Review Icewind Dale 2 review at Sharky's

[Saint_Proverbius]

Tags: Icewind Dale 2

<a href="http://www.sharkyextreme.com/">Sharky Extreme</a> has <a href="http://www.sharkyextreme.com/features/games/article.php/1560421">reviewed</a> the latest dungeon crawling game that <A href="http://www.blackisle.com">Black Isle</a> released, <a href="http://icewind2.blackisle.com">Icewind Dale 2</a>. Here's a taste:
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<blockquote>The game engine is the same Infinity Engine used with previous Black Isle games, lending to the familiarity, but there have been some enhancements to the user interface. The UI sits at the bottom of the screen, but can be dropped off the main screen at any time. This allows for a more seamless gaming experience, especially for those with larger monitors. IWD2 also comes with a game configuration utility that can adjust game difficulty, graphics, options and even resolutions. Be prepared, although our Pentium 4-2.53 GHz/GeForce4 Ti 4600 test system easily handled the 1024x768/32 mode, we're still wondering what we'd need for smooth gameplay at 1600x1200.</blockquote>
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Lots and lots of tranquilizers.
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Spotted over at <a href="http://www.bluesnews.com">Blue's</A>.

 

[Mistress]

Icewind Dale II is another great RPG from Black Isle, and definitely stacks up well to the original. At its heart, the world of Icewind Dale is all about action, adventure and pure gaming fun, and with added Skills, Feats, Races and Classes, the sequel even improves on this formula. Sure, it does lose a few points for using an older game engine, but this really doesn't detract from the overall experience. Icewind Dale II may not be ground-breaking RPG, but it's a sure-fire hit for current fans and a nice bet for any RPG gamer.

Well, I wouldn't say it was a "great" RPG. I like the game on certain levels, it's entertaining in parts and a little hack 'n slash can be fun. I like Icewind Dale/Heart of Winter/Trials of The Luremaster too, for pretty much the same reasons. Neither offer anything particularly amazing, neither really fit my idea of "role-playing", but they can be fun.

I started out thinking IWD2 was going to be an improvement on IWD - the prologue was much more involving and entertaining - then it went steadily downhill I felt. The puzzles quickly become tedious, and the Fell Woods pretty much killed the game for me for weeks - I have only just returned to playing the game really. Not that that part of the game is hard - I just found it to be incredibly tedious, and I think IWD is far better for lacking areas like this. The fact that you have to make your way through the wood, through areas that look identical, do a quest, then return to the Wandering Village, then go back to do the next quest, really really got on my nerves. I just got totally bored. Playing IWD2 I was looking for more fun along similar lines to IWD - nothing overly taxing, nothing overly indepth.....while it has all those things, it also has bags full of irritation into the bargain.