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Who's afraid of the big bad... Frost Giant?
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One of Baldur's Gates few flaws was a lack of truly intimidating foes, that is, when based on appearance. Anyone in their right mind is afraid of a powerful mage for what they know the mage is capable of-but not because a crotchety old fellow with a long grey beard and a bright yellow robe is particularly frightening to look at. For Icewind Dale, however, the threat of power just wouldn't suffice for intimidation purposes, so Black Isle has decided to include large monsters. All of the monsters are promised to be drawn to scale, so a gigantic Frost Giant will occupy just a tad bit more space than you average, say, cat-as it should be. The really neat thing about this will be the effect these monsters will have on morale, the morale of those playing the game I mean. If your party has just exited a dark cavern only to find themselves in an open, snowy area, the last thing they'll want to see is a naked 3DGN writer begging for food. Aside from that, they really would rather not see an overgrown cyclops marauding the landscape in search of combat… but despite the party's own grievances, it will be the person playing that will more than likely soil his underpants, as the size of the cyclops is enough to scare the crap out of most people.
Black Isle is trying to make Icewind Dale an enjoyable dungeon exploring game, and for that they are drawing some inspiration from Diablo. At the same time, however, they want to make sure the game retains a solid story and plenty of questing, as did Baldur's Gate. Black Isle producer Chris Parker told us, "We are trying to mix the more dialogue and quest intense nature of Baldur's Gate with an action combat and puzzle environment (the dungeon)." Parker went on to say Icewind Dale would feature a driving story and is planned to be a "sort of halfway point" between Baldur's Gate and Diablo.
Additionally, the 50 dungeon levels Icewind Dale will present will be made up of unique types of environments. Instead of just duking it out with the undead in the basement of George the crack head's shack, you might explore the insides of a large glacier or even prowl around the haunted ruins of an old Elven area, where the Elves were unable to protect themselves from death. Stupid Elves.
As with Baldur's Gate, saving will not be allowed during battle, and switching to your inventory will not pause the game. This was done in an attempt to more properly simulate the real AD&D games. Parker added (in reference to Baldur's Gate), "We hoped, and I think succeeded, in getting the player to think about making sure their player was well equipped and ready to rock before they adventured further." When we asked as to whether or not Icewind Dale would adapt a different outlook, Parker told us Black Isle was "sticking to the same philosophy." So to all the cheap bastards out there who would prefer save their game in the middle of the battle to keep trying different strategies until something works, "HA!"
Another feature I'm really looking forward to is being able to tailor your party anyway you like at the beginning of the game-by creating six party members on your own. Sure, you could use "pre-made" parties from Black Isle, but what do those guys know about games? Oh, wait… they make games. Nevertheless, it's always fun to make wholly unique parties I say, especially the kind that involve sheep. I believe that if I'm able to squander a review copy of the game from the clutches of Black Isle, I'll try and recreate six characters from Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy. I'm sure I could get a halfling to look like I imagine Frodo to look. Now… if I can just find a ring of power…
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