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Dhruin
Stranger In A Strange Land
Joined: 20 May 2002
Posts: 1825
Location: Sydney, Australia |
| Greyhawk Review @ d20 Magazine Rack |
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d20 Magazine Rack, a fansite for d20 RPGs, has <a href="http://www.d20zines.com/html/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=636&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0" target="_blank">reviewed</a> The Temple of Elemental Evil. The rating is 'A-' and here's a snip:<blockquote><em>If you’re looking for a D&D 3.5 Rules primer, Temple of Elemental Evil is it – the game is that faithful to the rules system. In my opinion, this is by far the best and most accurate implementation of the D&D Rules in a computerized format to date – and I’ve played the Gold Box games, the Baldur’s Gate series, and Neverwinter Nights. The level of rules detail is amazing -- down to skill synergy effects, accurate poison effects, incubation periods for diseases, full multiclassing, and so on. The level of detail can be frustrating to the novice, since some things will look like bugs, but are in reality accurate representations of the rules. For example, consider an archer consistently failing to hit a target – turns out the character didn’t have precise shot, and was shooting past an ally, gaining a net –8 “to hit”. The dice roll tracker allows the player to look under the hood and see exactly what is going on, and find that the rules are implemented faithfully. As a hardcore D&D player, I really appreciate this level of attention to the rules.</em></blockquote> |
Fri Sep 26, 2003 11:34 am |
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methusala
Tempered Warlord
Joined: 06 Jun 2003
Posts: 281
Location: Odinwald |
If he is putting down 9 pages of bugs(and counting at the atari forum) to people not understanding the rules,he's an incompetent reviewer.The rating is far to high and he sounds like one of the 5 or 6 fanboys who lurk around thosa forums denying everthing(I was rather surprised to see 2 rpgcodex people right amongst them,now that I think of it,I'm not surprised at all).Never-the-less,it is common knowledge now that atari shipped a flawed and unfinished product.The removal, just prior to release, of the brothel,certain quests,etc(to get a Teen rating) has resulted in other quests being broken and dialoque sometimed going no where.The allmighty patch to save the day is nowhere in sight,as Troika forgot to get included in the contract that they would make one and get payed for it.So,at worst, you the consumer are stuck with a game you can't play(or even install) or at best you can chug your way through the game,gritting your teeth and trying to ignore the myriad of bugs you'll meet along the way. That does not deserve an A-,at best a C+ to B. |
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Fri Sep 26, 2003 11:56 am |
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Xaximus
Guest
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VERY well said. |
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Fri Sep 26, 2003 12:38 pm |
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Guest
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Upon what is your personal review based, actually playing the game or simply reading the forum. I am enjoying this game quite a bit, and have personally encountered no real bugs, just the the frustrating lack of full implementation of some features (e.g., map labels, insufficient info about items, etc.). While there is no excuse for this lack of polish and any serious bugs that some may have encountered, it doesnt change the fact that the core game is indeed a great implementation of the rules and quite enjoyable for those of who enjoy deep turn-based gaming. To me its just a shame that the developers either didnt take the time or werent allowed to take the time to fully test and implement what would otherwise be a great game. |
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Fri Sep 26, 2003 1:19 pm |
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methusala
Tempered Warlord
Joined: 06 Jun 2003
Posts: 281
Location: Odinwald |
I didn't buy "the core game",I bought the finished version.Is there somewhere where I can buy this version of the game you seem to rate so highly,because thats the one I'd be interested in playing.Are you saying that you must experiance the bugs first hand before they are actually visible?The more information you gather on any given subject the better to either defend or attack it.You can dismiss the forums as worthless but I've been playing rpgs a long time and have pretty much learned to ignore the extremes at both ends of the spectrum,the trolls and the fanboys,and concentrate on people that I know to be concientious and serious gamers. |
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Fri Sep 26, 2003 2:14 pm |
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Guest
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I have no idea what you just said. But it was certainly said with passion. |
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Fri Sep 26, 2003 3:00 pm |
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RPGDot Reader
Guest
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Well, Methusala, I strongly disagree with you that the rating is far too high. Since playing this game for a week now, I've been rather surprised at how low the scores have been on many of the reviews. I'm not saying the game's perfect by any means, and I've encountered my fair share of bugs - (monsters spawning outside of walls when I rest, and path finding issues etc.) but the gameplay has far outwayed any complaints I've had so far. I'm no fan boy and I didn't follow this product at all during development, but I picked it up just looking for another fun RPG to play (being by Troika helped as well because I liked Arcanum) and it turned out to be much more fun than I expected. For one, the rules are implemented better than in any other DnD CRPG out there and that ought to count for something. Second, I haven't had this much just plain old fun in a game in a very long time. This is mainly due to the combat system and all the different options available. Some of the more negative reviews I've read so far seem to be a little light on details and heavy on criticisms. This isn't the type of game you can just rush through and expect to get very much out of it. And if you can't/don't want to take the time to play it, then don't waste everyone else's time complaining and spreading FUD. |
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Fri Sep 26, 2003 3:50 pm |
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Kloetenotto
Eager Tradesman
Joined: 04 Jul 2003
Posts: 30
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Reading the bugthread on the atari boards nearly made me not buy the game.
