Icewind Dale

aka: Bingfeng zhi Gu, IWD
Moby ID: 1898
Windows Specs
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Description official descriptions

In the Northern parts of Faerûn the winter never ends. In this harsh realm of ice only a few tough survivors live, and nowadays even those hardy few find the conditions a tad tougher. A party of adventurers has just arrived at the small fishing town of Easthaven. Its leader Hrothgar organizes an expedition to help a troubled nearby tree-village, Kuldahar. The party joins the expedition, but an ambush by frost giants causes an avalanche, killing everyone but the heroes themselves. Now they must continue Hrothgar's quest and discover the source of the evil that threatens the land.

Icewind Dale is a party-based role-playing game with real-time combat, very similar in visual style and basic gameplay mechanics to Baldur's Gate. The game utilizes the second edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons rules. As opposed to Baldur's Gate (and similarly to older AD&D RPGs), the player is free to create a party of up to six characters belonging to various races and classes; no characters inhabiting the game world are able to join the party afterwards. Compared to Baldur's Gate and Planescape: Torment by the same developers, Icewind Dale is more combat-oriented; it has a linear plot advancement and focuses on extensive exploration of hostile areas rather than conversations with characters and quests.

Spellings

  • 冰風之谷 - Traditional Chinese spelling
  • 冰风之谷 - Simplified Chinese spelling

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Credits (Windows version)

210 People (153 developers, 57 thanks) · View all

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 81% (based on 47 ratings)

Players

Average score: 4.0 out of 5 (based on 123 ratings with 6 reviews)

Superb RPG - But it lacks the soul of AD&D

The Good
For players that have been around since the first AD&D rpg's, a dream come true is when you actually see what those spells are good for in battle. This game is one of the long lists of that made that happen (finally burning touch has its uses..hehehe).

The real-time combat was excellent, fast and rough (you'll discover later that there are some real-time combat of of future AD&D stink...ehem...like the 3D Pool of Radiance).

The graphics were astounding, although I don't recall there was a very good intro, like Diablo? Then again, who can compare the graphics of Diablo...HA!

The Bad
There was something that I was EXTREMELY disturbed about the game, which is probably the only reason I bothered to review this game anyway.

THE LANGUAGE! My God, I do recall some kind nasty lines (although optional), that some of the characters (your) leader could say, if you chose that. Hey, I know, your characters could be chaotic evil, but this is a GAME, where KIDS play, and this is not something a AD&D game should introduce: Foul Language, its bad for the morals, mate. An -E grade for "Soul" for the creators of this game!

The Bottom Line
Nice, if you don't mind the language...

Windows · by Indra was here (20756) · 2002

Old times recaptured in a straight line

The Good
Released roughly at the same time as Diablo II, Icewind Dale was Black Isle's effort to present a deeper alternative to simplistic action-based combat in role-playing games, at the same time not shying away from basing a game on simple dungeon crawling. In reality, Icewind Dale is much closer to old AD&D Gold Box games than to Diablo: it focuses on party management and tactical combat much more heavily than on character customization and item-collecting.

The game deliberately distances itself from its "older brother" Baldur's Gate, being much less story-driven and much more combat-heavy. While it's easy to dismiss it at first as a dull plot-less version of Baldur's Gate, the fact is that Icewind Dale excels in other areas. It is closer to Might and Magic in that party creation and subsequent management is in the spotlight, and the addictive fun comes from all those countless combinations you can achieve by creating your ultimate band of heroes. Neither Baldur's Gate, nor any other RPG of the "Renaissance" era (or any other that was based on Ultima, for that matter) allowed you to do that. You lose character sub-plots and inter-party bantering, but gain more control and deeper role-playing of your own characters.

AD&D rules are quite restrictive, so character creation cannot compare to, say, that of post-sixth Wizardry games, let alone the obsessive depth of Darklands, which makes Icewind Dale a less intimidating, but still reasonably hardcore RPG. It is very easy to get into and start playing. You won't be humiliatingly beaten during your first battle just because you failed to do some complex math while creating your spellcaster, but your ability to manage your party will be challenged at all times.

