Roleplaying fans looking for an adventure that is well off the beaten track will no doubt be quite impressed by the upcoming epic story of Icewind Dale, Black Isle Studios' latest trek into the world of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. This title, which is quite a departure from Black Isle's previous outings of Baldur's Gate and Planescape: Torment, covers completely new ground - frozen ground at that - but still utilizes the same well-crafted game engine.

Up to six stout and hearty souls can take part in the journey to the Forgotten Realms world of Toril, which happens to be the same setting for R.A. Salvatore's "The Icewind Dale Trilogy", a compelling AD&D tale set in the northern frozen worlds. This setting is quite different than previous games as is the flow of the adventure, the first third of which was playable in a preview from Interplay, but RPG fans should easily get into this well thought out tale. It could also be easy to say that Icewind Dale will hold over those waiting for Baldur's Gate II but that would in fact be an insult to this story, as it won't only serve to pass the time but should provide hours of RPG adventuring as well.