Rating: 
Summary: Bah! At least it was cheap...
Review: Thankfully, I didn't waste much money on it. My seller was alright and everything was there, including the cool cloth map. However, I had problems. For one thing, it took me the longest time to level up, even with all the sidequests. For another, the enemies were too blasted difficult, the magics tended to backfire in the worst way. I would face a wolf with a paladin, a druid, a cleric, and a bard. You would think that the druid would be about as strong as a wolf, but no, my first druid got killed of by a couple of goblins. Then I fired a burning hands at point blank range on these wolves and it killed my full-hp paladin, while barely scratching the wolf. My paladin has 10 or 12 hp and the wolf had 13 hp on average, which led me to believe that at least my paladin would make it against this critter. But three hours later, when I got to the cave, I had trouble beating orcs. I had to have my whole party gang up to beat one and there was a cave full. Then when my thief finally levels up, I never figured out how to increase hp or anything else for that matter. Having a 2nd level bard with as much or not much more hp and no discernible increase in effectiveness (he seemed _less_ able to fight orcs now) was the final straw. I had wasted enough time on this game. It would have been one thing if I was given enemies like that in later battles, but I had such enemies from the beginning. Furthermore, I had my biggest problem with the fact that point and click with the mouse was the only option, half the time, I killed my own party. I would recommend a multiplayer game if it was more like Neverwinter Nights: hands on tutorial, cursor keys enabled (if I remember correctly), totally customizable controls. If I wanted to set the format to call animals, to arm, and to use certain spells it was easy to do. Level up increasing was easy as well.
Rating: 
Summary: AD&D? There is a sequal out? and an expansion?
Review: The Bioware Infinity engine, the same game engine that powered old classics such as Baldur's Gate and Planescape: Torment, is still in use today. The latest use of that very engine was Icewind Dale 2. This package of the game is completly watered down, not including the thick manual that was supposed to come with it. Also, the "DVD style" box, started by EA's Medal of Honor: Allied Assault makes for a skimpy package. Those who have never played any Infinity Engine games will be completly confused at first, for the manual is on the CD. It is much better to read a hard copy of a manual. Interplay also does not replace Icewind Dale manuals. However, the money that you spend will go to a full version of Icewind Dale, with no expansion. Amazon offers a bundle of Icewind Dale and its expansion, Heart of Winter. I do believe that it is called "Icewind Dale: The Collection." Heart of Winter is not really worth the money and cannot be found anywhere except in the packaged version with the stand-alone Icewind Dale, or at the Interplay-Store. Take note: Icewind Dale (IWD) is an extremely difficult game. It is easy to say that it is an Action Based Baldur's Gate, lacking in story, but filled with combat. This combat though is extremely hard. People new to the Infinity Engine will find even the first Ogre Boss in the prologue to be difficult. The first real boss, a topless snake woman named Yxunomei (spell?), is even more difficult. Many a time, one will find himself losing more than half his party to just one monster. Even with difficulty setting to "Very easy" it still is not such an easy game. The pace is not as fast as say Diablo 2. People new to AD&D, but veterans to games like Diablo 2 will find it strange that an attacking animation is shown, but the enemy is not hit. Utter confusion. Later in the game, there are creatures that must be phased before they can die and such. Games based off the Infinity Engine are not "click fests" such as Diablo 2, but more with strategy. Icewind Dale is a good game, despite its punishing difficulty. After a single gaming session, one will feel as if he (or her) has accomplished something. If you are to get the first IWD, then get the expansion, Heart of Winter, bundled with it. Heart of Winter offers a lot of features, which i think is valuable. Item clutter does get a bit off hand if items such as a Gem bag are not included. 800x600 resolution is also nice. There is also the feature to remove the interfacing with a single key stroke, keeping away those who talk, bashing the intrusive interface. However, if you are looking to a newer game, then I am sure that Icewind Dale 2 will satisfy your needs. It is not necessary to play the first IWD to understand the second. Every Icewind Dale game is extremely difficult. Along with Baldur's Gate 1, Tales of Sword Coast, 2, and Throne of Bhaal, all Infinity Engine games are long and difficult. A final word to leave you with. If you are afraid of difficult games that are long and can get tedious, but yet you want a game made from RPG masters? My final suggestion: Neverwinter Nights. It is no more than 60 hours for the single player and the difficulty is no where near any of the BG series or IWD series. Plus, its not based off the Infinity Engine, but a modified 3D engine. Make your decision or buy them all! (note if you do buy them all, expect to spend more than 1200 hours playing D&D CRPGs!)
Rating:
Summary: Nice. Engine getting stale. Where's the manual?
