Icewind Dale II: Complete, the 2002 downloadable sequel to the 2000 original, brings players back to the Forgotten Realms during a period of warfare between the cities of the Icewind Dale region. The complete edition contains the base game plus an additional adventure pack.
How to Download Icewind Dale II: Complete
You can download Icewind Dale II: Complete from GOG.com or Steam. Unfortunately, this game did not receive high-res graphics as the first game in the series did because its source code got lost. To begin your adventure, click on the download button below the review.
The Game Review
Interplay Entertainment was the master of the PC role-playing genre back in the 1990s and early 2000s. Launching IP like Fallout and Baldur’s Gate, among others, Interplay Entertainment and their developers Black Isle Studios could do no wrong.
One title that has received renewed interest since its remake in 2014 is the Icewind Dale series.
Ostensibly related to the Baldur’s Gate titles, Icewind Dale uses 2nd generation Dungeons and Dragons rules for a PC RPG experience that, like BG, is heavy on narrative, tough as nails, and somewhat difficult for noobs to follow.
That’s because PC RPGs can be a different thing entirely from console role-playing games, most of which stick to the JRPG, turn-based combat formula.
Unlike its predecessor, Icewind Dale II: Complete makes use of 3rd generation Dungeons and Dragons rules for its RPG mechanics and is more geared towards action than other titles.
It still makes use of the Infinity Engine but, with less emphasis on exploration and story, the game’s more fast-paced slant caused more than a few issues with the aging platform which still plague the game today.
Because the Infinity Engine was a pretty old game platform even in 2002, you can imagine how it has aged with time. Unable to cope with some third-gen D&D rules, the team at Black Isle Studios simply cut them out of the game mechanics which results in an uneven experience at times.
Dominated by information at the bottom of the screen, the player interface is largely unchanged between the first game and this edition. Viewed from an isometric perspective, the graphics were serviceable for the time but do look dated by today’s standards.
Most of the interaction with non-player characters and items in the world is done through a point and click of the mouse. Multiplayer is available through local area networks or via the Internet.
Interestingly, Icewind Dale II: Complete gives you the option of using a party that they’ve come up with for you or you can make your own. This, coupled with the varying difficulty setting, is likely a nod to PC RPG players that might not know all of the ins and outs of the game and don’t want to invest a ton of time learning that.
One of the most daunting things about any RPG, especially one with a class system, is rolling your initial character – let alone rolling a whole questing party.
Icewind Dale II: Complete’s attention to making this process as easy and painless as possible for people who don’t know what they’re doing is a real forward-thinking move on their part. In fact, little tweaks like this make Icewind Dale II: Complete more receptive to a modern audience than the older titles which, outside of their remakes, have remained obtuse by modern standards.
