The Temple of Elemental Evil PC
  • Publisher: Atari
  • Release Date: Sep 16, 2003
User Score
7.4 out of 10

Mixed or average reviews- based on 38 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 28 out of 38
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 38
  3. Negative: 6 out of 38

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  1. Domicron
    Dec 7, 2003
    4
    Buggy. Buggy. Buggy. Lack of magic weapons, lack of a driving story, lack of GAMEPLAY TESTING. Could have been a great game, but it was rushed and it shows, horribly.
  2. ShabiS.
    Oct 30, 2003
    1
    This game is slow and boring. Only DND fans will like it. NWN is better. NWN- Kapara on you.
  3. Mordenkainen
    Jul 1, 2004
    10
    Best RPG since Fallout 2. Bugs, or no bugs. If you haven't yet, try playing with a group of wizards and a cleric. Let your wizards level up, and learn spells through scrolls by using the radial menu. Pick spells you are less likely to find in the game. Make wands as often as you can. I've been playing with one wizard doing this and I find it very challenging and fun. Loads of replay value if you play a chaotic evil character and just kill everyone. I'd buy the teleport scroll from byrne before you kill him, so you can quickly learn it later on. Get high points on spellcraft, barter and option out everything else as you see fit. Spellcraft has to be high or you can't learn spells very well with the scrolls you find. Going through and slaughtering everything is fun, IMHO. Be sure to sleep for free at the INN in Hommlet before you turn on everyone, or you'll never be able to rest and regain HP. I don't even bother with healing potions... just go and sleep it off in the INN.… Expand
  4. Christo
    Nov 13, 2003
    6
    Game is good with good character generators, just sad about the level cap of 10. I would I have enjoyed it much more if one can up you character to at least 20. What is the use of having all the feats if you are not allowed to take some of them.
  5. CristianoM.
    Jan 12, 2006
    8
    The game is released with unacceptable bugs that seriously compromise gameplay. Luckily, there are now patches out by Atari which don't cover everything anyway. As usual the unofficial patches (Circle of Eight) do a great job raising dramatically the enjoyment of a solid RPG which is unfortunately lacking a good story. My vote refers to a game patched with the official and unofficial patches! Unfortunately no patch will improve a weak storyline. Great combat system!… Expand
  6. Bruno
    Apr 6, 2006
    9
    This game is not for everyone. Players that grew up on platform rpgs like kotor wont like this. This is much deeper game with intelligent dialogues. The amount of non-linearity is just amazing. All Troika's games are excellent (arcanum is one of the best RPG's ever made, and vampire is great as well). TOEE is getting back to the rpg's roots. But i'm sure all those kids that their first experience with rpg was NwN or kotor shouldnt even try it. Cause you will hate, this game is for serious and patient players.… Expand
  7. Drizzt
    Jan 21, 2004
    6
    Maybe the blooper of they year. This game had so much potential. It's a shame they didn't finish it properly. Lots of bugs, crappy performance, very weak voice acting. I haven't played it that far, but alot of people also complain about a weak storyline, and lousy quests and so on. In my oppinion they also used the new AD&D rules with too much depth, but this is relative of course. Anyway, if they had spent some serious work making this game it would have been among the best rpg's. Now it's not even average.… Expand
  8. SiegfriedT
    Mar 30, 2009
    8
    An unerrated classic that is awesome at what it wants to be, although compromised by its bugs. Unfortunately it is often judged by what people suppose it should be rather than what it is. It's a pity that the very qualities that make this game exceptional are often looked upon unfavourably.
  9. Christo
    Nov 13, 2003
    6
    Game is good with good character generators, just sad about the level cap of 10. I would I have enjoyed it much more if one can up you character to at least 20. What is the use of having all the feats if you are not allowed to take some of them.
  10. TimK.
    Nov 7, 2003
    9
    Turn-based combat will make or break this for you. I like turn based and what you get is an involving tactical combat game with enough plot to build characters in as well. (And so many character options, increases reply value. If not for some small bugs I'd be giving it a 10. Most enjoyable CRPG since Fallout2 for me).
  11. MurrayS.
    Sep 24, 2003
    9
    Sound like a good idea, I played the actual campagn and it was fun.
  12. SV
    Apr 19, 2006
    3
    After playing Icewind Dale and Baldurs Gate I was looking forward to some new D and D style play. I was woefully disappointed! The interface for this game is so lame that combat takes FOREVER and the graphics are so dark I frequently couldn't tell where all of my characters were. I junked this disk and decided to replay Icewind Dale. Avoid!
  13. AnsonG.
    Jun 22, 2006
    4
    I cant figure it out how to play this game. Its too difficult. It maybe a good game but the battle system is hard. Those who gave a 10, means u are professional in this game. But those who gave below 6 u should play neverwinter nights. It will be much easier for u.
  14. PolarBear
    Jul 31, 2007
    9
    This is one of the best digital expressions of dungeons and dragons ever, it includes most of the skills from pen and paper. It does have a few bugs tho.
  15. Mariachi
    Oct 13, 2010
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Pretty cool rock RPG. But it has one condition to play this game. You have to know Dungeons And Dragons 3.5 rules. I'm the lucky one who played long time this pen and paper game i version 3.5 so I can fully enjoy this game. But if you are not familiar with these rules, you are completely lost in this game. There was games which used D'n'D rules (not always 3.5 but it doesn't matter) and was playable even for complete noobs in D'n'D. E.g. Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, etc. That is why I give this game only 8 points and not 10.… Expand
  16. roboticsun
    Oct 8, 2011
    7
    ToEE is a good RPG. It has a deep turn-based combat system implemented with D&D 3.5 rule set. The story line is very generic to be honest with you, pretty much as bad as Neverwinter Nights. The dialog is very plain compare to games like Planescape Torment and Baldur's Gate. The game's main focus lies clearly on the combat aspect which is quite enjoyable to play although it's not as tight as Baldurs games.If you like d&d games or strategy-focused game play, this is a good choice.… Expand
  17. kingslayer
    Mar 28, 2011
    9
    The most faithful implementation of DnD in a computer game. Turn based combat system was almost perfect. Encounter design should have been better, and starting area (Hommlet) should have been more interesting. Bugs are not a problem, since they are fixed by the Circle of Eight unofficial patch.
  18. mrrgl
    May 3, 2013
    7
    Definitely worth a playthrough if you apply community patches (look up "circle of eight"). Imagine Baldur's Gate, except with less exploration/story and a much more interesting combat system. This is one of those games where the mechanics are so rich and complicated that you genuinely end up feeling that you can be *creative* in your party development and combat tactics. Really I've never seen a party-based combat system with this much variety and potential.