Man, am I glad I bought it anyways. Guess what? I didn't even notice the bugs mentioned there.
The reason why that thread is so long is because TOEE is D&D - and people KNOW D&D.
95% of the bugs are D&D specific things and the people reporting them are experts that notice every little mistake.
I personally do not care that much whether my dwarf gets bonus x (instead of x+1) to attribute y in case z - I just play and have fun. |
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Fri Sep 26, 2003 4:39 pm |
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Halsy
Village Leader
Joined: 18 May 2003
Posts: 84
Location: Toronto |
They need to rename it Temple of Elemental Crashing. This thing crashes like it's going out of style. Couple that with the numerous bugs and broken quests = back to the store.
A- rating for this game = total fanboy and dishonest reviewer.
_________________
Midget Soothsayer robs bank. Small medium at large. Film at 11. |
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Fri Sep 26, 2003 6:30 pm |
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Barghest
Head Merchant
Joined: 23 May 2003
Posts: 70
Location: How in hell do I know? |
Too much negativity in this forum! It is due out in October in the UK, and by that time I hope we will be seeing the first patch...
Can everyone take their happy pills? By the sounds, even with the bugs, it is a enjoyable game! |
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Fri Sep 26, 2003 6:55 pm |
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Guest
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| fanboys only? Me thinks not |
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The game has gotten from 75-90% in reviews, even with the bugs and issues it suffers. Is it only me or does that say rather much?
/Whipporowill
Eye on Troika |
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Fri Sep 26, 2003 7:43 pm |
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niteshade
Guest
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It's rather tricky to rate this game, because it has some really fun parts but it also has alot of game breaking bugs (of which I have personaly encountered several before even making it to the temple itself). I'm very surprised anyone can say they have not found any bugs, I've lost track of them myself. There are also times where it is very clear that certain parts of the game are unfinished and not fully developed. Even the designers admit that atari made them push the game out before it was ready.
With that being said, the parts of the game that work are alot of fun. I had to stop playing because the game slowed to a crawl in the temple itself (probably more my computer's fault then the game) but once my new computer comes in I plan to continue again. If they had a couple more months to work on it, it would probably be game of the year material. But as it is, how much you like it will depend on how patient you are with the bugs. The best advice I can give is to keep multiple save games, because there are a number of bugs that might force you to reload to a save from an hour or two ago (so far I've encountered one before actualy reaching the temple, and I've heard of many more).
Sadly massive bugs tends to be a theme in Troika's games. If you ever played the original version of Fallout 2 (before patches) you will have some idea what to expect from this game. Except this game is possibly even more buggy. |
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Fri Sep 26, 2003 10:57 pm |
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methusala
Tempered Warlord
Joined: 06 Jun 2003
Posts: 281
Location: Odinwald |
For me to rate it a C+ to B it has to have some merit and it does.The problem here is that it could have been great and as it is, it's only good. |
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Sat Sep 27, 2003 9:05 am |
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