Backdrop

The Temple of Elemental Evil: A Classic Greyhawk Adventure (ToEE) brings to role-playing gamers the computer version of a classic, popular paper and pen Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) module released many years ago. ToEE contains a barebones story, minimal world map exploration and some appealing side quests, all of which fade into the background, compared to the real meat and potatoes of the game -- a traditional dungeon crawl in confined areas, featuring genuine turn-based D&D combat, faithful to the most infinitesimal detail to the new D&D 3.5 Edition conventions. Though my D&D experience is limited to playing RPG’s on PC’s and consoles, I found the learning curve fairly accessible, including a helpful tutorial that simulates and teaches many of the game’s basic actions.

Original Release Bugs

Unfortunately, reliable online traffic and admissions by the developers, confirm the existence of a lengthy bug list, relating seemingly to every aspect of the game, even performance. Because of this, I did not purchase the game until the first patch was released recently. Though bugs still remain, the game seemed to be stable, and, as I conclude below, ToEE, patched, is quite gripping, enjoyable, and well worth playing.

Gameplay

Character creation is typically convoluted for an RPG and essentially requires boning up on the D&D rules. The almost-200-page manual does a first-rate job giving the character creator all the information necessary to generate the 5 characters with which to start the adventure. (Up to 3 NPC’s can join the party at any one time. Many are readily available, but some exact quite a stiff price for their services, so beware!) For those of you whose eyes glaze over at the thought of this painstaking process, pregenerated characters are provided for selection, and generally cover all races and classes that should make up a beginning party. Alignment in D&D, and thus ToEE, is extremely important, and governs what characters may travel in a party with others.

The ToEE plot starts differently, depending on the alignment of your characters, though once the initial story begins, the player’s party is inevitably sent to Hommlet, a sizeable town containing lots of interesting characters, many with side quests. (Regrettably, other than NPC’s, there’s almost nothing with which to interact in the town.) The party then completes the initial quest. All quests are conveniently displayed and earmarked as complete or not in a handy log. Once Hommlet is explored, and, if the player wishes, some side quests done, inevitably the player must travel outside the town to the moathouse. Travel around the world is very easy with ToEE’s World Map option. The click of a mouse sends you to any known destination, along a dotted path of travel. (Monster encounters can interrupt this auto-travel, but generally this travel mode is safe.)

Other than another town, much smaller than Hommlet, and some explorable locales, most of the game involves traipsing through the ToEE namesake, the infamous temple. (Obviously, widespread and free-wheeling exploration, a feature of most RPG’s, is nowhere to be found in ToEE.) That complex is fairly large, with natural area subdivisions, and the appropriate creepy atmosphere.

The point of view offered is third person from high above the party and the action, similar to the look and feel Bioware’s venerable Infinity Engine, used in the Baldur’s Gate and Icewindale series. The graphics shine in the game’s environments, with lots of atmospheric effects like rushing water, tree rustling, flying moths, and the spells effects, particularly my favorite RPG spell ever, Magic Missile, come through.

Typically D&D leveling accompanies experience point gains during the course of the adventure. Characters, even those achieving multiclass status, max out at Level 10. That should not be a deterrent to developing powerful and versatile characters, as a multitude of feats, skills, spells, and class abilities become available as they rise in level.

Combat

Stimulating and tactical combat is truly the heart of the game. (Real-time enthusiasts need not apply here.) Once combat is initiated, everything onscreen halts instantly, giving the player as much time as needed to prepare a particular party member for movement and attack. A turn list showing all party members and monsters is readily displayed at the top of the combat screen. Positioning the mouse over a party member or adversary displays helpful status and combat-damage information. A simple right click of the mouse brings up a very detailed radial menu. Passing the mouse over any option, like magic, attack, inventory, brings up another menu of possible alternatives for the party member’s turn. A useful move meter shows how much of your character’s time has been taken by an intended action, so the player can decide if the planned action is feasible.

All the D&D 3.5 combat options are available to the player, though you could play the game without getting into all the presented complexity by simply selecting simple attack, defend, spell casting, and item usage commands. For the player who wants to have the true D&D experience, you can make reasoned decisions like whether to launch a full attack, fight defensively, ready a spell again another spell, feint, and plenty of other interesting choices. And, the object of all this anger is the ubiquitous, over 100, D&D monster adversaries.

Bottom Line

As patched only, I advocate ToEE for its faithful recreation of a terrific game. The dungeon crawling combat was absorbing and extremely agreeable. There are plenty of side quests to prolong game length and add to the RPG experience. Finally, though what weight the following has is problematic, Time Magazine recently rated ToEE the 6th best game of 2003

Final Grade
-Buggy Original Release: No Rating
-Patched Release: 85%

System Requirements

• Windows 98/ME/2000/XP
• Pentium III 700 MHz
• 128 MB RAM
• 1.1 GB free hard disk space
• 4x CD-ROM
• 16MB DirectX 9.0 compatible 3D video card
• DirectX 9.0 compatible sound card
• DirectX version 9.0 (included)