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Save your MONEY!

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 8 / 10
Date: December 31, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This game is far from complete, in fact, I'm completely disguested that any company would even try to pass this as a "complete" product.

There is a good level of innovation taking form here. I do really apreciate the "combat mode" (with a few minor annoyances). As for everything surrounding that, it lacks. The role playing story provides only maybe a few hours/days of gameplay. Maybe I'm spoiled with Baldur's Gate and Final Fantasy games where it seems the gameplay never is going to end, but I certainly never expect to play through to the end on a long holiday weekend.

My opinion, I'm torqued I spend $40+ on this "product". In terms of value, I would only say I got $10-$15 worth of enjoyment out of it. It's defective, has certain elements that cumbersome in the interface, poor literature, poor item descriptions, conversations with NPC seem problematic (so pay attention the first time you chat with someone, you might not get to ask again), character portraits stink (try finding one in the list that fits even a blond, female cleric), can't import/export characters/portraits for re-play, path AI for moving, searching bodies that have stacked on eachother (good luck), quickly switching weapons in non-combat mode (can you say open inventory, click a tab, and close inventory, put the tabs on the portrait instead so I don't have two extra steps), and just not enough play "space"/adventure. I have more, but I'm limited to 1,000 words.

Atari, if your reading, try again. Use your validation teams and don't rush software developement! You guys missed alot. I (as a software developer) cringe at the easy to identify items (even developers should have spotted them). You destroyed what could have been an awesome RPG and did not do the Temple of Elemental Evil (D&D book) justice. Hang your heads low.

Next round, I would think the perfect RPG would have the interface of Baldur's Gate (or ToEE minus of the defects and poor design in hot keys, lack of item description, poor feat documentation, etc., so yeah, Baldur's Gate), the combat mode of Temple of Evil (with improvements and fixes), and the modular quest modules like Neverwinter Nights (but don't overdue it with a combersome 3-D engine) for unlimited expansion. Some of us actually want to quest and develope characters, not just go down 4 levels of a temple and game over.

In short, buyer beware. Don't spend your dollars and say that this quality of product is okay for consumption.

Temple of Elemental Evil

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 40 / 99
Date: May 21, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Troika, a group of RPG veterans who have worked on such great games as Fallout, and Arcanum, are about to release a game we have all dreamed about.

Working with WOTC, and even Gary Gygax himself, Troika is recreating the Temple of Elemental Evil so that it will be the first 3.5 edition Dungeons and Dragons computer role playing game.

Total faith to the 3.5 rules, and total faith to Gary Gygax's classic module is what Troika is making in their development house. Expect classic turn based RPG action, in a module that will delight both old and new fans of CRPG's.

This game is not out yet, nor is any demo, but with Troika at the helm, expect this game to be handled well. These guys know how to make a good RPG, and with the Temple of Elemental Evil as source material, it is hard to go wrong.

Troika + Gygax + D&D = RPG hit

Full of Bugs

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: September 25, 2003
Author: Amazon User

The game looks good and has a very nice user interface system for issuing commands to characters. BUT THE PROGRAM IS FULL OF BUGS AND SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN RELEASED IN THIS CONDITION. Don't buy this game until they do something about the bugs.

- monsters spawn where you can't reach them and you can't exit that part of the dungeon while there are active monsters. You have to exit the game to actually leave the dungeon and if you saved while trapped ... then you'll have to start over again. Very frustrating.

- Ironman mode menu system doesn't work

If this game weren't good, it would get a *ZERO* for bugs.

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: September 29, 2003
Author: Amazon User

First off: DO NOT BUY THIS GAME UNTIL A PATCH IS RELEASED. It is nearly unplayable in its current form due to an absolutely insane number of bugs. Check out the forum at www.greyhawkgame.com for a taste. I'm pretty unhappy with Troika and Atari for letting this thing out the door.

Anyway, the game itself is more in line with actual AD&D rules than any title I've played recently. I'd compare it more with the old 'gold box' series than Neverwinter Nights. Which is very good. The graphics are great, and I like the return to turn based gameplay. Unfortuneately, I cannot write an in depth review due to the ever-present drop to desktop bug. Had this game shipped without so many bugs, I'd have given it 4, maybe even 5 stars.

If Only It Worked, Sigh...Wait for the Official Patch

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: October 14, 2003
Author: Amazon User

The other reviews have covered the situation well.

This title has so much potential. The combat system, turn-based, an implementation of D & D rules are a great starting point. The problems, however, far outweigh any joy derived from playing.

Most problematic is the fact that game does not work. Many have experienced the game crashing to desktop, locking up, or freezing for over ten minutes (yes, some have apparently waited). After many reloads, my journey through the temple finally became unplayable. No matter what I do, the game crashes.

There are numerous bugs, in the rules. In other words, the 3.5 rules did not make it into the game correctly, even differing from how they are described in the comprehensive manual.

