IWD (the first one) had a much rougher look to it than BG or BG2. This was partly to give a "wilderness" feel to the game. You'll also notice that the character portraits are darker with fewer clean lines and more shadows. Both games also have a much different look than Planescape: Torment, which also uses the Infinity Engine.
Another problem with IWD and IWD2 is that a fair amount of that action takes place outdoors in the snow, so those scenes have a burnt-out white look to them. It's not your graphics card or your computer; the game is intentionally designed to have a different look and feel than BG2, even though it uses the same engine.
Jesus saves! And takes half damage!
If brute force doesn't work, you're not using enough.
