Underrated brother to Baldur's Gate.
I was really pleasantly surprised by how good Icewind Dale was. I was a huge Baldur's Gate I and II fan, but left IWD sitting on my shelf for years b/c I had assumed it was nothing but a hack 'n' slash version of my beloved BG. So after finally finishing the game, I wish I would have played through this fantastic Infinity Engine RPG much sooner than I did.
In some ways, Icewind Dale is even better than Baldur's Gate in that the scale of the battles is more challenging than what you're used to and a few of the boss fights actually do throw some wrinkles at you, simplistic though they may be. And for pure power gamers, IWD is a lot more customizable than BGII, where you were basically stuck with the developer's NPCs in your party. While those characters made for hilarious banter, they left a bit lacking when it comes to overall party power. Here, the scope of the party is completely under your control, and if you enjoy trying to sculpt the perfect party, this gives you so much more freedom than BGII.
I was also surprised by how good the dialogue and plot was in this game. There's some genuinely funny script options and the storyline takes you all over the Spine of the World in a fairly engaging flow.
Overall, I felt Icewind Dale was just as good as my experience in Baldur's Gate, but just a little bit ... different ... in its own way. Definitely a fantastic blast from the past to finallly finish.