Rating: Summary: Excellent Game! Review: This is really an amazing game. Excellent graphics, sound effects, music AND a fun story line. It really brings back memories of the first time you played pen and paper Dungeons& Dragons.One warning, be careful with this game, it is very hard to tear yourself away from it.
Rating: Summary: Wow! Best RPG I've ever played! Review: This game is stunning! Yeah its billed as just hack and slash, but the work that went into the game is immediately evident. The artwork is amazing, but the music steals the show right off the bat. As a fan of movie soundtracks I sometimes find myself just sitting and listening to the game play! The character voices are also even better this time around. I've only played into the Vale of Shadows but I'm already hooked, this game is awesome. You're more driven by a storyline, there's less wandering around exploring than in BG. Better than Baldur's Gate for me, had Interplay made their original 6/23 release date I wouldn't have bothered with Diablo 2. After playing each game for a couple hours, I found myself craving IWD and Diablo 2 still sits on the shelf! IWD sets a very high standard for BG2, but I'm sure Interplay is up to the challenge.
Rating: Summary: Absolutely Incredible Review: I'm only on Chapter Three, but the game is absoltuely fantastic. I've been playing it every chance I get, for the past two weeks. From the start, you're doing plenty of combat and moving through the levels very quickly. One thing this game does not lack is a chance to get experience. No 7 xp rats, or 15 xp kobolds for IWD. Instead, well, let's just leave it at there's plenty of high xp-value monsters to go around. I also really like the sub-quests. There seem to be a lot more of them, and they seem to progress the story, however small it may end up being, quite well, without being some nonsensical thing like getting a book, just because a mage wants a book. I look forward to finishing this game, and to see what Black Isle comes out with in BG2.
Rating: Summary: The only thing missing is a pencil and a 20 sided die Review: I first started playing D&D about 20 years ago as a 12 year-old in grade school. When I became "too cool" to play I had forgotten about it for a while. Recently, a friend of mine and I were talking about how great it would be to play again (of course we have lives and jobs and no time to get together - much less play D&D until 4:00 am!). This game brings all the great things about table and dice D&D together in one really fun to play package. There's not a lot of puzzle solving or errand running that has become the norm in PC D&D games. When we used to play it was go into the dungeon, grow your character, find some goodies, kill a whole lot of baddies then go home. This is it. Tons of cool dungeons to explore, lots of great effects and all of your characters are needed to win - no one man parties here! The only thing missing is a dragon to slay - but, hey, you can't have everything... maybe IWD2! To sum it up, this is a lot of fun to play. It brings back all the great elements of D&D you may remember without the need to get 6 guys together, a lot of coffee and a table in the basement so you wouldn't wake Mom & Dad. If you are a D&D fan who hasn't picked up a Monster Manual in a long time (like me), you will love this game. Prepare to go to work with bags under your eyes!
Rating: Summary: Icewind Dale Review: Having been a fan since the first D&D games hit the market, I can honestly say that they have outdone themselves. Graphics are the best I've seen, as a hack and slash game with the Baldurs gate drive...Make More!
Rating: Summary: Just what an RPG should be Review: I'm being a bit unfair because I haven't finished the game, but I couldn't wait to say that I love it. This is just the kind of game that made me passionate about role-playing games in the first place. Nothing delights me more than seeing my characters advance slowly and painfully to the next level. In Icewind Dale, I've had to earn each level. The battles require more than simple pounding-of-sword-upon-head (fun though that is)-they require all six characters to contribute their strengths in order to win. The first battle took me four attempts to win, which may sound tedious, but when I got it right I truly felt that I had earned the victory. If you are looking for the next great role-playing game, this is it.
Rating: Summary: Diablo Who? Review: I got Diablo 2 and Icewind Dale in on the same day. After having played them both, here's my take: If you're just frustrated and want nothing more than to kill imaginary thingies, then D2 is THE game. While I thoroughly enjoy the game, and nothing pleases me more than to watch my hordes of undead do all of my necromancer's work, D2 has re-confirmed that which I always maintained: Diablo & Diablo 2 are NOT role-playing games. That so many publications continue to label them as such frustrates me to no end. PLANESCAPE: TORMENT is an RPG, probably the best RPG I've ever played. Hey, I was shaking after I finished that game the plot was so incredible. Anyway, taken for what it is, D2 is an absolute blast to play. The numbers of magic items and such are awesome. The only thing about the game I DON'T like? The graphics. I know, I know, but you would think that in almost FOUR YEARS Blizzard could have done more than they did. The game is pretty, no doubt, but considering the advances made in the last few years, there should be at least the option to change the resolution to 800x600 and tighten things up... I could go one about a few other things, but that would take away from the real star of my past few nights. Folks, RUN, do not walk to Amazon or whoever you get your games from and buy Icewind Dale. I loaded it up AFTER I had played Diablo 2 for nearly 2 straight days, and I will probably not play D2 again solo for another week or two. Why is IWD so great? Glad you asked. The publicity generated for IWD has been kinda misleading, making me think that perhaps the PR department and Black Isle Studios weren't communicating well. IWD is supposed to be a "back to roots" dungeon romp, but nothing could be further from the truth. There's quite a story here. What I didn't like so much about Baldur's Gate was there it focused around this big plot that you were the son/daughter of a dead god thing. IWD is a lot simpler: a group of adventurers get bored with their respective lives in the big cities and go north, seeking something different. It's typical 1st level fare, with your characters falling into situations beyond your control and trying your best just to stay alive. And there are no illusions about your power level. I saved the game and attacked this fighter dude who was talking smack to me. A party member died almost every time he swung. Bad mojo. A few other awesome things: Characters can go up to 1,800,000 XP. The spell lists are HUGE. Here's a great time saver though: there is an option to MAX HIT POINTS every time your characters level! No more 5th level fighters with 28 HP! :) It may be a form of cheating, but to anyone who spent an hour saving and reloading Baldur's Gate every time one of your characters leveled, this is a God-send. The graphics are much improved as well. Every enemy looks just a little different. The skeletons I fought last night were armed with everything imaginable, from clubs to two-handed swords (which I sold for a dandy profit). And the game also reminds you how terrifying "normal" enemies can be. I had all my characters up to 2nd level and was decimating an orcish encampment when their ogre leader shows up...with an ogre sized morning star. Two of my characters lived. :( So, as I said at the beginning, D2 is a great stress reliever, but IWD has it beat in terms of involvement for a D&D fan.
Rating: Summary: An engrossing play... Review: I purchased Icewind Dale about the same time I got Diablo II. Needless to say, Diablo II has been collecting dust while I play Icewind Dale... ID is a much better game (IMHO), and plays very well. Aside from stability problems within the Infinity Engine, this game has definitely been an unexpected highlight this year.
Rating: Summary: Hack 'n' slash fun Review: This game takes me back to the old Gold Box D&D games I'd play on my Commodore 64. With the frantic dungeon combat and engaging (albeit linear) plot of those classic games, coupled with the Infinity engine that made Baldur's Gate such a joy to play, along with gorgeous graphics (especially spell effects), this game is an unmitigated success. Creating your party of up to 6 characters gives you greater ownership of your game and a greater opportunity for role-playing (rather than the single-player Diablo, Diablo 2, or Baldur's Gate), and the lengthy in-depth plot gives you plenty of hours of game play to move that party up the experience point ladder. Overall, a great gaming experience for D&D gamers and RPG fans alike.
Rating: Summary: Correct Review: This is to correct that other guy who loved the game but gave it 1 star.
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