If it seems like just last month that Beamdog announced Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition, well, that would be incorrect: It was actually August 30, which technically makes it two months ago. But more important than the announcement date is the release date, which we now have.
Without much fanfare Beamdog boss Trent Oster wrote last night on Twitter: "Oh we also announced a launch date for #IWDEE of Oct 30. That's right, just 10 more days to go."
In follow-up tweets, Oster said the game will be released on Beamdog's own platform, as well as GOG and Steam, for both Windows and Linux. "The mobile versions should be very close as well," he added.
The announcement of Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition wasn't really a surprise, given the success of the Baldur's Gate Enhanced Editions, but it was still happy news for old-time RPG fans. The updated game will include an improved interface, cross-platform multiplayer, a new difficulty mode that will allow players to experience the story without having to struggle through repeated beat-downs, six expanded quests with content that was cut from the original game, and new items, spells, and class and kit combinations.
The originals are still available and can be souped up pretty well with external mods, but for gamers who either aren't comfortable with that sort of horsing around or just don't want to be bothered, the Enhanced Editions are a good way to go. Unfortunately, making more of them might be a problem: The dramatic changes made to the remaining Infinity Engine RPGs, Icewind Dale II and Planescape: Torment, "would invalidate all the character classes and require a pretty thorough rework of the entire game to bring in the features from our Infinity Plus Engine," Oster said last month. "At minimum, nightmares abound."
