Rating: 
Summary: Do not purchase - Unfinished product
Review: Atari (publisher) and Troikka (developer) have done a great disservice to the consumer public by releasing this game. After purchase, I attempted install on 3 separate systems that met the recommended specs and was never able to get the game to even start. I immediately returned the game the next morning. After a heated "discussion" I was refunded my money. I am not willing to spend valuable time attempting to diagnose a product. I don't do that with a car or television...I am not doing that with a game.Atari has taken the stance that they will not refund money for the game and has specifically stated that you must fight your retailer to return the game. The Internet was not made as an excuse for computer companies to release unfinished product. Producing a patch available at a later date over the web to repair an obviously flawed product does not redeem the company. This product should never have been brought to market in this state.
Rating: 
Summary: What a F#@%ing Shame!
Review: What a disappointment! After a solid week of playing this game, watching the screen freeze up as the map scrolls (and by the way, I have a very nice system...Athlon 2400, a 128 MB NVidia Card and 800 Megs of RAM, so it can't be my system...oh, and ZERO spyware to slow my sys down), dealing with the spells which last hours on end, dealing with the paralyze spell for my undead minions that never went away, and finally, and heartbreakingly, not being able to level up my Ranger to 10th Lvl because of a glitch in the level up process, I am sad and heartbroken to say that this game was a pretty serious letdown. I played the demo and was hooked...then...then I bought the game... However, the concept behind the game is great. In fact, if they would fix the damn bugs, it would be a great game! The world map is a little amatuerish and linear, but the dungeon is well rendered, the spells are gorgeous, and the character development is the best ever. The weapons system is great, combat flows well, and overall, its a wonderful game. Its just a sad fact of life that Atari sux, and I for one will never forgive them this. I've pretty much stuck with Microsoft (Freelancer) and EB Games (Battlefield 1942) and think I'll go back to them. If you're jonesin' to play the old Greyhawk thing again like I was (I played it on paper 20 years ago...I think it was more fun then...), then try it out, but buy it on Ebay or from EB Games or Game Spot or somewhere where you won't have to pay full retail for it. You can buy my copy...its going up on Ebay tomorrow... A very disappointed Jimmy The Chu...shame on you Atari!
Rating: 
Summary: Awesome Game
Review: This game is by far the best D&D simulation of all time. I truly loved the old gold box games - for their time they were brilliant an a lot of fun - but this game is really as close to the real thing as I hoped. I also enjoyed the Baldur's Gate games and Neverwinter Nights, though I found Torment to be a lot less like D&D and more like its own game. ToEE is, without a doubt, the best of the bunch. I always dislike the limited number of conversation options available for computer "RPGs", but that's my main gripe. The combat system is organized and easy to manipulate. It's all turn based - just like the real thing. There's no lame click-click-click combat which requires no strategy or thinking. This is NOT your mindless Diablo-type game. The AI is remarkable in that certain monsters will focus totally on the spellcasters and try to kill them, while other, dumber monsters just go for whoever is closest. I remember playing the original ToEE and a few of the encounters and running into the characters from the module was a real kick. I didn't remember enough to spoil the game though and there are enough differences so that everything is new and fresh. As far as bugs go, I have encountered some, like monsters in walls and one crash to desktop, but nothing major. An up-to-date computer is recommended, as one of my friends with an older system has had more issues than I have. I agree that Atari/Troika should have refined the game and cleared up the problems prior to release, but even with the bugs it's the best game I have played in years. Now... How about making the sequel for levels 10 and up using the Against the Giants series? I'm in!
Rating:
Summary: BUGS, BUGS AND A GREAT D&D GAME!!!
Review: If you like D&D on the PC you will love this, If you play "pen and paper" this is probably the best entry into PC D&D gaming. The engine is great and spellcasting could not be easier or more rewarding. The bugs are real bad:
1) Patch the game before using.
2) If you know little about computers or get easially frusterated look into neverwinter. But patch that one too.
Rating:
Summary: Closest thing to Paper&Pen D&D yet
Review: I'm among those who purchased Temple of Elemental Evil when it first came out. I didn't notice any serious bugs off the bat, but I waited to fully play it (as I had other things to entertain me) until the patch was released. I'm currently about half way through the game and so far I'm very pleased. Having played paper & pen D&D on and off since the 70's, most recently Living Greyhawk (3.5 Edition), this game was a welcome relief from all the real time, non-strategic games that have been released. Combat is the core of this game, but not so much in the hack-n-slash vein, but in as much as tactics, which is also the primary focus of Third Edition D&D. The engine captured 3.5E combat beautifully, and was most attractive too boot. I truly hope that they create several expansions to this game using the same engine and subsequent Greyhawk modules (Queen of the Demon web Pits, Beyond the Barrier Reefs, Against the Giants come to mind). Tom Decker, the game's producer, had mentioned that if sales were good enough, Troika would consider a sequel (most likely Against the Giants)-I hope that this comes about, because it would be a shame to let such an excellent combat system go to waste. They'd most likely be able to focus more on content in a sequel, so it could only be better. Unfortunately the 2D backdrop of the game precludes player base modding, but I can't fault them from staying away from tile sets, which give Neverwinter Nights such a generic feel. One excellent aspect to the game, aside from being truly turn based (in combat), is the ability to control your entire party, as well as any NPCs that may join. This is what makes the game shine, and reminds me of what made Baulder's Gate game play memorable. There have been a lot of reviews here about the bugs in the game. The good news is that these bugs are for the most part gone with the new patch, and the game hasn't had any problems for me, so I hope that people take this into account when the weigh whether or not to buy this game.