The main fun in the game comes from combat. Hands down, Icewind Dale has one of the best combat systems around, mixing tactical thinking and reflexes in just the right proportions. The balancing is frankly better than in any other Infinity engine game, and the difficulty level is just right. Preparation, positioning, movement, delicate balance of buffing, status ailments, offensive and defensive spells - everything plays a role, and is a joy to experiment with.

While Icewind Dale is a linear game, its dungeons, where most of it takes place, are quite large. The game also has marvelous old-fashioned 2D graphics that convey plenty of atmosphere. You won't be stuck in depressing mazes that look all the same - you'll be gradually advancing through haunting, lovingly detailed areas, accompanied by a sweet soundtrack starting with the unforgettable "Nordic" theme of the game's opening location.

Even though there are very few friendly areas or characters to talk to in the game, what little there is of the dialogue is surprisingly well-written, and almost every conversation is a pleasure to read.

The Bad
If you expect a large world, exploration, plenty of choices, interaction with many NPCs, etc., you won't find any of that here. This is a simple dungeon crawler with forgiving dungeons; it's not a game of exploration, but rather a game that throws lots of enemies at you and not much else. It's as basic as it gets: receive a quest, clear area A, proceed to area B, receive another quest, rinse and repeat. You must do everything in a particular order and only go where you are told to.

The game is very linear, the main quests are always the same and you have very few sub-quests - actually, no sub-quests worth mentioning. The story is paper-thin: there are a couple of nice twists, but the plot isn't very involving and is also quite slow-moving. You can't decide almost anything during the game, you'll have to kill everybody you are supposed to kill, and you can't kill anybody you are not supposed to kill.

In short, Icewind Dale is a throwback - a well-executed one, but a throwback nevertheless. Your final evaluation of this game would entirely depend on how much you like to see a fairly primitive, simple crawler revitalized with a superb engine.

The Bottom Line
Ease of playing, fantastically balanced combat, and addictive party-building make Icewind Dale a good, solid RPG; but it still feels somewhat too streamlined, too accommodated to the preferences of modern impatient players. I find Baldur's Gate games much more compelling in every way.

Windows · by Unicorn Lynx (181780) · 2017

Ooohh … now I remember this! An adventure gal revisits the RPG genre

The Good
Reading the other reviews here on Moby influenced me to pick this particular game as my first attempt to return to the RPG genre. So, this review of the single-player game is not biased by comparisons to other recent games in its class or genre since I haven’t played any of them … yet!

I haven’t played a “real” role playing game since my old DOS days. Back in the ‘80s, I enjoyed playing AD&Ds during adventure game “dry spells”, usually while waiting for Sierra’s next release. But during the past decade or so, my games of choice have been “adventure” games, thinking that I couldn’t hack it (pardon the pun!) in the role playing genre or that I’d be disappointed because of lack of story. Playing more recent “cross-over” titles like Outcast and Omikron made me braver to try “true” RPGs once more. That said, here’s what this adventure girl discovered …

Icewind Dale has some great features, including:

