IceWind Dale: Heart of Winter Critic Reviews

Still the best video game music anywhere, and the narration is sheer perfection.

If you prefer the simple hack n' slash action almost on par with "Diablo 2," Heart of Winter might just suffice.

This expansion pack is worth every last cent to a fan of Icewind Dale.

This add-on won't win over any new converts, but it will keep the old ones happy. That is what expansions are really all about.

Being able to go back and play through the original with an increased resolution, new spells and additional items is truly fantastic, as is the number of tweaks done to the various class abilities.

So good, veterans may be tempted to replay the whole game from the beginning...a fine product. Unfortunately, the new areas add only about 15 hours of gameplay. While short for a full game, it is a tolerable length for an expansion.

Technically speaking, one of the most important things this expansion pack does is bring Icewind Dale up to visual par with "Baldur's Gate II."

The numerous engine tweaks, the engaging new story and the insane challenge of the Heart of Fury mode make HOW a very appealing expansion.

It only offers about 15-20 hours of play on its own. One can only fight so many undead creatures before getting tired of it. This is not a game for the casual RPG player.

Some good fun to be had here; just odn't expect an RPG revolution.

Small innovations and enhancements are sure to attract people who were thrilled with the original game, but are highly unlikely to attract anyone else.

Ultimately, the story makes the game, albeit with interspersed and occasionally annoying action sequences. But each combat has a purpose, which makes gameplay challenging and rewarding.

What? That's it?...The above text is not a direct quote from my last date, but rather my initial reaction to finishing this fun, but brief, expansion pack.

Short.

It's a short-lived, uninspired addition to Icewind Dale that costs nearly as much as the original game did and requires that you have the original installed; yet it offers only a fraction of Icewind Dale's value.