Temple of Elemental Evil: A Classic Greyhawk Adventure

I'm currently about half way through the game and so far I'm very pleased. Having played paper & pen D&D on and off since the 70's, most recently Living Greyhawk (3.5 Edition), this game was a welcome relief from all the real time, non-strategic games that have been released.

Combat is the core of this game, but not so much in the hack-n-slash vein, but in as much as tactics, which is also the primary focus of Third Edition D&D.

The engine captured 3.5E combat beautifully, and was most attractive too boot. I truly hope that they create several expansions to this game using the same engine and subsequent Greyhawk modules (Queen of the Demon web Pits, Beyond the Barrier Reefs, Against the Giants come to mind). Tom Decker, the game's producer, had mentioned that if sales were good enough, Troika would consider a sequel (most likely Against the Giants)-I hope that this comes about, because it would be a shame to let such an excellent combat system go to waste. They'd most likely be able to focus more on content in a sequel, so it could only be better. Unfortunately the 2D backdrop of the game precludes player base modding, but I can't fault them from staying away from tile sets, which give Neverwinter Nights such a generic feel.

One excellent aspect to the game, aside from being truly turn based (in combat), is the ability to control your entire party, as well as any NPCs that may join. This is what makes the game shine, and reminds me of what made Baulder's Gate game play memorable.

There have been a lot of reviews here about the bugs in the game. The good news is that these bugs are for the most part gone with the new patch, and the game hasn't had any problems for me, so I hope that people take this into account when the weigh whether or not to buy this game.

The graphics are god-awful. The background environment in the entire game is 2D. This game may have been on par in 1999 with the then current level of graphic complexity, but it came out at the end of 2002, when Neverwinter Nights had already been on the market for some time. NWN graphics were and are far superior. In fact, Baldur's Gate II graphics are/were far superior. I dare say I believe BG ONE had better graphics.

Buggy? This game put a whole new meaning to the term "buggy". It crashes. And it crashes. And it crashes some more. Despite the garbage gui, it still slows to a grinding halt even on my up-to-date pc. Even with the patch I have yet to be able to complete this game.

Support? You won't get any from the producers of this crap-fest. In the words of the head honcho, "...I like to put the [completed games] behind me and move on to the next project..." I've been keeping track. A second patch, which is supposed to fix the problems the first patch either missed, or created anew, has been promised for over a year. Release dates are promised, then the developers just disappear for a time. No, I don't ever suspect I'll ever be ableto finish this game.

Linear. Probably the most linear RPG created in the past 6 years. You get no opportunity to explore the world...mainly because it doesn't exist. Despite the games strict adherance to the D&D 3.5 rules, it doesn't even give you remotely the same experience as TOEE gave when played on PnP. The side quests are a joke. They are the worst example of fedex I can think of. "Go tell him I said OK I'll wait here." "He said OK." "Tell him I said I like OK, I'll wait here." "He said he likes OK." "Good. Tell him to come here. I'll wait here" etc, etc, etc. This is just an example of the hours upon hours of useless "missions" you'll perform. And you have to perform them as they unlock certain key mission areas. So in a sense, they aren't side quests at all. You are STUCK doing them in the exact fashion and order.....linear. No, you cannot wander off into the woods to explore.

If you like D&D...buy the 3.5 rule books and go play the old fashion way. You'll have a much better time. If you want a D&D based game for your pc, go get Neverwinter Nights and both expansions. Besides, theres thousands of mods out there to keep it interesting for years. NWN has the potential to stay around for as long as Elder Scrolls has.