The Temple of Elemental Evil

"A let down, but it has its moments."

The Temple of Elemental Evil is a strategy/RPG based on the popular pen and paper module of the same name. Going into it, I didn't know what to expect. Is it like Baldur's Gate? Is it like Diablo? When I finally got into it and started playing, I was positively baffled. After sifting through the manual (which is well written) for hours on end (it was Christmas vacation, so I had the time), I finally got the gist of it. And you know what? I was disappointed.

Graphics: 8/10

The game might not look like much at first glance, but look a little closer and you'll notice that all of the monsters and characters are 3-D; and they look great. The still backgrounds look good for what they are, but it's clear that this technique's appeal isn't as strong as it was a few years ago. Spell effects range from ''That was weak...'' to ''That was awesome!'', while most usually get a ''That was alright.'' All in all, this is probably the game's strongest point.

Sound: 5/10

Weak, indeed. The sound in this game leaves much to be desired. For one thing, the voices you have to choose from when creating your character don't have much to them. Not only is the voice acting really bad, but the voice sets themselves don't have a whole lot of personality. NPC dialogue fares just as bad, if not worse. Sound effects, such as swords slashing through monsters and magic missiles whipping through the air, are well done for the most part.

The music in this game is alright... And by that, I mean the one music track that plays during every battle is alright. Every time you enter combat, you're going to hear the same ''Duh duh duh duh, duh duh duh duh, DUH DUH!''. Yeah, it has some ''umph'' the first ten times, but after that, it becomes repetitive. Suffice to say, the sound in this game's a little lame.

Control/Interface: 6/10

Once again, a little weak. The interface in this game just feels really clunky. The portraits of every character line the top of the screen during combat, which gives it a sort of generic look. Menu screens are organized in a less than admirable fashion. Worst of all is the ''Command Ring''. When you right-click, it brings up a ring around the selected character showing a number of tabs which represent different actions. Most of these tabs branch out into other rings. It gets annoying when, every time you want to cast a spell, you have to sift through a bunch of little tabs. In the thick of battle, when the mouse pointer moves along at a rather jerky pace, it can become a chore.

Gameplay: 7/10

Gameplay in TOEE is turn-based; if you're a fan of Baldur's Gate, this will take some getting used to. While moving around in a friendly environment, it's pretty straight-forward. You select who you want to move, you click where you want to move them. During combat, things get a little complicated. The turn order is set as soon as the fight begins, so you have to think your actions through carefully. Your level 2 wizard might be surrounded by 3 ogres, but there's not a damn thing you're gonna do about it until his next turn.

One thing about this game that's unique is that it uses 3.5 Ed. D&D rules. This might not make a big difference to your average PC gamer, but to someone who understand D&D, it can make a world of difference. Everything from attacks of opportunity to trip attacks; it's all here.

This is a very combat driven game. There will rarely be an instance when you're not in combat(actually, come to think of it, there are a lot of side-quests to do, but most of them are your traditional, ''Get this, bring it to me'' affair. Lame.). If you don't like strategic RPG-style combat, then this certainly isn't the game for you.

At the beginning of the game, you have to create a party, either by making all of the characters from scratch, choosing all the characters from a set of pre-mades party members, or by doing a combination of the two. Should you decide to make a character, you'll have to choose their race, gender, class, stats, height, proficiencies, skills, and anything else that might apply. Then you pick a portrait (and there aren't a lot to choose from), a sound set (which I've already been through), a hair style, and you're off.

Throughout the game, you can pick up NPC's to join your party. If you're thinking ''Baldur's Gate'', well... stop. Not only are the NPC's in this game dull and uninteresting, but every time you open a chest or go to loot a corpse, they take a share of the loot. This can become particularly annoying when they get the one good thing out of something, and the only way YOU can get it is by killing them. I did that a lot...

Story: 4/10

Story? Well, there's this town. And there are some bandits. You go and clear out the bandits. Then you hear about this big nasty temple where some monsters are sealed. And you decide to go to this temple and smack around said monsters.

In short, the story sucks.

Replay/Lifespan: 6/10

It's not the kind of game you play over and over, but you might go back to it after a while.

Closing Comments: TOEE is an average game, overall. Nothing really stand out as being excellent or truly noteworthy. If you like this sort of game, you'll probably get some enjoyment out of it... Just don't go into it expecting the Game of the Year.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 01/22/04