The Temple of Elemental Evil

"Classic Greyhawk module gets remade 3.5 style"

In the theory of the infinity engine, Troika released the classic greyhawk module to the pc in 2003. Though I have never played the original module, its been said its the closest translation into a computer roleplaying game possible. The rules are completely 3.5 dungeons and dragons.

Story: The game doesn't feature a lot of story. Other than in the start, its pretty much a hack and slash in the dungeon game. There are only two towns, both of which are limited in detailed npc. The first story segment is generally just to give you a reason to be in the dungeon, and its pretty forgettable once the battles start. I wish it had more atmosphere and story, but it doesn't really take away from the core game much. You main goal is simply to explore a large temple.

Graphics: The character models are nice and go well with 2d backgrounds. If you've played Baldurs gate, you'll have an idea of what to expect. The animations are more fluid, especially with the monster design. The spell animation are top-notch. The style is similar enough to most infinity engine games, if not better, so its something easy on the eye and familiar.

Sound: The music is disappointing. You have your standard in the village whimsical flute, fast paced chamber music for battles, and multiple generic classical tunes suited to give your ears a bit of nostalgia. I enjoyed a couple of stand out tracks(one which sounded like organic techno), but overall I can't say I would own this soundtrack. The regular sound effect fair better. In battle your characters chat, grunt, yell, ect...All of which is good and varies enough to keep from getting mundane. Voice acting is horrid, they should have just left it silent. The game doesn't have enough text for the voice overs to become annoying, thankfully.

Gameplay: The best part, and the bulk of the game, is the battle system. 3.5 rules fully applied. Gone are the fast paced realtime battle of recent crpgs, in comes a tactical system to set standards. You control 5 pc characters in turnbased battle. The menu system and interface is grid based similar, but improved, to neverwinters nights. During battle, your characters have option to full attacks, trip attacks, feints, flanks, withdraw, defense against spells, and many more. All of this plays out with initiative, placing all characters and monsters in a certain order to act. There are tons of options, keeping the battles from ever becoming canon fodder for your heroes. Speaking of which, the game is hard. It will keep you on your toes. No more click-fest. It will be to much for the weak, a welcome challenge for the gamers looking to have their skills tested.

Everything about the game seems to be designed for old-school gamers in mind. This is for the true d&d players. The battle system rocks. Since it is based on an existing module, your max level is only 10. Also, the game is rather short. You only have two dungeons to explore, and two towns. Though, the temple itself is BIG. Finally, the original version of this game has its share of bugs. This shouldn't be an issue once patching is done, otherwise its not gamebreaking, but frustrating.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 09/27/03