Until recently, Icewind Dale 2 remained the only game on the Infinity Engine that did not receive a remaster. Beamdog was unable to create it due to the loss of the original source code, but enthusiasts from The Red Chimera Group completed the task.
Image source: steamgriddb.com
Icewind Dale 2: Enhanced Edition was created by a team of modders, programmers, artists and other enthusiasts from the Infinity Engine community. They spent more than three years restoring all components.
The new edition offers the following:
over 300 updated spells and 800 items; more than 110 completely new spells, 170 magic items and 30 abilities (including noticeably game-changing ones); the opportunity to accept Veira, Vrek Vileclaw, Xhaan, Zack Boosenburry and his spider mount Aocha into the party; increasing the maximum level of character development; quest improvements: the authors have simplified the completion of some tasks (you will not have to return to already visited places as often), added new ways to achieve goals and removed tedious puzzles in some locations; reworked encounters with enemies, including more complex behavior of enemies in the hardcore mode of Heart of Fury (previously, increasing the difficulty was limited to increasing the amount of their health); updated systems for increasing the level of enemies and gaining experience (it is now impossible for situations where killing opponents at the late stage of the game is not rewarded with points); quality improvements, including faster item collection and faster loading times.
Image source: forums.beamdog.com
Unlike remasters of other games on the Infinity Engine, Icewind Dale 2: Enhanced Edition is not distributed as a separate paid product, but as a free modification (the WeiDU program was used to create it). You can download the mod on the official Beamdog forum. A full list of new and improved abilities and a detailed description of other changes are also published there.
For the mod to work, you will need a licensed copy of the 2002 game. During the installation process, you can select the elements you need – for example, opt out of new skills or gameplay changes. The Enhanced Edition includes support for widescreen displays – installing a similar third-party mod will lead to crashes.
Founded by people from BioWare, Beamdog has in the past released improved editions of Baldur’s Gate, Baldur’s Gate 2: Shadows of Amn, Icewind Dale, MDK2 and Planescape: Torment (all responsible for Overhaul Games). The company also independently updated the first Neverwinter Nights and created a new addition, Siege of Dragonspear, to the first Baldur’s Gate.
The original Icewind Dale 2, developed by Black Isle Studios, was released on August 27, 2002 by Interplay Entertainment on PC (Windows). Version with support for modern OS is available in GOG.
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