The Temple of Elemental Evil – PC – Review

The elven princess, Countess Tillahi and Sir Juffer have
disappeared and the thought is that they have been kidnapped. Hurriedly a meeting
is called and being a willing servant of the realm, you are asked to help locate
the missing nobility.

You are dispatched to Hommlet to seek out an elf-friend and
ascertain information that may or may not aid in the search. Hommlet? Hmm, that
name rings a bell …

Ah yes, not far from Hommlet is the town of Nulb and outside of
Nulb, stepped in legend is a temple that was razed many, many years ago. The
temple was home to a cult which worshiped a demoness and delved into the base
elements of evil. The cult had grown in power, and had taken over the
neighboring lands, ruling with a ruthlessness based in fear and tyranny. The
remaining armies of the land rose up and threw down the cult, destroying the
temple.

The land was at peace for a long time. Rumors, though, abound of
new activity near the temple. Dire creatures are roaming the land and wickedness
seems to be on the rise.

Surely the disappearance of the elven nobility cannot be
connected to that, can it?

Oh well, put those thoughts aside. They are of little concern.
Your task is to take your party to Hommlet, to seek out the contact and ask what
he knows.

The Temple of Elemental Evil: A Classic Greyhawk Adventure, is a
release from Atari, Wizards of the Coast and Troika Games. It is the first PC
game to be based on the classic Greyhawk module of Dungeons & Dragons and the
first to use the D&D 3.5 ruleset.

The game has several amazing factors and while it has been
filled with side quest, the main theme promises challenge and high adventure.
The game plays out in a manner reminiscent of almost every D&D role-playing game
you have seen, including Baldur’s Gate and Icewind Dale.

The basic idea is to create a party, move it through the land,
talk with NPCs (non-playing characters), get clues and eventually take on a
variety of evil. You will need to level your characters throughout the game. You
simply cannot skip to the end-game and expect to triumph. This is a slow and
involving process.

You can create a party of up to five adventures, which may all
be pre-selected at the start, or you can hire NPCs to accompany you along the
way. If you choose the latter, you will be expected to pay them through spoils
gathered in the adventure. Further, they are true to their characters and their
actions can alter the way your party is perceived. In total, you can create a
party of five adventures and hire up to three NPCs.

Like all D&D-based games, you are expected to find an alignment
for your central character and party. The alignment is broken down into good,
neutral and evil, and you can go from lawful to chaotic within those categories.
A nice touch is that if, while forming your party, you choose chaotic good, the
only members you can add to your party must also be chaotic good.

Pulling together formations is also down a little differently.
Rather than give players a stock set of formations, ToEE pulls up an interface
with a board that allows you to position characters precisely as you wish. If
you desire, you can go with a true 2-1-2 formation of melee, mage and ranged.
However, as the mobs will move, your less-armored characters, while to the rear
of the formation, would be out of harm’s way.

Combat is based on initiative and is turn-based. The higher the
initiative is will determine who strikes first. There is an action bar which
determines how much time you have to perform certain actions. Each action costs
a certain amount of time and to try something that consumes too much time may
delay your actual combat and cost you a fight.

Another nice touch is the game has multiple starting points and
there is no set ending. You can pursue whatever course you wish, and the game’s
outcome evolves from decisions you make along the way. This, of course, really
adds to the replayability factor. Some of the found loot, such as keys, are
communal property and all characters have access to them. If you lose an
adventurer along the way, you don’t have to worry about losing valuable assets
such as keys.

Other features of the game include dozens of skills and class
abilities, more than 50 feats, and a book full of spells, and more than 100
different monsters to battle. There are two difficulty levels – normal and
ironman.

Graphically, ToEE is a solid game, but does not stand above the
rest in the genre. It tends to favor an Icewind Dale look as opposed to the
style of a Neverwinter Nights. The environments are richly textured and lush,
and the animation is a little stilted, but the real focus is on depth of
gameplay and to that end, the graphical elements serve the game well.

The sound is solid, but not above what is typical of the genre.

ToEE does a great job in the control elements. This is a complex
game and yet the controls are rather simple to use. Those familiar with this
style of game will have little trouble launching into the title.

Temple of Elemental Evil is a little typical in terms of
graphics and sound, but what this game does bring to the fore is depth of
gameplay. It is immersive, and challenging. The open-ended game allows for
immense replayability and you can truly make this game your own.

This game is rated Teen for blood, use of alcohol and violence.

Gameplay: 9
This game has depth. The open-ended nature is intriguing and decisions made
along the way evolves and customizes the gaming experience.

Graphics: 8
While looking lush and solid, this is typical of the genre. The special effects
are well done.

Sound: 7.5
Again, not much new here. The musical score is good, and the vocal
characterizations are solid, but this is not something unique to the genre.

Difficulty: Hard
This is a very challenging game, full of quest and battles and you must consider
so much when leveling your characters. Hard may be a bit misleading, but prepare
for a strong challenge when tackling this game.

Concept: 8.5
The plot is a nice twist on old themes, and with multiple starting points and
outcomes, this is a title that is certain to draw gamers back time and again.

Overall: 8.4
In many ways, Temple of Elemental Evil is typical of the look and style of the
genre. In many other ways, this game has a unique quality that insures
replayability and many different outcomes. This is a game that those who are
serious about D&D-based RPGs should have in their library.