Rating: 
Summary: By comparison..
Review:
I have played all the rpgs, Baldur's Gate, NWN, Dungeon Siege, Final Fantasy, TOEE, etc.
And I have to say, that stumbling upon Icewind Dale 2 was a real treat..
Sure the graphics are dated, but WOW..the storyline, the dialogue, the descriptions of the rooms and actions are all incredibly well written (A breath of fresh air, after playing DS). The quests don't get in the way of the game, like so many others that get bogged down in annoying side-quests as a lame attempt to flesh out the world. I would have prefered the game to be turn based like TOEE, but this game's battles are numerous and really fun; partially to good monster design..compare bugbears in this game to NWN..so much better, and partially to the unforgettable situations and dungeons.
When pitted against other D&D ruleset games, the spell choices offered and levels they are given at is superior to all others. I actually enjoyed having a Druid in my party, who could transform his arms into pythons, and for the first time in CRPG history actually used summon animals spells. Even if many spells were simular to other games, these felt more tailored to the characters and made useful, instead of waiting till higher levels to get one useful spell.
My favorite part is that I could handpick my team, where as in Baldur's Gate I was forced to play with characters I didn't like, or NWN where it was removed and tedious to interact with henchmen.
I enjoyed RPing the characters backgrounds, and interactions in my head, and really enjoyed finding the treasure, unique to IWD2, like a wide variety of cut gems. (which became an addiction)
If you updated this game graphically to the level of TOEE, and made it Turn Based with battle tactics, It would be my all time favorite RPG.
Rating:
Summary: Ultimate vs Regular Details
Review: Although MS's game catalogue lists Icewind Dale and Heart of Winter as "compatilbe with XP" it does not nessecarily mean it Officially works and may run not on your system. This game, as with BG2 Collection(see my review) does NOT need to be re-released UNLESS you patch it for XP officially. Also no one has a SB Live! anymore and the only way you can play this right(with environment effects) is with that card. Audigy does not work! I give it an extra two stars becasue Icewind Dale II DOES work well with XP, although you will experience a few instablilities and a significant drop in framerate.
Rating: 
Summary: Uh, Icewind Dale TWO works in XP, not 1
Review: Although MS's game catalogue lists Icewind Dale and Heart of Winter as "compatilbe with XP" it does not nessecarily mean it Officially works and may run not on your system. This game, as with BG2 Collection(see my review) does NOT need to be re-released UNLESS you patch it for XP officially. Also no one has a SB Live! anymore and the only way you can play this right(with environment effects) is with that card. Audigy does not work! I give it an extra two stars becasue Icewind Dale II DOES work well with XP, although you will experience a few instablilities and a significant drop in framerate.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Package
Review: Great game, very enjoyable with many features. Character creation is awesome, with good implementation of D&D guidelines. Lots of fun to play, very lengthy. The replay value is raised by the amazing variety of choices during character creation. I had no technical issues with the game running Windows XP with a 2.4 ghz, 256mb ram, and 64mb video card.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Package
Review: Great game, very enjoyable with many features. Character creation is awesome, with good implementation of D&D guidelines. Lots of fun to play, very lengthy. The replay value is raised by the amazing variety of choices during character creation. I had no technical issues with the game running Windows XP with a 2.4 ghz, 256mb ram, and 64mb video card.
Rating:
Summary: Solid Game for RPGers
Review: I have played D and D since college, and Icewind Dale is the closest experience to a D&D game I have had in 20 years. The characters are developable and fun, the game is challlenging and forgiving, and this package contains the strategy guides. If you are like me, and have a life outside of gaming--GET THE STRATEGY GUIDE! It makes the game SO much more playable. I have just started the HOW module, and it is good.ENOY!
Rating:
Summary: Solid Game for RPGers
Review: I have played D and D since college, and Icewind Dale is the closest experience to a D&D game I have had in 20 years. The characters are developable and fun, the game is challlenging and forgiving, and this package contains the strategy guides. If you are like me, and have a life outside of gaming--GET THE STRATEGY GUIDE! It makes the game SO much more playable. I have just started the HOW module, and it is good. ENOY!
Rating:
Summary: Ultimate vs Regular Details
Review: I was inspired to write this after a review for the Icewind Dale Collection (thank you!). When I pre-ordered it, there was no information regarding the contents of THIS package on the Amazon site, only the Regular complete collection, so I looked around for these missing details.
According to the Interplay Store, this package, differing from the Icewind Dale Collection, includes: "Icewind Dale ™,
Icewind Dale ™: Heart of Winter,
Icewind Dale ™II,
The soundtrack for Icewind Dale,
Bonus CDs, including Icewind Dale and Icewind Dale: Heart of Winter strategy guides, an additional level, and a set of 4 character portraits from Icewind Dale II."
The game play is much the same as that of the Baldur's Gate Series, with minor helpful additions, like being able to right-click on any quick slot to get a spell/item shortcut, and then right-clicking on the quick button you want, and then right-clicking once again on the item you wish to place there. One drawback is that this selects the item or activates the spell. A handy way to deactivate this is to right click just ONE more time!
The character portraits are simply gorgeous, and the paper-doll views more traditional (I did not enjoy the cartoony ones in BG2). I love that the player can put 4 sets of weapons into the weapons slots, and can have a bow equipped in one set and have a sword and shield in the next set. Not realistic, but if we imagine that items are strapped to the sides of the characters, it's more believable.
Very fun to play. Good story line so far.
Rating:
Summary: A great collection for any RPG
Review: I've decided to buy this collection after a reading a lot of reviews from different websites. But none of them are very clear about the contents of the package, so here is the contents of the package
1.Icewind Dale (2 CD's)
2.Icewind Dale Expansion Heart of Winter (1CD)
3.Icewind Dale II (2 CD's)
4.Icewind Dale soundtrack
5.Icewind Dale II bonus disk
6.Icewind dale strategy guides, trailer of IWD II
This package is well worth the purchase, u get a series of one of the best selling game, developed by pioneers who have also developed games like Fallout series, BG1 abd BG2.
The graphics are great, they look bright and crisp. The soundtrack is great and suits well with the ambience, u really feel the snow falling and the cold weather.
The gameplay is fun, it is more like a hack n slash game, i'm a greatest fan of diablo series, so i love this game as well. To put it in a nut shell, this game is Hack n slash with D&D rules. If u like diablo u will certainly like this. Baldurs gate fans will slightly get disappointed with the game play. Charecter creation is great, this game allows dual class charecters, so it adds more fun to gameplay. My only complaint is, there is no interation within r party members, but this doesn't affect the gameplay experience.
Overall if u ever have a thought of getting this game and don't know whether its worth the money, the answer is plainly, a best value for r money!
Rating:
Summary: This game is awesome in gameplay.
Review: Pros:
1. Character creation is fun, detailed and basically unmatched by any game on the market, much better than the NWN creation system.
2. Graphic is beautiful, but if you are expecting fully 3D environment, you will be disappointed.
3. Music is just awesome.
4. Did I mention Character Creation is FUN! Playing your custom made party is a very satisfying experience. Any kind of team is playable, You can solo the game too if you like.
Cons:
1. Does not feature 3D environment like NWN
2. Gameplay is linear, but I didn't care as the point of my game is to develope my character.
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