Rating:
Summary: Game unfinished
Review: I disagree with the other reviewer who thinks that everybody's computers are bad except for his. The bugs in this game are all in the gameplay...spells that last forever, spells that don't work, broken quests,and too many story glitches to count. Most damaging; the main battles (including the final one) in the game is broken if you approach it in a certain way. If you go on the Atari's bulletin board, the comprehensive bug list posting is over 30 pages long and growing by the day. They are supposed to release a patch, but my patience has worn out. I have taken the game off my computer and wil never play it again. Nor will I be buying another game by Atari or Troika.
Rating:
Summary: Bug Filled - Game Won't Start
Review: Bought this game and returned it the next day. What kind of game doesn't start after you install it? I have a new system and have never had this problem with any other game. Save yourself some grief and buy something else.
Rating:
Summary: BUGS, BUGS AND A GREAT D&D GAME!!!
Review: If you like D&D on the PC you will love this, If you play "pen and paper" this is probably the best entry into PC D&D gaming. The engine is great and spellcasting could not be easier or more rewarding. The bugs are real bad:
1) Patch the game before using.
2) If you know little about computers or get easially frusterated look into neverwinter. But patch that one too.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Game, if a little buggy
Review: Check it out. A PC D&D game that isn't set in the Forgotten Realms. And its good. And it uses the current 3.5 edition rules. And its good. Seriously, this is a good game, which fun character development and an interesting setting. The most interesting thing the desingers implemented was the Party Alignment idea--- you choose your party's alignment and it determines which opening vignette (quest/assignment) you receieve. Basically, every alignment has its own interesting story that sets up the game. The only problem with this is that it is a symptom of the game's main problem: there isn't really much of a plot. Oh there's the your traditional RPG story, with a Big Bad Coming Back to Try and Conquer the World Again, and it works, but still... The gameplay is turn based, so if you prefer a fast-paced hack and slash, this might not be for you. It makes for a cool action RPG, in a very true to D and D turnbased style. The other cool thing is that you can design your whole party (up to five people), allowing you to come up with good combinations to support your team members. (There's also an interesting glitch that lets you have all your abilities start out at 18... but I digress.) You can only reach 10th level in this game. This is the ultimate weakenss in Temple. It really prevents you from experimenting with multiclassing (sigh... no Monk/Fighter for me....). This leads me to the issue of game length. Once you complete the quests in the two towns you visit, that's it. All you can do is mosey on down to the Temple, and fight your way to the end. And though it is fun, and there are quests in the Temple (depending on your alignment), I would have liked to explore more of Greyhawk. The sounds in ToEE are good enough, but as stated in other reviews, nothing genre breaking. The screams of torture victims in the Temple get really annoying (and disturbing at times) really quickly, since the music and sound is the same throughout the four dungeon levels. Overall, when not overly used, as in the Temple, the music is appropriate, and kind of creepy the whole time. There are bugs, some very annoying. Some are gamestoppers. There are also issues that I'm not sure if they are bugs or simply mistakes on Troika's part. For example, the looting system leads much to be desired. NPCs will not trade with party members. This can be really annoying whne they snatch up a super powerful weapon... that they can't use and your Fighter, etc. can. Still, for all its faults, this is a good game. And frankly, its the game that made me appreciate D & D. What we need next from Troika Games is a big epic CRPG set in Greyhawk, which a level cap of 20. That way we can all get a break from the Forgotten Realms.
Rating: 
Summary: It would be good if it didn't suck in so many ways...
Review: Ok, so I've played a LOT of games. This one, aside from ok graphics, great adherence to the rulesets, and a VERY rare moment here and there where it was enjoyable, is not worth five bucks, let alone the $40 Atari is gouging its public for. TOEE is pretty much one big bug, which has some bugs, and then had a few more bugs sprinkled on top for good measure. It crashes frequently and you spend most of your time playing the same scenario a hundred times over (if you are as big a moron as I am and don't just give up). I rarely hate games, but this one had me wanting to take the people who coded this trash and run them over with my truck...several times. The radial menu system is annoying, since you have to recenter it all the time. It expands out to fill the entire freekin screen, which means you have to move your mouse across the house every time you want to select something--what 3 year old idiot thought that was cool? Hello first year programmer. Some of the battles are fun, except that you end up playing them a zillion times over due to various errors and problems. The stupidity of having to run all over the universe seems suspiciously like a way to trick people into believing the game has more play time than it really does. When tallied up, the actual interesting portions of the game add up to a half hour (I'm being generous). The rest is purely monotonous idiocy as you run all over the continent six thousand times, and have to the same thing repeatedly due to game issues. Overall, you would get more entertainment and have more success buying a hamster and teaching it to recite the Encyclopaedia Brittannica backward while balancing six dozen weiner dogs on its forehead. In other words, don't bother.
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