One of the Best RPGs I have ever played! I finished it four times or more and still want more!
The locations are original and beautiful with many details. The story delivers many excitement and will surprise you a few times during your adventure. It has many twists and turns, and gets more interesting while you go(from Great to Breathtaking ;) ) One of the coolest things I like in the game is that you can create all six of your characters {(not like in Baldurs gate, one main character)} so you can entirely control what kind of personas you'll have in the band. And there's a lot to chose from, there are warriors, paladins, barbarians, thieves, bards, mages, druids, clerics, sorcerers and many more. The characters are deep and have many dimensions(im sure they have more than two;D "2d")
The main con of the game is that it is Linear and has more fighting than anything else(but that's the way it goes in the harsh lands of the icy north)
I really recommend IceWind Dale to everyone who likes RPGs, especially to people who also like hack and slash RPGs. People who played Baldurs gate before will also enjoy the game and wont forget the experience, but might be a little sad about the linearity.