Suited for those seeking action packed RPG's.

Icewind Dale gets off to a slow start, but bear with it. Although the old school bird's eye view doesn't resemble today's first person perspective, the mechanics herein are favorable for folks who prefer toggling from real time to turn-based action. You begin by creating six characters using 2ed AD&D race and class combos. It's unfortunate that there's no way to get guidance during the character-creation phase. Instead, the game assumes you have an intimate familiarity with the AD&D class system, though it does allow import of a few basic pre-generated characters if you'd rather get started more quickly. The game also suffers from poor pathfinding. Characters split up when you try to make them negotiate corridors. Set in the same Advanced Dungeons & Dragons universe, Icewind Dale's originality and fast pacing make the game satisfying. Limitations of the game engine don't keep Icewind Dale from being a great, original game. In fact, the game's emphasis on combat actually helps features like squad formations and fog of war make more sense. Though the game plays in real time, you have the ability to pause, play, move and reissue orders at any point . Similar to Baldur's Gate: Both games take place in the Forgotten Realms, and Icewind Dale recycles a good deal of the older game's graphics. Specifically, player characters are represented with the same animated sprites from BioWare's older game, and you might recognize a lot of the equipment that was carried over. Overall, it's a good-looking game with an especially noteworthy symphonic soundtrack. That said some of the player-character voices sound bad, especially compared with the rest of the game's NPC spoken dialogue. Unlike its predecessor ... you'll rarely get caught up in solving puzzles or finding miscellaneous trinkets for townspeople. Instead, you fight monsters, find powerful artifacts, and explore interesting places. Over the course of the game, you'll fight huge quantities of an even greater variety of different creatures, while gradually growing into powerful warriors and magic users. The game is deftly balanced so you never advance too quickly or slowly, but the best part is there's virtually never a dull moment: Each area is exciting to explore. The Icewind Dale collection is well suited for fans of Baldur's Gate, AD&D in general, and those seeking action packed RPG's with depth.

I have gotten years of pleasure from this game and intend to get many more.

I have been playing this game since it came out and have been enjoying it everytime I have run through it. It is a shame Black Isle did not do more with this game. In many respects it is much better than BG2...much better.
Anyway, my old Play Discs are getting tired so I figured I better get a new copy just in case!

Icewind Dale I & II

I purchased this game after playing Fallout I & II. Even though the game is 10 years old, and the graphics may not be up to current standards, it works well on my old computer and the game play is still outstanding.

The story line is very good and easy to get immersed in. The rendered backgrounds are beautifully done and set the atmosphere of the game quite well.

If you are snow bound this winter and need a few hundred hours of quality entertainment, I certainly could recommend the Icewind Dale collection as a alternative to TV.

You Control a Group of Adventurers

This if very much like Dungeons and Dragon. You can control a group of Adventures. You slowly build up the levels and abilities of the party. You can develope character with lots of races and character class. The hard part is to only pick six for a party. The human will be able to advance the further in level. Multiclass are fun but they advance slower and are limited to the max level they will pick. You can save the the characters and go through the campaigns again. If you lose a character you can always reload a saved copy of the character complete with inventory. You will recognize many of the monster from D&D. It is really close to playing D&D but you have a whole party. The hard part is finding all the adventures that are hidden. Also you can decide if you want to play good or evil. You are not limited in your choices. This a bloody mess in places so I would not recommend for small children.

Icewind Dale: The Collection

You will want to locate and download the free download only ep to fully patch up heart of winter. If you loved Baldur's gate and want a more combat oriented experience, this is the game for you. The portraits are superb.