Icewind Dale II

[Jorath Calar]

I was skimming through the UK version of PC Gamer and saw a little clause that said Black Isle were starting work on IWDII, it said that no official word on it was out yet but an "insider" had let them know.
Anyone know anymore about his?

------------------

[Gyruss]

Rumors have been going around about this for awhile now, but as you said nothing official has been said.

[Hayashi]

I found this @ Gamespot: http://desslock.gamespot.com/#20010810-01

Still a rumour? Your guess is as good as mine.

While it hasn't been officially announced yet, Interplay is working on Icewind Dale 2, another BioWare Infinity engine game. While I've hinted in past ramblings that we may not have seen the end of the Infinity engine, and that Interplay was considering other Dungeons & Dragons products (in addition to Neverwinter Nights), I can now confirm that Icewind Dale 2 is in the works (and it's not necessarily the only new D&D game that is being contemplated). Details on what you can expect from Icewind Dale 2 will have to wait until the game is officially announced, but the game will use the same engine used by the original game and its expansion pack, with possible minor improvements, and likely won't be as ambitious a game as BG2, given Interplay's aggressive target release date (rumoured to be the end of this year, according to a Fatbabies rumour than ran today , although I hadn't thought the schedule was that ambitious). I suspect that a lot of gamers are tired of the Infinity engine after an almost constant flow of new products using the engine since Icewind Dale was released over a year ago (and Planescape Torment and the original Baldur's Gate used the engine prior to that), but given the commercial success of Icewind Dale and BG2, there's probably still enough gamers interested in just having new areas to explore and creatures to fight (and Interplay will alre! ady have access to a tremendous library of creatures and items created for the prior games) to justify the creation of another game. Since the backgrounds used by the engine have to be hand-drawn (as opposed to created using tiles, which Neverwinter Nights will use), it's unlikely that we'll ever see an Infinity engine "D&D Construction Kit", like SSI released at the end of its line of Gold Box D&D games, but the creation of additional D&D adventure "modules" like Icewind Dale 2 should at least be appreciated by D&D fans. There's also not a lot of single player RPGs in the works for the next 12 months (Neverwinter Nights, Morrowind and Dungeon Siege being the only real highlights, with Arcanum and Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor on the verge of being released). In a way, I feel like I'm justifying a "guilty pleasure", because the Infinity engine is getting a bit tired, but I'm pretty happy to know there's another D&D game coming out in the near future.

[shawnme]

I hope they make the game

------------------
shawn harden

[Jorath Calar]

Whats that crap about The engine getting tired? It's a good engine and has stood the test of time.
I wonder if that guy thinks the First Person Shooters are getting tired, they been around since 1992 with Wolfenstein.

------------------

[Sazerac]

Never mind him or her, Jorath Calar. Gaming reviewers are notorious for acting elitist about things so they can show how knowledgeable they are about the "kewl" new cutting edge trends. Sad thing is, a lot of times they end up panning a really good game just because it uses an old engines, and so new players shy away from it. I rarely read gaming reviews anymore, and rely on my Internet connections (people I know) to tell me if games are worth it or not.

Cheers,



------------------

Patience, my BUTT...I'm going to KILL something!!!

[Lord Brass]

Wow! Saz has spoken.

The point is, that you read as much or as little into a review as you like. As an example, I read a fantastic review of BGII, where the reviewer was unashamedly happy, no - ecstatic - to see this game out on the shelves. You know what he said about SoA? 'If you like this game, you'll like this game.' BGII is great enough to warrant an expansion, and good enough to draw in new blood.
There's little more a game's designer could ask for. It caters to an audience that is waiting to see it (that would be us) and is capable of generating new enthusiasm in that audience or eliciting new players.

A review of IWDII? 'If you like this game, you'll like this game.' Do we like? Hell, yes! Sign me up.



------------------
Making running away an art form

[Jorath Calar]

LOL, The Tagline for the IWD2 Review will be:

Every once in a while a game comes out, this is such a game




------------------