Icewind Dale II
$19.95		(Win95/98/2000/Me/XP) (DVD Case) (ICEWIND2PR)

Black Isle Studios / Interplay

Game

- Blood, Mild language, Alcohol

Ratings:

9.0 from GameZone

from Games Domain

A from Just RPG

Answer the Call to Arms and Face the Hordes!

Return to the frigid north of the Forgotten Realms® in the sequel to the critically acclaimed Icewind Dale™. This exciting high-fantasy action adventure unites 3rd Edition Dungeons & Dragons® rules, new character classes and races. Enhancements such as auto-balancing game-play and an upgraded Infinity Engine will allow for more dynamic battles than ever before. Icewind Dale II will appeal to both Action-RPG fans and players new to the genre

Create your own band of adventurers from new 3rd Edition Dungeons & Dragons® Character Classes.

• The Barbarian - A fierce nomadic warrior of the north.
• The Monk - A master of unarmed combat.
• The Sorcerer - A natural spell caster, tainted with the blood of dragons

Auto-balancing game-play balances the conflict to match your skill level. Real-time combat with the ability to pause at any moment to refine your strategy. Jump right into the game with a pre-made party or tailor each character to your liking.

New playable races such as the sinister Dark Elf and the skull-smashing Half-Orc add to an extensive selection of character options.

3rd Edition Dungeons & Dragons Feats and Skills such as Lightening Reflexes and Alchemy extend character customization.

Take up a battle axe in each hand and cleave through your foes using the ultimate Two Weapon fighting style.

Cast over 300 powerful spells, clash with fierce new monsters and collect hundreds of new items on your journey.

Improved multiplayer support for up to 6 players for the ultimate gaming experience.

The Civilized World Is Threatened!

The worst fear of the civilized realms has come true. The Goblinoids have united into an army of outcasts and misfits and they want to call the Ten Towns their own. Massive swarms of Orcs and Worg-mounted Goblins are attempting to overrun the town of Targos, and that's just the beginning!

The call has gone out across the Sword Coast. The Ten Towers of Icewind Dale are paying for mercenaries, soldiers, and adventurers of all types to sail north and defend the town of Targos from encroaching goblinoid hordes. Isair and Madae, the cambion children of Belhifet and Ilmadia are attempting to force the Ten Towers to bow to the will of their would-be nation of monsters and outcasts. It is up to the heroes to break the grip of the cambions' army and trace their long, sinister shadow back to their burgeoning capital, the rebuild Severed Hand.

Requirements:

Windows 95/98/Me/2000/XP; Intel Pentium II 350Mhz or AMD K6(R)-III/400Mhz, 64MB RAM, DirectX compliant video card, DirectX compliant sound card, 4x CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive, DirectX 8.0 or higher

Recommended: Intel Pentium III 500 or AMD Duron or Athlon processor, 128MB RAM, DirectX compliant video card, DirectX compliant sound card, 16x CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive, Broadband (Cable/DSL) Connection for multiplayer, Windows XP, DirectX 8.0 or higher

Reviews:

GameZone by Michael Lafferty

"This is a game of intrigue, exploration, quests and combat. And even with the little annoyances, this is still a game that will suck in RPG fans, and give them plenty of challenge."

"Icewind Dale II is a joy to look at. It features stunning graphics, terrific audio and a rich storyline. This is a wonderful game."

Games Domain by Steve Hildrew

"The gameplay remains similar to the original, with its mix of quests, exploration, occasional puzzle-solving, and pause-heavy strategic combat. Your party of up to six players begins a wimpy level one, poorly equipped (sticks all round) and inexperienced. The game heralds the climb up the levels to godlike status, with the accompanying mess of skills and abilities. You can either take one of the ready-rolled character parties provided, or (and hell, you'd be mad not to have fun with it) create your own. A passing familiarity with traditional role-playing character sheets is required, and knowledge of D&D is definitely a bonus, as you sort through skills, stats, character classes, and the newly added feats for the 3rd edition ruleset."

"While the visuals take a little getting used to in this largely polygon-driven age (shame, shame on us), you'd be a fool or a lunatic to fault the audio. The soundtrack is both magnificent and appropriate, tailored carefully to the different sections of the game. Even the voices failed to grate on our tender ears, a marvel that took us entirely by surprise. It's not hard to get involved in the story when it's told so well, drawing you in slowly and unsuspectingly through the early stages until you can't help but want to know more."

Just RPG by Ray Ivey

"I know, I know, not all purists love this new ruleset. But to them, I say, fine – go play Baldur’s Gate again, then. The 3rd Edition rules are so much more fun than 2nd edition that they pretty much fix the only thing that I considered wrong with the earlier Bioware and Black Isle D&D games: The fact that the stern 2nd Edition rules imposed many limitations on character creation, and (even worse) gave the player little to decide and do when a character leveled up."

"Combat is still in real-time, with the ability to pause the action at any time with a flick of the spacebar. While paused, you can give instructions to multiple party members. This keeps the combat from getting out of hand and allows the player to experiment extensively with various strategies."

"The game is of medium length, despite Bioware’s claim that it is longer than Icewind Dale and its two expansions put together (it’s not). But it’s still a solid, well-built, attractive, and fun adventure that benefits from the double blessing of the venerable Infinity engine and the nimble 3rd Edition D&D rules. Bioware has sternly insisted that this is it – there are no expansion packs planned for the game. So suit up, adventurers, and enjoy this high-quality last hurrah of one of the greatest game engines ever."

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