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Black Isle Studios, 2002
Windows 和 Mac
Black Isle Studios, 2002
Windows and Mac
冰风谷 2（Icewind Dale II）是基于无限引擎（Infinity Engine）开发的最后一个游戏，也是 Interplay[1] 发售的最后几部作品之一。游戏还在开发的时候，Interplay 内部已因一系列糟糕的商业操作而陷入了混乱之中。
公司要求制作组在短短 10 个月内完成整个项目的开发；而且，按首席设计师 Josh Sawyer 的说法，他们只有 2 天时间来构建故事和剧情。在这种情况下游戏最终还能上市，这本身就是一个奇迹。
Icewind Dale II was the last of the Infinity Engine games, and one of the last titles published by Interplay, developed during a time when the company was imploding due to poor business choices.
The whole project was allowed just ten months of development time, and, according to lead designer Josh Sawyer, just two days to develop the story and plot. Under these conditions, it's quite a wonder that such a complete product was ever shipped.
《冰风谷 2》没有大型的 MOD，但 Almateria 制作的《冰风谷 2》修复包（IWD2 Fixpack）修复了部分 bug。“小改包（Tweak Pack）”则提供了一些改进，比如无限叠加功能以及更多的商人 NPC。
There aren't huge mods for IWD2, but Almateria's IWD2 Fixpack solves some bugs, and the Tweak Pack adds some improvements such as infinite stacking and extra merchants.
敌人对战术的运用比前代高明许多。他们会建造路障、设下陷阱，甚至骑着座狼作战。
Enemies make much better use of tactics, building barricades, setting traps and even riding worgs into battle.
D&D 的第三版规则让游戏有了很大的改动，例如允许玩家在种族一项里选择亚种。卓尔（Drow）就是精灵的一个亚种，他们比一般精灵更为强大，但也相应地有其他缺点。
The 3rd edition D&D ruleset adds many changes including the ability to play as sub-races like the Drow, which are more powerful but have other disadvantages.
作为无限引擎的绝唱，《冰风谷 2》的设计却（意外地）并不意在吸引潜在的新玩家，而是面向有经验的老玩家，难度设置恰到好处。大部分遭遇战都极具挑战性，灵活地运用了各种法术、地形、能力和阵型，设计不可谓不巧妙。
和前作《冰风谷（Icewind Dale）》一样，你创造的是一整支 6 人组成的冒险者小队。不过，此前其他基于无限引擎开发的游戏都沿用了《高级龙与地下城（AD&D）》第 2 版规则，而《冰风谷 2》则是首批运用（当时还是最新的）第 3 版《龙与地下城（Dungeons & Dragons）》规则的作品，这带来了更灵活的兼职系统、种族亚种、专长，以及诸如胁迫（Intimidate）和欺诈（Bluff）一类的技能。
考虑到开发日程的紧迫，这一改动与其说是野心勃勃，似乎更像是自不量力。然而，新规则却很好地融入了游戏当中，玩法也和前几代一样简明流畅。
这一次，故事将从冰风谷十镇（Ten Towns）之一的塔尔歌斯（Targos）开始，你的队伍来到了小镇的港口，协助镇民抵御哥布林的围攻。随后，冒险者将踏上讨伐奇美拉军团（Legion of the Chimera）的征程，却发现这片荒凉的寒地之下仍蛰伏着来自过往的阴霾，于是矢志恢复冰风谷的平静。
游戏的美术本就细致丰富，Inon Zur 极具感染力的配乐更是为之注入灵魂，基本与前作 Jeremy Soules[2] 的大师级配乐平分秋色。同样，游戏的整体氛围在一定程度上也达到了前作的水平。
《冰风谷 2》是一个不完美的游戏，有其高光亦有其缺陷，困于囹圄的塔尔歌斯绝对属于前者，但中期枯燥磨人的升级过程则恰恰相反——这可能是制作组为了保证游戏时长而强加的凑数内容。不过即便如此，对无限引擎而言，它仍是一份不错的饯别礼。
As the swansong of the Infinity Engine, IWD2 was (surprisingly) designed not for a new potential audience but for experienced players, featuring a pleasing difficulty level. Most encounters are challenging and well-crafted, making clever use of spells, terrain, abilities and positioning.
As in the previous Icewind Dale, you create a party of up to six heroes, but IWD2 is one of the first games to use the (then new) 3rd edition Dungeons & Dragons ruleset, rather than the AD&D 2nd Edition rules that had been featured in every other IE game. This includes the addition of a more flexible multi-classing system, sub-races, feats and skills – including dialogue skills such as Intimidate and Bluff.
Given the development schedule this seems more foolish than ambitious, but the change was well implemented and gameplay remains just as smooth and intuitive as the previous iterations.
The story begins in the harbour of Targos, one of the Ten Towns of Icewind Dale, as your party joins in the defence of the town against a siege by goblins. From there, the adventurers will set out on a quest to defeat the Legion of the Chimera, and restore peace to the Dale, finding that the shadows of the past rest uneasily in these harsh lands.
The detailed artwork of the game is brought to life and enhanced by an evocative Inon Zur soundtrack, which at points matches Jeremy Soules's masterful work on the original, and the atmosphere of the game at points also matches its prequel.
Icewind Dale II is a flawed game of highs and lows. The siege of Targos is definitely the former, but there is a tiresome grind through the middle levels of this game, which might be explained as padding put there to assure longevity of play time. This remains, however, a fitting goodbye to the Infinity Engine.
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1 译者注：即 Black Isle Studios 的母公司。由于亏损严重，Interplay 于 2003 年遣散了当时还在制作《辐射 3》的 Black Isle Studios，最终于2005 年 1 月宣告破产。
2 译者注：原文 Jeremy Soules 疑似笔误，作曲人应为Jeremy Soule。
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