate."The only problem was that there were too many dungeons.I would like some outside,PLEASE!Otherwise,hey,great game!
Rating:
Summary: A fantastic RPG, not just another BG wannabe
Review: I'm a huge fan of the Forgotten Realms novels, especially salvatores so i was indeed exited when i saw this game (since it's based on Salvatores gorgeous novel "The Icewind Dale" I've seen a few really bad RPG games. And although in appearance they DO look like Baldurs Gate (BG as an example) they don't have the same depth or the same gameplay experience, it's hard to explain but i've never found a game that can give me the same feeling as BG and BG2. Vampire The Masquerade was marvalous, but still not Baldurs Gate. Now i've found it's match, better if anything. The Icewind Dale. The appearance is very nice, the "quests" are fun to play and can be tricky. and although i haven't played even halfway through it, i think i can still write an accurate review on this great game. The music is great, the spells look nice, the weapons are cool, all the environment is just so great. in short it's a good game experience for people that appreciate these kind of games. i have nothing to say except that it's very fun to play it, and it'll keep you glued infront of your screen for hours with a smile on your face.
Rating:
Summary: So Cool!!! Pun Intended!!!
Review: Icewind Dale is a wonderful game built on the engine used in Baldur's Gate. As I stated in my review of BG, I was not a fan of role playing before this system of games came out. Now I am so hooked on them that when another game comes out, my better half sighs knowing that we won't be going anywhere for a while. Icewind Dale is more a hack and slash adventure compared to BG which was more story driven. BG with the add on of Tales of the Sword Coast put a experience point cap of 161,000. Boy is that changed for ID. Positives for Icewind Dale include: 1) experience point cap of 1,801,000 allowing high level characters (Fighter 15th level, Paladin/Ranger 14th level, Thief/Bard 18th level, Cleric 16th level, Druid 14th level and Wizard 14th level). 2) fully customizable party as you select and make up all six party members. 3) plenty of small side quests which drive the story along. 4) animations are great. 5) new creatures such as ice trolls and salamanders. 6) plenty of gaming time for the buck. 7) lots of very hairy fights. 8) ability to pause during combat to give directives to each character. 9) a very extended spell selection. 10) controls to operate the party are easier to use than in BG. 11) expanded party formations at the click of a mouse. 12) alot of frozen landscapes which are cool (think Conan's village). I did find that by the time I completed the game I had not reached the experience point cap. But that was ok as the final battle was very challenging (the casualty rate was enormous). This game is a must have for fans of BG. I like the series much more than Diablo and Diablo II which are very simply hack and slash games with no story and rather limited spells. Death awaits around every corner, including your own home as you begin to ignore your loved ones, so be ready!!!
Rating:
Summary: Great Dungeon Romp
Review: This game is absolutely wonderful for those people who want a Diablo type hack and slash with good control of all party members. I love the fact that you can pause to issue orders easily, and the rapid accumulation of experience keeps new spells and abilities flowing. All in all, a great game!
Rating:
Summary: Great game, excellent storyline.
Review: I'm not giving the game 5 stars becuase, it misses the excellent animations between chapters like in Planescape Torment, just a book with static images and a narrator. But for the rest it is an excellent game.
Rating:
Summary: Totally different from Planescape: Torment.
Review: Black Isle first made Planescape: Torment, which was a plot driven game without any focus on combat. Now, they made Icewind Dale, which is the exact opposite. The plot in this game is thin, just an excuse to go through massive dungeons killing hordes of monsters and findings tons of goodies. Whereas, in PS:T, combat was just there to drive the plot. This game is one of the best in character creation fun, second only to Baldur's Gate 2. But, in this game, you can create six characters of your own without losing out on NPC interaction. In BG 2, you had the option of getting prefabricated NPCs to join you, who had personality and charm. There was guilt if you made your own six characters. In IWD, no such dilemma exists, so one is free to make whatever sort of party that suits one's playing style. Another bonus is the nice atmosphere. Jeremy Soule's music is beautiful and the artwork from Black Isle is great. All in all, excellent Infinity Engine game. Buy it now!
Rating:
Summary: Great RPG action
Review: What an incredible game! Having played Baldur's Gate for almost a year now - and been frustrated as hell with it from time to time - this was a real breath of fresh air. Tremendous graphics, outstanding music, and excellent gameplay. I've put at least an hour or two into this game almost every day for three weeks and it's utterly addicting. One beef that I've heard from fans of BG is that IWD is 'too linear.' To that, I'd point them to one of the 'high points' of tabletop AD&D from the 1980s, the Against the Giants/Vault of the Drow/Queen of the Demonweb Pits series...IWD has much of that feel of uncovering a gradually more and more insidious plot and defeating evil on an ever-larger scale. Are you pointed somewhat from place to place? Yes. Does that detract from the game? Not for those of us who found BG to be something of an unsupervised mess. If you're looking to go exploring in an expansive world - and you don't mind spending large amounts of your gaming session trudging around from point to point - go play BG. If you want a more brisk pace of gaming, IWD is for you. Don't hesitate to pick this one up. I've talked to veteran tabletop AD&D players and long-time CRPGers alike and the love for this game is unanimous. I'd give it 6 stars if I could.
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