Icewind Dale 2 Review - Page 2

A new feature in Icewind Dale 2 in addition to character classes, stats, and skills is called “Feats”. There is a fine line between feats and skills. Skills are bought with points, and tend to be abilities which would be gained from training and experience, e.g. diplomacy or pick pocketing. They may be restricted to certain character classes and have different levels of ability/success rates based on character statistics such as intelligence or charisma.
Feats tend to be combat related bonuses, and are defined as “a special feature that gives a character a special ability or improves an existing one”. They may have prerequisites, such as a minimum strength requirement, and may be restricted to certain character classes. As with skills, feats may be permanently active, like passive skills, or may need to be activated for a certain situation.
Feats are made available and can be simply chosen once for every few levels a character increases. Once gained, a feat will always add a specific bonus for the character, however they may become unusable if a prerequisite is lost, e.g. If a temporary strength penalty is imposed on a character resulting in a strength rating below the minimum requirement of the feat, it will be come unavailable until the specifications are once again met. An example of a feat is the ability to deflect arrows, whereby an increased armor class is given against missile weapons.

Of course, no fantasy RPG would be complete without a range of spells, and ID2 has a full compliment available. These are subdivided into certain types: conjuration, evocation, abjuration, enchantment, necromancy, transmutation, etc. Almost every type of spell that can be thought of is available in Icewind Dale 2 - from attacking and defensive spells, to the ability to summon creatures, morph, heal and more. There are spells as simple as a fireball, to those far more deadly such as the “death touch” – a necromantic spell that can permanently kill an enemy. There are well over 200 different spells in total available in the game.
The class and alignment usually determine the type of spells available to a character. E.g. a cleric can learn enchantments, while a wizard can learn evocations. Spells can also be good or evil in nature and hence only be performed by characters of a certain alignment.

There is also a full compliment of armory available to the characters. These include clothing, armor, swords, shields, belts, bracers, jewelry, and more to fit every part of the body. Items can be non magical, and bear simple amour/attack bonuses, or magical to provide other additional benefits to the wearer. They can be bought from shops, found lying around, stolen by pick pocketing, or picked up off slain enemies.

As with many other RPGs in the market, the quality of the graphics in Icewind Dale 2 has not improved in big leaps and bounds like other FPS and RTS games. A lot of RPG developers tend to focus on creating a deep and encompassing story rather than cutting edge graphics. As a result the graphics are relatively low-resolution and detail. The game runs in 800x600 mode, with unsupported ability to run at up to 2048x1536 resolution. Different clothing and armory being worn is shown, as well as lighting effects for spells, although the graphics tend to look slightly grainy. There are a variety of landscapes, including wilderness areas, underground caves, towns and indoor medieval type structures. Weather effects such as rain are available, and the game uses transparency to show characters behind objects.

Sound and music are always important to support the gameplay. Vocals are a very important feature in RPG’s whereby dialog is essential to complement the progression of the game. ID2 has a range of different characters and each of them have vocals/sound effects that nicely match their given attributes and roles.

Overall Icewind Dale 2 has not offered any groundbreaking innovations or improvements to the genre. Instead they have taken from a proven track record from many previous games and expansion packs to provide gamers with another opportunity to enter a mystical world in a quest to prove themselves as heroes.
Some people may claim to be falling asleep from hours of gaming that has not provided any revolutionary changes in gameplay or combat styles, while others may enjoy the opportunity to spend a few weeks or months immersing themselves within a new storyline with several tweaks and added features.

Overall Rating: 76%

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