Icewind Dale II

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Icewind Dale II
Single-player, multiplayer

Icewind Dale II is a

Ten Towns
of Icewind Dale and a coalition of persecuted races and religions.

The game is designed as an action-oriented alternative to other

Third Edition
ruleset. The Infinity Engine was modified to comply with the Third Edition, but the team was forced to remove certain rules because of the engine's outdated nature. It was the final game to be developed using the Infinity Engine.

The game was well received by critics, who praised its combat, pacing, and use of the Third Edition rules. However, some reviewers felt that the graphics and engine had become outdated, and could not compete with its contemporaries.

Gameplay

Icewind Dale II is a

point-and-click interface to interact with the game; for example, clicking on the ground moves the selected player character, and clicking on a passive non-player character (NPC) will initiate dialogue. When conversations occur, the game presents multiple dialogue options. The game world is separated into area maps—obscured by fog of war—that are revealed as the area is explored. A multiplayer mode is available for up to six players over a local area network or the Internet.[1] The "Heart of Fury" mode is also available, which increases the game's difficulty and contains more powerful items.[1] The game features over seven hundred items; the designers included a system that randomizes the items the player obtains from enemies.[1][2]

Example of the main screen

When beginning the game, the player may choose to play a pre-selected party, or to

Ilmater.[1][4] Race, alignment, and attributes affect the player character's available dialogue options, as well as NPC responses. For example, some NPCs will be prejudiced against certain races, or a character of low intelligence will have limited dialogue options.[1][5] Some sub-races in the game are significantly more powerful than the core races present in D&D Third Edition; these sub-races must earn more experience points than others before leveling up. Characters can reach a maximum level of thirty.[1] It is possible to add additional characters to the party at any time, including during combat.[6]

Icewind Dale II's gameplay is focused on combat. The combat system is a

turn-based system used in D&D Third Edition, which caused the developers to remove certain aspects, such as "attacks of opportunity".[7] Dice rolls are simulated by the game. In place of the turn-based rounds used in D&D, characters have independent rounds, during which they may execute one or more actions, depending on such factors as the duration of the action. The player can pause the game and issue orders to characters at any time. Each character can carry a limited amount of items.[1]

Plot

Setting

Icewind Dale II takes place in the

Jungles of Chult.[19][20]

Story

The game begins as the player's group of mercenaries arrives by ship to defend Targos.[11] They report to the town palisade and fend off an assault by the goblin army.[21][22] Afterwards, the mayor of Targos orders them to start an offensive on the goblin army.[23] The group kills the chieftain of the army, and discovers that he was under the command of a woman named Sherincal.[24] When they return to Targos, the mayor asks them to rendezvous with reinforcements from Neverwinter.[25] The group travels to meet them in an airship piloted by Oswald Fiddlebender.[26]

A storm causes the ship to crash, and the group awakens to discover that a glacier blocks the reinforcements' path.

cambion twins named Isair and Madae, reside in the Severed Hand.[28][29] Inside the Aurilite temple, the group finds a prisoner from Kuldahar, who asks them to warn Kuldahar of the threat posed by the Legion of the Chimera.[30][31] After this, the group creates a passage through the glacier, and meets with the reinforcements.[31][32]

As the group travels to Kuldahar, they meet a

drow (dark elf) named Nym, who tells them that the pass to Kuldahar is guarded by the Legion of the Chimera, and that an alternate path through the Underdark exists.[33] Later, Isair and Madae locate the group with information from Nym. They state their intention to attack Kuldahar, and warn the group to not interfere.[34] The group then passes through the Black Raven Monastery to enter the Underdark.[35] After exiting the Underdark, they are flown to Kuldahar by Oswald Fiddlebender.[36]

When the group lands in Kuldahar, they discover it has been invaded by the Legion of the Chimera.

limbo.[42]
Eventually, the group finds Isair and Madae, and kills them.

