Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

40 to 100 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Broken"

Temple of Elemental Evil deserves two votes here from me (as it is often the case for extremely bugged productions): 4 is my vote to the final product that came out on the stores. Too many gamebreakings bugs plagued ToEE, making it simply unplayable. But then the never forgotten Troika developers released a series of patches that helped quite much to make the experience more enjoyable.

The real big contribution though comes from the Co8's fan made patch 5.0.5 (current version but being still updated) that solve numerous bugs and improve the game's playability in many senses. With this patch on, the games jumps from an insufficient score to a full 7. Let's comment on what does not work (anyway) despite fixes and tweaks: the voice acting is often at amateur level, the 2D background artwork is sometimes excellent (mostly indoor scenarios) while others is subpar (mostly outdoor areas). The sound effects are okay and the music is rather uninspired. Excellent, like I said in the deck, the D&D 3.0 rules implementation with special mention for time-based fights. I would classify the encounters in ToEE like the most interesting and rewarding I have ever played in a RPG. The presentation of the game itself is also extremely good with a deep and highly customizable player creation. The 3D graphic is also good and it's a pleasure to see your party "sneak". What makes the game stand out is also an extremely good characterization. You will end up remembering what enemies you fought against. Save random encounters (boring as they can ever be) and usual, impersonal horde of enemies in mass fights, there are names and fights you will not forget: they will seamlessly blend through the game and will make you think that you are living some real experience. And this, for a RPG, is the greatest success.

It's sad that Troika didn't have the time and the chance to finalize their game because I am sure that with more resources (to go to the sound and, in a minor way, to the graphic department), this game could have become an unforgettable experience. It will certainly be such for those who try playing it without patches (both official and unofficial) but more in the sense of a nightmare. My final score is still 7 because there are out there the means to make the game climb the ranks so I believe it's just fair to review the product in its best possible version. It's "broken"... but it can be fixed.