I played BG1 + 2 and was hooked, so I went hunting for a good rpg fix. The only rpg's I had ever tried was the Fallout games which I loved and many moons ago I tried Daggerfall (the buggiest piece of crap I ever wasted fifty bucks on).

As you may have guessed I happened upon Icewind Dale2. YUCK! I could have handled the endless monster theme but the seemingly endless forrest +puzzles caused to just blow it off and go back and play Baldurs gate again.

Anyway... Lately some friends have told that I should try IWD1. Needless to say I'm skeptical. Should someone who HATED IWD2 bother. Your opinions would be appreciated.

I find IWD series great... both iwd 1 and iwd 2 are excellent games...

but, if you said you didnt like IWD 2 very much then i say dont buy IWD1... this game is older than BG2 and i dont think you will enjoy it.... at the same time if its only the endless forest and puzzles that you didnt like but you did enjoy the rest, and if money's not an issue, then you can try IWD1, it has very very little puzzles (less than BG2?)... most monster killing takes place in dungeons...

If you did not like IWD2 primarily because of the Fellwood Forest Maze, the Monastery chambers, the battle squares, or the time loop in dragon's eye but did like the rest of the game then I would disagree with ZFR and say to buy IWD 1.

However, IF you ALSO wished that you had NPC's to choose from and missed the dialgoue options between you and your npc's, and found the hack'n'slash too tedisome then ZFR is probably right. Steer clear of IWD 1. BG1/BG2 and IWD1/IWD2 are really different - BG1/BG2 is more story driven with NPC's bringing depth while IWD1/IWD2 are party driven hack'n'slash dungeon crawls loosely woven around a story.

I have to concede that although i thought the ideas behind the battle squares, monastery chambers, Fellwood maze and even the time loop were imaginative - they got to be VERY tiresome. ESPECIALLY battle squares - which is a MAJOR snoozer even the FIRST time through. Playing the game a second time, even on Heart of Fury mode, is enough to induce a coma!

Personally I preferred IWD 1 to IWD2. The plot line is better in IWD 1, there are fewer of the troublesome puzzles, and there are TWO expansions for IWD1 which greatly lengthen the game play.

You should be able to find IWD1 for sale fairly cheaply if you decide it's worth a shot. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Thanks guys, maybe I will try it. I've BG 1+2 a couple of times and it's still fun but I would like to find something new. Any good games you could suggest?
(I have NWN but it doesn't seem to run on my system.)

I agree with Micah's comments. Some of the puzzles in IWD2 were annoying, but I love the combat. IWD1 had far fewer and smaller puzzles and about the same amount of combat.

Also, IWD1 is a 2nd ed rules game (like Bg1 & 2), if that matters to you.

Im a big, no huge, fan of the baldurs gate series and i also found it hard to adjust to the settings of the IWD2. if ur not a patient kind of player i advise u not to buy iwd1. its boring and so ancient

I have to agree with Micah. I enjoyed IWD1 far better. While 3rd edition rules are good. I feel IWD as a far better story line, and an overall better feel to it. The thing is I am not sure what causes the better feel, it could be a combination, of music, graphics, environment, story.

I have yet to get board with IWD1.