Development

During summer 2001, Black Isle Studios employed three development teams. These included the Icewind Dale team, the team developing

Icewind Dale: Trials of the Luremaster.[43][46] After six months of development, Icewind Dale II was officially announced on February 4, 2002.[43][47]

Icewind Dale II was originally planned to be an incomplete conversion to the D&D Third Edition ruleset, with many rules omitted. The kit system (class specialization) introduced in

Infinity Engine required extensive modification to comply with Third Edition rules, as it had originally been designed for Second Edition rules; certain elements of the rules were removed due to interface and engine issues.[7][19][45] The game's interface was redesigned, and all-new art was created.[19][48] It features new item icons, with new spell icons by Brian Menze; Menze had previously created Planescape: Torment's spell icons.[14] Jason Manley, the portrait artist for the previous Icewind Dale games, left Black Isle Studios in late 2001; several new works he painted before his departure were later used in Icewind Dale II. Black Isle Studios artist Justin Sweet was asked to substitute.[3] The game's resolution was increased to a minimum resolution of 800x600, with an unofficially supported maximum resolution of 2048x1536.[1]

J. E. Sawyer managed rule implementation,

Icewind Dale: Trials of the Luremaster.[50]

The game went

gold on August 5, 2002, and was released on August 27.[47] After the release of Icewind Dale II, Sawyer expressed dissatisfaction over the Icewind Dale series, saying that "I wasn't particularly thrilled with how my work on [Icewind Dale] came out..." and, "...[Heart of Winter] managed to actually be worse than my Icewind Dale stuff". In regards to Icewind Dale II he said: "[It] came out better than I expected, but still, not exactly awe-inspiring".[51] Chris Avellone later said: "Icewind Dale was a fun series, but it didn't try to set the bar for anything other than a fun romp. People may remember enjoying it, but it wasn’t trying to break any new ground or do anything revolutionary. In some respects, it was almost a step back from other games we'd done and focused more on exploration and dungeon crawls".[52] A Collector's Edition containing bonus material, such as a full-color cloth map and soundtrack CD, was also released.[47] Icewind Dale II was the final game developed using the Infinity Engine.[53]

Audio

The music of the game was composed by

Fallout Tactics.[54] Inon Zur worked with Jeremy Soule, the composer for Icewind Dale, to maintain the tone of the music.[43] Inon Zur also worked closely with Interplay audio director Adam Levenson while composing the music; Zur and Levenson had worked together on several previous titles. Inon Zur said that while composing the theme for the game, "I wrote and rewrote the main theme several times", and "we tried to create a piece that would preserve the sound of the first Icewind Dale[...] we made great efforts to convey the new elements also. Capturing all of this in 30–45 seconds was not easy however I believe that we eventually found the right path for this game's soundtrack". Zur described the composing process: "After learning the storyboard and getting additional insight from the producers/music supervisor I'll start to compose. The thematic idea (main melody or rhythmical groove) comes first. Then comes the accompaniment followed by the orchestration and that each piece should have its own unique flavour so every step is carefully examined. I have to make sure that the main idea of the piece is reflected in all these steps". He called the composing experience "very pleasant and rewarding".[54]

The music was composed in five weeks, and the recording and mixing lasted three weeks.[55] As the game's music budget was low, a small Los Angeles orchestra was used to record the music; the sound of the each instrument was doubled during production.[56] Inon Zur described the music as having "some uniqueness to it, that basically it developed throughout the game [with] the [inclusion] of more instruments, taking flutes and percussion and combining them with the standard orchestra". Zur later said: "I thought that we definitely met some high standards; we compared our products to big budget films scores and in the end we were quite happy".[55] The game features voice work from Gabrielle Carteris, Peter Stormare, and Grey DeLisle, among others.[1]

Reception

Sales

Icewind Dale II debuted at #6 on

The NPD Group's weekly computer game sales chart for the August 25–31 period, at an average retail price of $45.[57] The game rose to fourth place the following week,[58] and exited the weekly top 10 in its third week.[59] It was North America's 20th-best-selling computer game of August 2002 and 14th-best-selling of September.[59][60] Icewind Dale II sold between 100,000 and 270,000 copies in the United States alone by August 2006. Combined sales of the Icewind Dale franchise reached 580,000 units in the country by that date.[61]

Critical reviews

Icewind Dale II's reception was generally positive. Game Informer hailed it as, "one of the best RPGs ever released for the PC",[67] and GameSpot called it, "simply a great role-playing game".[53] However, PC Format said, "it's uninspired and uninspiring, giving itself a narrow remit and fulfilling that unspectacularly".[69] Certain reviewers compared Icewind Dale II to Neverwinter Nights. IGN said: "[Compared to Neverwinter Nights] the pace of [Icewind Dale II] is more varied, its balance better, the gameplay more interesting",[68] and Game Informer considered the interface superior to that of Neverwinter Nights.[67] PC Format said, "in the light of Neverwinter Nights in particular, there's little that stands out in Icewind Dale II to recommend it",[69] and PC Zone concurred "it's not the [Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn] killer we had all hoped for and neither does it stack up to Neverwinter Nights".[71]

Many reviewers praised the game's combat and pacing.

