Icewind Dale – Sequel, Spin-Off, Start Over, or Stay Dead?

Welcome to this week’s, "Sequel, Spin Off, Start Over or Stay Dead?" Each week Diehard GameFAN is going to look at a dormant franchise that was once pretty popular, but for some reason has disappeared into the sands of time. Diehard GameFAN staffers will have four options for what they want to have happen to the series and you can see them in the title of this piece.

This week Diehard GameFAN is looking at Black Isle Studios’ last PC franchise. The first game in the series came out in 2000 and used the 2nd Edition rules of TSR’s Dungeons and Dragons’ tabletop series. The second game would come out two years later and feature the 3rd Edition rules created by Wizards of the Coast. The first game in the series was both a critical and financial success, while the second game sold well but was considered by critics to be a bit outdated compared to things like Neverwinter Nights and Baldur’s Gate 2. Still, actual gamers appeared to love it and it sold almost as well as the first. Unfortunately for Black Isle, its parent company Interplay wasn’t the best with finances and to save themselves, they dissolved Black Isle, which angered PC gamers across the globe. With members of Black Isle scattered to the four winds (although many are with Obsidian), is there still value in the Icewind Dale brand name? Three Diehard GameFAN staffers take a look.