Ice-wind Dale may not be as Memorable Like Baldur's gate but instead Is an overall fun RPG with a simple Story...
To thwart said evil, your small band of up to six adventurers must negotiate hardship and battle to save the land from the ravages of dark forces.Where the Baldur's Gate games had complex plot lines, Icewind Dale follows a fairly linear story that's easily solved by just ploughing in.
There are a few minor sub-plots to be skipped through but, in general, one encounter leads naturally to the next. If you're looking for puzzles and entertaining characters and dialogue you'll be disappointed. Icewind Dale is all about hack and slash: get into the dungeon, sort out the monsters, brief conversation with the chief nasty (so it can reveal just enough for you to foil its evil plans), take it out and on to the next battle - not in the least bit cerebral but good stuff all the same.
Despite this, there is a lot of experience on offer, and even low-level characters will develop quickly - after all, the game is about accumulating experience to make your characters more powerful so that they can face tougher and more interesting enemies. There is an experience cap, but even after playing the whole game right through we got nowhere near it.
The game takes you through a wide range of different terrains, each beautifully constructed, and the environmental sounds along with the background music have been created to lend a convincing atmosphere. For example, the pace of the music quickens as you enter battle.
The designs of individual monsters have also received a lot of care and attention, from the sound of their dramatic death throes to their scale in relation to normal human size. If you come across one of the rather impressive giants then you'll be in no doubt about what you're facing.
The strength of the story line doesn't compare very favourably with the Baldur's Gate games, but there is still more than enough to keep you going. Any player worth their salt should be able complete the whole thing in around six weeks, compared with around three months for Baldur's Gate - depending on how much of your life you devote, of course.
Overall, if this is your first venture into the role-playing genre, then it's not a bad place to start, despite the relative flimsiness of the plot. If you played and enjoyed Baldur's Gate then you should invest in this one too, if for no other reason than to keep you going until the Baldur's Gate II expansion ships.
Dale may have its faults, but it is still a thoroughly enjoyable romp and, unlike the `Baldur's Gate games, you should find that you will be able to walk away from this one without having to finish 'just this last bit' - and let's face it, that's probably not a bad thing for those people who value their social lives.