G4 called the game's combat "sublime", and said that "no Infinity Engine game thus far has had such interesting and intricate tactical combat".[66] GameSpot called it "expertly paced."[53] PC Zone complained that certain gameplay mechanics had become outdated, but that "the only real downer is the antiquated spell system and the inexplicable necessity to rest after every fight".[71] The game was also praised for its implementation of the Third Edition rules and interface. Computer Gaming World said that "[Icewind Dale II] has the Third Edition rules down, and in no other place in the game is it more apparent than with character development",[65] and PC Gamer said it had "a dazzling implementation of the D&D 3rd Edition rules".[70] GameSpot called the interface "a big improvement on the spread-out interface of all previous Infinity Engine games",[53] and IGN said that "the customization improvements to the interface that seem so natural, they make you wonder why they weren't thought of before".[68] Game Informer called the interface "absolutely inspired" and its inventory system "second to none".[67]

The game was criticized for its graphics and engine, which reviewers considered to be outdated. G4 called the engine "old" and "clunky",

Infinity Engine" could not compare to contemporaries Dungeon Siege and Neverwinter Nights.[72] Computer Gaming World believed that "it consistently offers the same striking and imaginative environments that establish the tone and immersive charm of the game",[65] and Computer Games Magazine said "it may not look like much, but it's got it where it counts".[64] The game's pre-rendered backgrounds received praise. IGN said that "the artwork is attractive, both conceptually and in its final form",[68] and Game Informer called them "beautiful".[67] Many reviewers complained about the game's pathfinding AI,[66][67][68] which PC Zone called "outrageously bad".[71]

Game Informer called the writing and story "on par with any fantasy novel".[67] PC Gamer said it had "some of the richest and most enjoyable dialogue since Planescape Torment", and an "impressive storyline".[70] GameSpot called the story "engrossing", and said that "the game is very well written, offering up a number of strong characters and serious themes".[53] PC Zone noted that, "thanks to the excellent NPCs, the battles have a lot more meaning, as there is a strong storyline behind the endless hacking and slashing".[71] PC Format thought that "Icewind Dale II also suffers, like its predecessor, from a story irrevocably weakened by anonymous central characters – the six you create".[69] In regards to the audio, GameSpot said that "Inon Zur does a truly fantastic job that's perhaps even better than Soule's effort in the original Icewind Dale", and that "the voice acting in Icewind Dale II is as great as you've perhaps come to expect from a Black Isle Studios role-playing game".[53] Computer Gaming World said that "[the] sound effects, music, and voiceovers are all excellent".[65]

Icewind Dale II was nominated for Computer Gaming World's 2002 "RPG of the Year" award, which ultimately went to The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. The editors wrote that Icewind Dale II "is the last great game from a fading engine, and we love it".[73] It was also a nominee for PC Gamer US's "2002 Best Roleplaying Game" and The Electric Playground's "Best RPG for PC" awards, but lost both to Neverwinter Nights.[74][75] Allen Rausch, writing for GameSpy's 2004 retrospective "A History of D&D Video Games", wrote "while nobody would mistake it for '2002 RPG of the Year' material, Black Isle Studios managed to give the Infinity engine a terrific game as its swan song".[76]

Enhanced Edition

Other Infinity Engine games, including Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale, have been remade into Enhanced Editions by Beamdog. Beamdog was unsuccessful in trying to do the same for Icewind Dale II due to the source code of the game being lost.[77]

The Red Chimera Group, a team of modders, coders, artists, and other contributors drawn from the Infinity Engine community, re-built Icewind Dale II and produced an Enhanced Edition. The Enhanced Edition features streamlined gameplay, a rebalanced class system, and new content. The team used WeiDU, a program used to develop, distribute and install modifications for games based on the Infinity Engine.[78] The Enhanced Edition was released on November 4, 2023.[79]