  • No 3D Video Accelerator required. A really good thing ‘cause I don’t have one.
  • Easy Save and Load. Ample room to type in Saved Game Descriptions; Quick Save and Load hotkeys; Auto Save at predesignated spots.
  • No Disk Swapping. 1 CD is for install only; the other for all gameplay.
  • Well-written, in-depth manual (which I read from cover to cover).
  • Character Creation is intuitive and comprehensive. 9 Races; 18 Classes; Character Import/Export; Attractive Picture choices (and Image Import option); Voice Choices and Biography scripts, etc.
  • Music – Turn up the volume – it’s absolutely wonderful!
  • Voices – The most important NPCs speak out loud. David Ogden Stiers (“Mash”) does a marvelous job as Narrator. Subtitles on or off option.
  • Sound Effects – footsteps, fire crackling, monster roars, bubbling brews
  • Graphics – Atmospheric; enhancements can be adjusted for your system.
  • Maps – self-mapping; An easy travel “World Map”
  • Descriptions of inventory items are very well written and complete. They even tell you what races or classes cannot use a particular piece of equipment.
  • Journal – Written as you play for easy reference.
  • Last but by all means not least – An Actual Story with an engaging plot, interesting conversations and numerous characters.
  • Relearning the Genre (it’s been a long, long time):
    It didn’t take me long to realize just how rusty I was. Two hours into the game and I was still setting up my party! I had forgotten everything about the races and classes, their special abilities as well as limitations. That finally done, I spent the next full day exploring the town of East Haven, where the game starts. (Yes – I sat here in front of this monitor glued to my computer, so engrossed I couldn’t move, all day and half into the night!) I found the overhead view reminiscent of the Ultima games from my past. I had fun poking my Thief into places he shouldn’t be, talking to the townsfolk and filling out the map. I was pleased to discover my Bard was not forgotten with specialized, high class musical objects and NPCs only he could understand. My characters equipped as best I could afford, it was time to see what they were made of.

    Attack!
    My first battle took me several hours and numerous reloads until victory was finally mine. (Whew! And those were little, bitsy goblins!) There are so many choices! Party member order and position, weapons and spell selection, enemy targeting and learning the iconology of the game screen. According to the manual, it’s a mix of both real-time and turn-based combat. Whatever it is, I liked it and got accustomed to the interface pretty quickly. My second conflicts took place inside winding caves full of fearsome giant Orcs. These combat sequences helped me perfect my strategies and I felt triumphant when I emerged from the caves victorious. My confidence high and my appetite sufficiently whetted, I was ready for whatever lie ahead. (Gulp!)

    Onward ho!
    There are so many great spells, scrolls, equipment and magical objects. Somehow or other I must figure out how to spend my money more wisely. At this rate, I’ll never be able to afford the Bardic Horn of Valhalla! Must find more gold … must increase levels … must fight and pilfer … must … must – er, um – I guess I’m hooked. Why have I stayed away so long?

    The Bad
    It would have been nice to have close-up views of NPCs when you meet them, at least the most important ones. When you meet a minor NPC, a member of the town for instance, the majority of them have the same, identical things to say as the previous person you talked to. This could have been varied for more interest and personality.

    While shopping, you can’t switch to and from a character’s inventory screen to see what he/she has already equipped. I found it cumbersome to exit the “buy/sell” screen and then to open the inventory to look at each character’s equipment. I don’t know if this is a common trait of other RPGs.

    The Bottom Line
    Now I remember … This is fun stuff! Since I am so out of practice, I’m sure this will take a long while to finish. Good! Why rush a good thing? The story is leading me along, unfolding a bit at a time, just the way I like it. I’m having a jolly good time combating the various (and numerous) evil meanies, collecting booty and raising my party’s experience levels. I’m glad I picked Icewind Dale for my return to the genre. RPGs .. this adventure girl is back!

    Windows · by Jeanne (75956) · 2011

    [ View all 6 player reviews ]

    Discussion

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    Icewind Dale + Heart of Winter Edwin Drost (9295) Apr 28, 2017

    Trivia

    Preview version

    In the preview version distributed to gaming magazines the end boss had special dialogue (mostly threats), e.g. "I slaughtered many editors and their families."

    Sales

    Icewind Dale hit the shelves the exact same time as Blizzard's Diablo 2. Despite selling numbers that were below the "Big D", Icewind Dale was a good commercial success.

    Analytics

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    • MobyGames ID: 1898
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    Contributors to this Entry

    Game added by Plix.

    Macintosh added by Kabushi.

    Additional contributors: Xantheous, j. jones, Unicorn Lynx, Jeanne, Zolansilverspear, Paulus18950, Patrick Bregger, Cavalary.

    Game added September 16, 2000. Last modified March 23, 2024.