Keeping with the tradition of releasing excellent role playing games then following them up with an expansion pack is the add-on to Icewind Dale. Heart of Winter takes you back to the Spine of the World where your party may now access part of the story previously inaccessible. Not only does the expansion include new content, the entire game has been improved. It's as if many of the improvements from Baldur's Gate II have been moved into Icewind Dale.
Sounds are excellent, from the extremely competent voice acting to the sweeping musical score.
The key characters and conversations that are recorded are very well done, and the overall game sound is excellent. Unlike some expansions, which add content here and there, the focus here is on a single area of the story. Once you accept Hjollder's offer, you're taken into the meat of Heart of Winter's content. Nicely enough, the expansion may also be optionally played without going into the rest of the game again. It is recommended that you play through this new content with a 9th level or higher party, and characters may be imported from the original game.