References

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  9. ^ Black Isle Studios (2002). Icewind Dale II. Interplay Entertainment. Journal: Speaking with Sherincal further we discovered that this Legion of the Chimera is an organization composed of the disenfranchised freaks of Faerûn.
  10. ^ Black Isle Studios (2002). Icewind Dale II. Interplay Entertainment. Journal: The ranger Braston believes that Sherincal, the one we overheard talking to Guthma, could be further directing the horde.
  11. ^ a b Black Isle Studios (2002). Icewind Dale II. Interplay Entertainment. Narrator: Only a few small ships made it through to Targos, where my Uncle was watching from the upper reaches of the town. Many villagers were too busy repelling enemies at the palisade wall to notice a few sad, sorry stragglers make it into the port. The sun burned behind the horde and cast a cloak of shadows over the heart of Targos and all within. It was into this shadow that uncommon mercenaries were thrust from Captain Hedron's ship, the Wicked Wench. Like many other mercenaries in the town, these few had come from Luskan. Unlike the others, their journeys would take them far beyond the rude palisades and bloody fields that lay ahead of them...
  12. ^ Black Isle Studios (2002). Icewind Dale II. Interplay Entertainment. Journal: We will follow the Black Raven River north to where it flows from the Spine of the World mountains. There should be a network of caves there that leads to a monastery high in the mountains. Beneath the monastery is an entrance to the Underdark. From there we'll enter the ancient dwarven ruins of Dorn's Deep from below. From there we can surface on the northern side of the Spine of the World.
  13. ^ Black Isle Studios (2002). Icewind Dale II. Interplay Entertainment. Narrator: What an odd sight the Black Raven Monastery must have been to those adventurers. While Uncle Oswald and Nathaniel evacuated Kuldahar to the north and east, the sell-swords from Targos happened across that strange place. To this day, I can't claim to understand the monks or their philosophy. Iselore himself spoke of their order in confused tones, as if his druidic order and the monastic order were so close – and yet so different – that they became totally foreign to his understanding.
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  21. ^ Black Isle Studios (2002). Icewind Dale II. Interplay Entertainment. Journal: Lord Ulbrec has officially welcomed us into the Targos Guard, and he has told us to report to the commander of the Targos Guard, Shawford Crale, for our assignments. Ulbrec told us we could find Crale at the Palisade, just beyond the north gate.
  22. ^ Black Isle Studios (2002). Icewind Dale II. Interplay Entertainment. Journal: We told Shawford that we'd pressured the Iron Collar band to get their worthless hides onto the Palisade, and he seemed surprised and grateful at our efforts. No sooner had he finished congratulating us when we heard an explosion from outside, and the Palisade was under attack![..]With aid from the Targos Guard, we managed to turn back the goblin attack on Targos and slaughter the goblin leaders. We should tell Shawford or Ulbrec of our success.
  23. ^ Black Isle Studios (2002). Icewind Dale II. Interplay Entertainment. Journal: Lord Ulbrec praised us for our efforts in defending Targos during the goblin attack on the Palisade, but with his praise came another mission: a goblin force has taken the Shaengarne Bridge to the south, a bridge that the Neverwinter reinforcements intended to use to reach Targos. He wants us to travel to Shaengarne Bridge and retake it from the goblinoids. He hopes our band can succeed where the Targos Guard cannot; only time will prove him right or wrong. / [...] Lord Ulbrec heard of the destruction of Shaengarne Bridge, and he has determined that only if Targos can mount an offensive quickly can Targos hope to break the goblin horde before they strike the town again. He has asked us to meet two of his scouts, Ennelia and Braston, south and east of Targos and give them whatever aid they require to break the goblins' strength in the region.
  24. ^ Black Isle Studios (2002). Icewind Dale II. Interplay Entertainment. Journal: We have met the ranger Braston in the bowels of the Horde Fortress. He informed us that the leader of the horde is one called Guthma. Our killing of Guthma should disrupt the horde and provide the relief that Targos and the Ten-Towns require. / [...] The ranger Braston believes that Sherincal, the one we overheard talking to Guthma, could be further directing the horde. However, he was quick to point out that even if this Sherincal was directing Guthma, our removal of Guthma should be enough to stop the attacks on Targos. / [...] After defeating Guthma, Ennelia has reported that the horde army is already starting to fall apart. She congratulated us on our victory and noted that our attack has crippled any further offenses against the Ten-Towns.