    I'd say somewhat luckily, the game will completely kick your ass right off the bat. To succeed, you've got to learn about what your characters are capable of and build your party accordingly. For the patient, ultimately a very rewarding experience.

    Cons; disappointing story line, few environments to explore.

    somewhat of a con: This is not a rail shooter. This is not easy. To succeed, you have to learn the rule system and apply intelligent combat tactics and character development.

    Ultimately, I'm quite sad that this engine did not see any more application. Troika obviously spent a ton of time creating the D&D 3rd edition rules in a PC environment, then introduced a single adventure to apply it in. Why on earth did we never see more games based on this engine?    … Expand
  19. Zoso
    Jun 15, 2012
    10
    Definitely a premium RPG, and probably the most faithful translation of Dungeons&Dragons 3E rules to the computer ever.

    I wonder how anyone can compare Neverwinter Nights (a wireframe RPG :-) to this jewel that is superior in every respect, from the graphics through rules/gamplay right up to the deep and immersive story.
  20. White-Drow
    Nov 1, 2012
    3
    Gnome's beard is longer then this game, ant hive has less bugs and tetris has better plot. Turn based combat is all fine and dandy, but with 10 lvl cap it is more of a teasing slap around the tuckas than anything substantial, in something like NWN i would be halfway through 1st chapter, when this thing just ended leaving me extremely disappointed.

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
71 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 24 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 24
  3. Negative: 3 out of 24
  1. Gamers' Temple
    70
    Fans of the dungeon crawling genre will have a blast getting lost in the world of the Temple of Elemental Evil. Those virgin to this type of game may be overwhelmed by the wealth of options and complexity of combat.
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  2. PC Gameworld
    64
    Promises great things and delivers them patchily. Playing for any length of time is an exercise in frustration - especially since the concept is a great one.
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  3. Quandary
    80
    This has been quite an enjoyable trip but not one of epic proportions. More story would have gone a long, long way.
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