A patch is on its way. Nevertheless, I would definitely suggest waiting for it and reading the forums at Atari before buying TOEE, to make sure it works. Otherwise, and most unfortunately, it is not worth the investment

A Most Dreadful Encounter - the Game That Is.

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 7 / 9
Date: December 01, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This is a truly dreadful game. It is buggy, slow and annoying. It has nice graphics but plays worse than a beta version. There are hardly any magic or treasure items to find, there are more empty chests and barrels than there were ones with items in them. You only go to level 10, you basically have to travel back to an Inn to rest as you restore hit points on 1 in 6 or 7 rest cycles. and the list goes on and on. There are only two D&D games that I have not even bothered to finish, Temple and the other Troika game Arcanum. There are some good concepts but overall you spend more time traveling than gaming or adventuring. After playing this game and then uploading the new Neverwinter Nights modules...I was in heaven. Dont get this game...

This would be 5 stars, but for the bugs

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: October 03, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This game has enormous, but as yet unrealized, potential.

I spent a great deal of time 20 years ago playing the original D&D. Although the rules have changed somewhat, this game is easily the closest to that pen and paper experience any game has come. I particularly like the fact that parties have different starting points and motives based on party alignment, and that different dialog options are available based on skill level in interpersonal relations. This gives the game a role-playing feel that is unsual for a CPRG. Combat is immensely enjoyable. Although the interface is a little difficult to learn, once mastered it makes game play truly enjoyable.

Now for the gripes: I am not at all amused that Atari took my $50 to be an involuntary beta tester. This game should not have been released in its current form. Although the game has not proven to be literally unplayable for me, some of the bugs completely disable certain features of the game. Many others are so obvious that it is quite apparent that either (1) no one bothered to quality check the game, which seems hard to believe; or (2) no one had any compunction against releasing an unfinished product to the market, which seems more likely. I do not expect perfection; every CPRG I've ever bought had some bugs that needed to be patched. This one, though, is astonishing in the frequency and severity of problems. For this, I blame Atari, not Troika.

That being said, I hope to see a patch (very, very soon) and hope to see a sequel. I'll be playing this for a while, I suspect.

Inexcusable

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: February 16, 2004
Author: Amazon User

The BG games, IWD games, and NWN games were all wonderful near flawless D&D games. I enjoyed each one tremendously but they were all made by the same company.

Then came Pool of Radiance, a D&D game by Ubi Soft, and it was a bug filled unplayable pos.

And latest is Temple of Evil by Troika and Atari... buggy and almost unplayable like PoR.

Didnt they learn anything?
This games price has already dropped 1/3 and its very new. It will be a bargain binner like PoR in the near future.

If you want a wonderful D&D experience then buy the Baldurs Gate, Icewind, or Neverwinter Nights series. STAY AWAY from Pools of Radiance and Temple of Evil. :(

It would be good if it didn't suck in so many ways...

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 9 / 14
Date: May 14, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Ok, so I've played a LOT of games. This one, aside from ok graphics, great adherence to the rulesets, and a VERY rare moment here and there where it was enjoyable, is not worth five bucks, let alone the $40 Atari is gouging its public for. TOEE is pretty much one big bug, which has some bugs, and then had a few more bugs sprinkled on top for good measure. It crashes frequently and you spend most of your time playing the same scenario a hundred times over (if you are as big a moron as I am and don't just give up). I rarely hate games, but this one had me wanting to take the people who coded this trash and run them over with my truck...several times. The radial menu system is annoying, since you have to recenter it all the time. It expands out to fill the entire freekin screen, which means you have to move your mouse across the house every time you want to select something--what 3 year old idiot thought that was cool? Hello first year programmer. Some of the battles are fun, except that you end up playing them a zillion times over due to various errors and problems. The stupidity of having to run all over the universe seems suspiciously like a way to trick people into believing the game has more play time than it really does. When tallied up, the actual interesting portions of the game add up to a half hour (I'm being generous). The rest is purely monotonous idiocy as you run all over the continent six thousand times, and have to the same thing repeatedly due to game issues.

Overall, you would get more entertainment and have more success buying a hamster and teaching it to recite the Encyclopaedia Brittannica backward while balancing six dozen weiner dogs on its forehead. In other words, don't bother.

A great game that might have been

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 7 / 10
Date: November 27, 2003
Author: Amazon User

The Temple of Elemental Evil starts with a good opening sequence and then some impressive graphics, but savor these first few moments of elation because the gameplay is terrible.

Characters often cannot find their way around objects, even other members in your own party. In one area I sent the party to an open spot only to have members going all over the place. There were several times that I entered a home in the village and was unable to start a conversation until I moved the entire party around; possible due to movement being blocked.

The combat system takes forever to finish, although I did like the area of effect being shown before casting spells.

I found the game to be many of the Dungeons and Dragons rules without the imagination or great storylines that were the hallmarks of my D&D experience. After being given the initial "wow" of graphics and the original Temple of Elemental Evil as a backdrop I would have expected much more than this product delivered.

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