  25. ^ Black Isle Studios (2002). Icewind Dale II. Interplay Entertainment. Journal: Lord Ulbrec heard of our success in infiltrating the horde fortress and defeating the bugbear chieftain, Guthma. He thanked us for our efforts and gave us our next mission, which should prove somewhat less strenuous than the other suicide missions we've already taken. He asked us to speak to Oswald Fiddlebender and have him ferry us to the Western Pass to rendezvous with the reinforcements from Neverwinter.
  26. ^ Black Isle Studios (2002). Icewind Dale II. Interplay Entertainment. Journal: Once we had our gear together, Oswald flew us to the Western Pass. As we neared the Pass, however, the storms and winds began to pick up, buffeting the airship...
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  28. ^ Black Isle Studios (2002). Icewind Dale II. Interplay Entertainment. Journal: We met Sherincal, a towering, female half-blue-dragon guarding the entrance to the Aurilite ice temple. She claimed to lead the forces of something called the "Legion of the Chimera" in Icewind Dale's western region. It appears the strange banners we've been seeing belong to them. / [...] We also learned from Sherincal that Isair and Madae are twins who rule the Legion of the Chimera from its capitol, the Severed Hand.
  29. ^ a b Black Isle Studios (2002). Icewind Dale II. Interplay Entertainment. Journal: Xavier told us that the war was caused by Betran Weaver, the mayor of Bryn Shander, and his advisor Cardaf, a priest of Helm. It seems that they sent Isair and Madae cakes made with holy water, knowing that the twins were cambions and would come to harm when they ate them. An act of stupidity that has cost many their lives.
  30. ^ Black Isle Studios (2002). Icewind Dale II. Interplay Entertainment. Journal: We met Nathaniel, a druid from Kuldahar, who'd been locked in one of the ice temple's prison cells. He asked us to free him before he suffered the same fate as his fellow prisoners, whatever that may be.
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  32. ^ Black Isle Studios (2002). Icewind Dale II. Interplay Entertainment. Journal: We delivered Denham's trapped replacement for Garradun the spy's false love-letter to Captain Ingrath Mariner. We also gave Denham's note of warning to Sergeant Rahm Dammel, the commander of the Luskan forces.
  33. ^ Black Isle Studios (2002). Icewind Dale II. Interplay Entertainment. Journal: We met a drow merchant named Nym in a small village. He was waiting there for the military expedition from Neverwinter – the same one destroyed by the Aurilites at the glacier in the Western Pass – to arrive. / [...] The drow merchant Nym told us that the Eastern Pass was entirely blocked by troops of the Legion of the Chimera. However, he explained that there was another route over the Spine of the World: through the Underdark. We will follow the Black Raven River north to where it flows from the Spine of the World mountains. There should be a network of caves there that leads to a monastery high in the mountains. Beneath the monastery is an entrance to the Underdark. From there we'll enter the ancient dwarven ruins of Dorn's Deep from below. From there we can surface on the northern side of the Spine of the World.
  34. ^ Black Isle Studios (2002). Icewind Dale II. Interplay Entertainment. Journal: Isair and Madae, twin commanders of the Legion of the Chimera, appeared before us in the Wandering Village. They claim to have found us with information purchased from Nym, the drow merchant who told us of the underdark passage beneath the Black Raven Monastery. Madae claimed that the Legion would still attack Kuldahar, and Isair warned us to stop our "meddling," claiming that Targos wasn't alone in having Luskan allies. To demonstrate his seriousness, Isair slew several villagers and raised them as zombies against us before vanishing along with his sister.
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  38. ^ Black Isle Studios (2002). Icewind Dale II. Interplay Entertainment. Journal: The Archdruid of Kuldahar, Iselore, asked us to help stop an impending threat to the village and its great oak. He believes that yuan-ti from Dragon's Eye have opened a magical "crossroad" to a jungle in Chult, far to the south. He asked that we find a way to seal the portal from the other side. This involves slaying the "guardian" of the crossroads. Iselore believes that the yuan-ti are probably protecting the guardian to insure that this does not happen.
  39. ^ Black Isle Studios (2002). Icewind Dale II. Interplay Entertainment. Journal: We have broken the strength of the yuan-ti at the temple in Chult. This should prevent them from reinforcing the yuan-ti at Kuldahar.
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