Review: I was surprised by the quality of this game. I played this in December 2002, and it was much better than I though. Sure, the graphics engine is getting a little old, especially compared to games such as Dongeon Siege. However, I was still surprised that a game of this age looked so good. What isn't great however, is the lack of a manual. In fact, I wondered whether the contents of my box were incomplete, but apparently that is not the case. This severely limits the game. This simply isn't acceptible. If there was a manual, I would have rated this game at least one star higher than I did. That would make 4 stars, so why not 5? Well, there are some issues that keep the game from receiving a top rating (aside from the graphics). I do not like how the inventory is managed. It is very hard to see whether a weapon or armory is better than the one you currently have. Also, the path finding sometimes isn't great. All the members of your party go one way, while one of them gets lost. He/she will catch up ultimately, but it simply is annoying. Also, sometimes you try to get out the door but can't because the leading member of the party is blocked by other party members. The same happens when you try to talk to people. Addition: I now found the manual on the CD. This makes things a little better, but I still think it is a farce that a game like this doesn't ship with a printed manual. Unfortunately, the manual failed to explain some of the questions I had, and some of the oddities I couldn't figure out work just like I thought but are just a bit cumbersome. For instance, it is not a lot of fun to purchase a piece of armory for 5000 gold pieces just to figure out it is actually worse than the one you had before, forcing you to sell it again for 200 gold pieces. But I guess that's just how the old AD&D rules were...
Rating:
Summary: Great fun
Review: after playing Baldurs Gate 1 and still replaying it once in a while when i feel like it, i liked Icewind Dale a lot, and it gave me the chance to build a whole party for myself, but, i kept missing the personalities of the pre-made characters you find on the Baldurs Gate series, and i sort of expected more of them, but otherwise it is a good overall game, the lack of different characters to invite into your party makes it loose a little in replayability but thats maybe laziness on my part, so if you love RPG this game has it in spades!
Rating: 
Summary: Pure magic
Review: I've always been a gamer, but I was never an AVID gamer until Icewind Dale came along. The game sucked me in and wouldn't spit me out until I had finished it. The game brilliantly allows you to create not just one hero, but a party of heroic companions from scratch. There aren't any generic Diablo characters here either - you don't just pick a pre-made warrior, sorcerer, or rogue and begin hacking away mindlessly at your foes. You get to fine tune so many aspects of your characters that just creating a party can take hours (and it's bloody good fun!). Despite the battle-oriented gameplay (which requires considerably more strategy and brainpower than anything in Diablo), this game is a pure RPG all the way. My only complaint (aside from the game actually ENDING eventually) is that the game design is somewhat linear. All the same, the game is masterful at hiding this fact, and indeed, this element keeps the story strong. Icewind Dale is a brilliant game. Period.
Rating:
Summary: ... too linear
Review: the quests in this game are too linear. there are probally 10x the battles in this game but usually you can get out of things by giving coin. any game with the BIOWARE INFINITY ENGINE would get an automatic 4. I would have given a better rating if the game hadent crashed. although its not as stable as BG or BG2 it is worth the 20 dollars.
Rating:
Summary: Almost There!
Review: I really like the Icewind Dale Series. If you are into D & D it is a must play. The one limitation with this game is the sequences are pre-planned. You as an adventurer must form a complete party, and you go place to place in the order in which the game proceeds, linear. Baldur's Gate and Baldur's Gate 2 are both similar games but much more complexity and freedom than this one.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Game But Can Get Monotonous
Review: I really enjoyed this game. If you liked either of the "Baldur's Gate" games you will too. The only thing wrong was there was not enough plot and you have to fight your way through most of the scenarios. This gets old. A plus here is that you get to create all the characters, which gives the game a personal touch. I recommend this game with the expansion, "Heart of Winter."
Rating:
Summary: the best!!!!!!
Review: this is a really good RPG game for fans. your characters can get really good with the right weapons and experience. the monsters are really tough too, but it just makes it more challenging. you can feel the excitement when you come close to completing a mission or killing a big horde of stuff. buy it!
Rating:
Summary: Great game! Major improvement over BG!
Review: If you like good, American-style D&D RPG's with tons of fast battles, then Icewind Dale (based on Bioware's Infinity Engine--also used in BG1) is for you! The overall pace of the game is much faster and less tedious than BG1 and Tales of the Swordcoast. The price is great, there's a lot to see and do and plenty of monsters to kill! You'll definitely use the save function a lot in this game, but you won't find yourself getting frustrated as the difficulty seems pretty well balanced out. At this price...you can't go wrong by buying this title if you missed out on it or if Baldurs Gate II is a little out of your price range. Lots of great gaming for a low price!!
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