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Old 11-19-2004, 03:43 AM   #1
Calagari
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Join Date: October 5, 2004
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After making an earlier post I got to wondering what it was about this game that keeps some of you replaying it?
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Old 11-19-2004, 04:00 AM   #2
Aerich
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Join Date: May 27, 2004
Location: Canada
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Variety and tactics.

You have so many character options that you can put together odd parties. Try a party of midgets, a stealth party, an offensive cleric, an evil party (that mostly chooses the "jerk" responses in dialogue), a party with three druids, etc, etc. Replay value is not really in the story (as it is in BG), it is in tactics and character roles within each particular party.

There are also so many spells in the game - most people only use 1/4 of them regularly, and it's fun to use the other ones. My all-spellcaster party started as an attempt to learn how to use all the clerical spells, as I had never really experimented much with them before.

I also tend not to play games exhaustively. I'll rotate between two or three (right now it's IWD 1, IWD 2, and Disciples 2), and pick a different one if I feel I'm getting bored. I also have limited playing time, so I might go a month without playing one of the games in my rotation.

For a challenge, take a party through Heart of Fury mode (NOT from scratch; you want a party that's gone through before). There are plenty more, and more powerful, magical items, and you will have a chance to bust out the most powerful spells in the game, all the way through. There are also extra monsters added in, so you won't quite know what to expect in each area. You don't hate goblins until you've gone through the Prologue on HoF.
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Old 11-19-2004, 05:17 AM   #3
CerebroDragon
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Join Date: March 2, 2003
Location: Ballarat, Australia.
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Hey all Icewinders,

I've only just recently started playing through Icewind Dale for the third time, the essential reason being that the first time I did was without Heart of Winter, the second time with it and now the third will be with Trials of the Luremaster aswell.

So whilst there's the variety of parties possible and the sheer tactical addiction that the game throws at you, there's also its atmospheric wintery ambience (Kuldahar often becoms like a warm cup of tea in a comforting way...) and immersion. For me its also the story aspects - they are albeit, minor compared to the BG series, but I'm still curious as to what dimensions ToTLM will add to the game.

Also if you listen to the gorgeous soundtrack, one can be made quite nostalgic for the game and so a craving to replay it starts floating through one's brain, like it did for me when I downloaded the Easthaven theme!

Cheers,
Cerebrodragon
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Old 11-19-2004, 05:30 AM   #4
JrKASperov
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Join Date: July 16, 2003
Location: Wa\'eni\'n
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I guess for me it's the different types of ale they serve at the various taverns.
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Old 11-19-2004, 10:55 AM   #5
Otto
The Magister
 

Join Date: November 1, 2004
Location: Springfield, KY
Age: 43
Posts: 100
Quote:
Originally posted by Calagari:
After making an earlier post I got to wondering what it was about this game that keeps some of you replaying it?
At first I saw IWD as a "throw away", something to play between BG/ToSC and BG2/SoA. I played it halfway through, and then shelved it for a long time.

After completing BG2 a few times with different mods, and IWD2 twice, I thought to revisit IWD with HOW/ToSC. I've only played the entire game through twice, but I've played portions of the game a bunch of times for experimentation.

Like other players, I enjoy the variety of possible characters and tactics. I also like the storyline, soundrack, and feel of the game.

Some of the replay value is in finding different random treasures. One game I got 3 suits of elven chainmail, another time I didn't get any.
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Old 11-24-2004, 11:57 AM   #6
pritchke
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Join Date: September 5, 2001
Location: Calgary, AB
Age: 49
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I have probably been through this game more than 10 times.

The first 3 were without HoW. 1st time I could not finish so I started over, than played through again. Then I got HoW and played it again, then I needed to play it again because I had not used bards and druids, then I played it with TotLM, took that off and played it with Project Auril (3 person) in HoF. Then I needed to try TotLM with another small expansion. Then with a two person party. Then after all that I had to see if I could get through the entire thing solo, and after that I am playing a 4 person party on HoF when I am just felling board and I never used a Ranger/Cleric before so there. The game has a ton of possibilities for replay.

It helps that I like the storyline, soundrack, and feel of the game as well.



[ 11-24-2004, 12:00 PM: Message edited by: pritchke ]
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Old 11-24-2004, 03:50 PM   #7
jmsteven
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Join Date: October 14, 2004
Location: Beregost
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Like Pritchke, I enjoy the storyline, soundrack, and feel of the game. I also like the variety of party configuration and random treasures.

However, there is a point where any game gets a little stale. I'm now playing Final Fantasy XII and BG: Dark Alliance on my new PS2. Overall, I like console games a lot better:
- much better graphics and faster game speed
- Fewer bugs and no patches

After playing these games on PS2, IWD feels like I'm traveling back in time. As good as the IE games are, they feel a bit outdated.

[ 11-24-2004, 03:52 PM: Message edited by: jmsteven ]
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