Most video games just get boring after awhile. I really don’t have a high tolerance when it comes to my attention span for them; usually I just want to sit back and blow stuff up or shoot things or hack them to bits for awhile without having to worry about dumb crap like “extra lives” or a difficulty level above super easy. Video games are supposed to be fun and entertaining, not frustrating to the point of aneurysm.

That’s why I love Icewind Dale II. It’s a computer rpg based on the 3rd edition D&D rules (quite loosely based, I should say) that pretty much rules the school. Create up to six characters from the eleven basic classes using their 4th Edition NPC Generator (not really, I’m just using that as dungeons and dragons text), and out of a ton of different races and sub-races. Slash your way through miles and miles of dangerous baddies, gain experience and gnarly new abilities and items along the way, and become either the peoples’ greatest hero or the most fearsome villain of all time. It’s a simple formula for good old-fashioned fun, and even though it’s not built on a fancy new-fangled 3d game engine, it still looks good.

At first I was getting killed and having to respawn after like every battle, but once I realized that in all reality, I have nothing to prove by playing a stupid video game, I hit that difficulty slider and suddenly I’m slicing through everything but the toughest enemies like a knife through I Can’t Believe It’s Not. Highly recommended with a 4, edging into a 4.5 on our scale of awesomeness. A great way to combat boredom and evil monsters at the same time.