Is the game worth getting?

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I've seen this game in the stores recently, and after reading about it, both here and elsewhere, I'm torn on getting it. It sounds really good to play with 3.5 rules and all that, but it seems like this game has a neverending series of bugs and faults. I want to play with the updated rules, especially if the game is really good, but I don't think it will be worth it if the actual game is riddled with bugs and the like.

So, is it worth it ? Is the game good enough to suffer trough an apparent mass of glitches and errors ?

[ February 23, 2005, 17:57: Message edited by: Taluntain ]

 

It can certainly be annoying. Even if everything worked I don't think the user interface is anything like as good as, for example, NWN or even Balder's Gate.

It definitely gives the impression of having been rushed out for some reason.

But it's fresh teratory to explore.

I don't think going to 3.5 is such a big deal, really. The changes which are applicable to a computer game aren't huge.

 

I downloaded the demo and gave that a try, and it seems very sluggish. The interface doesn't seem very user friendly either, and the way you have to get to the various options really drags for an RPG. Combat is confusing, with the user interface really making it difficult to know what you're doing, and letting you do what you actually want. Even though it's only a demo, I can feel this would be an extremely frustrating game to play.

Why didn't they employ a similar format to IWD/BG/PT ? I would have thought the success of those games would have given them an idea of what fans of this type of game wanted

 

Actually, I have to say that I liked this game more than Neverwinter Nights, the only major thing wrong with it was when, near the end, a nasty bug occurred which made me give up on the game entirely. Other than that, it is quite fun, especially when you get into it (and start hitting things).

 

I bought it in bargin bin for $10. You have to get the patches, including Circle of Eight to get the fun out of it. If you can get it cheap, it is well worth it for true to the rules fun.

 

I suggest you read the other threads on this site to find out if it is really worth getting. Although it could have been an ok game I think the great number of frustrating bugs and game crashes makes it a game you really should try to avoid (cheap or not). Life is too short to spend time on a bs game like this
But if you like to torture yourself... go at it he he. I would strongly recommend NWN/BG/IWD.

 

I have to agree with Warrior of the World. I was having a ball with this game, especially the party creation when that bug hit in the Fire Node. Why didn't they just smooth out the bugs before shipping it? It is Atari' s Pool of Radiance. I wouldn't recommend getting it just to slap Atari in the face for putting out the game before pre-playing it enough.

 

I tried to play it on my Computer with Service Pack 2 installed - Nearly impossible. But I must say I would like it if less buggy (I like the fighting options)

 

I liked it well enough, with CO8 patch and Atari's patches 2 and 3 it wasn't too bad. Just use quicksave alot in case you do run into a bug. The controls took a little getting used to, but you can assign hotkeys for things you do alot, like charge attack and sneaking. The graphics are good, story's okay, I would have preferred a longer game though.

I would recommend that you get it.

 

I enjoyed the game alot, it has some bugs and what-not, but they did not bother me that much. The new 3.5 rules, the multitude of new options in combat like tripp attacks, 5feet movement and heal skills just amased me. The game definitivelly need to be patched, but it is the greatest combat i have ever seen in any rpg ever (when it works).

(In a perfect world (or a merelly better one) they would have removed the bugs in TOEE, and put all the Baldurs Gate, Icewind Dale, Neverwinter Nights, Planescape torment, Pool of Radiance games into the TOEE engine.)

 

This game has various positive and negative things

Positive:
1. VERY tactical combat, making your party members really able to do what they are intended to do by their class, not just bash the monsters with the best weapon you've got.
2. Many feats that makes replaying fun (although the main quest is somewhat linear). As well as many spells that really get better if you have the needed skills (unlike NWN, IWD etc.)
3. No +10 weapons of Slaying Whatever and Blasting Keen (NWN really was the worst). And no items of +20 wisdom (NWN).
4. Interesting monsters not seen before in CRPG for a LONG time (since GoldBox series), like Lamia, Owlbear etc.

Negative
1. WAAY too many bugs left. But then again Troika was rushed by the publisher to finish the game faster as well as they had to cut various things out to get it with the T(Teen) rating.
2. NPCs are mindless (the same goes with NWN).
3. A five PC+3NPC party. Having many characters is always nice (hate soloing, RPG is for adventuring parties not single supermen), but why the dumb number? It always takes an even number of adventurers to make a good party.

 

I've got very mixed feelings about this game. The game is seriously bug-ridden, but it is playable. I also love the old ToEE-campaign module, so just walking around in Hommlett makes me feel good.


From what I gather the following is currently recommended (by the community, not by Atari) when installing the game:

Do not use official patch 3.0 if you do this.

 

I really liked this game! I was sad to hear Troika went belly up. I was hoping for more turn based action in Greyhawk!!! I think I'm the minority though...

 

About the bugs and rushed shipping, well, I was thinking and thought I'd share a few points.

True, the countless bugs in the game indicate hasty output and serious lack of play-testing, but somehow I feel it isn't entirely the fault of Atari alone. The fact that Troika was disbanded shows that the company was obviously not profiting enough to sustain itself, therefore could not continuing development and had to distribute the game whether it was finished or not. But who's to blame? I personally blame the recent twist in the gaming industry. I'm writing this from Taiwan, where online games have all but overriden the entire market. Commercials, posters, net cafes lining the streets crowded with people clicking away incessantly with stoned expressions. With so many people hooked on OLG's, nobody buys traditional games any more. Everywhere I go now I see heaps of games with huge discounts just strewn there like trash. It's really a sad sight to see. How non-OLG software companies manage to pull through at all is beyond my comprehension.

In this sense, it's a wonder this game was ever released at all. For all I know it could have been terminated prematurely, and we'd never know any D&D (AD&D) game other than BG like ones (I know, there's still PoR2 but I trashed that after 5 minutes of test playing .) Besides, bugs aside, ToEE was VERY innovative with it's 3.5e system, and really did a good job at designing, if not at programming. No previous game I know of could implement the spring attack feat so intricately. Reach weapons finally got that 'reach' feel; spells, such as call lightning, were redefined; and for once you get to create items on your own. The turn-based system completely changes the outlook on CRPGS and is quite refreshing after years of real-time D&D's. And nice graphics too. Therefore, seeing how most of the fatal bugs have been fixed, I say this: definately worth playing, no hurt in buying if have spare cash. Even if you never replay it again, it really is one of a kind and very much worth collecting, IMHO .

 

Just don't expect anything like the BG series in terms of personality. It has some upsides and like mentioned by so many others is should have had FAR more playtesting before being released.

Rather sad considering all that it could have been.

Had it been done well I would have loved to see more classic Greyhawk adventures come to life as well. Immagine "Against the Giants" or "Tomb of Horrors" or even "Expedition to the Barrier Peaks" (A personal favorite.)

 

The game itself is okay, if you get used to the different types of controls, but personally, i think the game moved waaaay to slowly. It takes such a long time moving the screen, I have to stop playing because it takes to long to get from one place to another.

 

Personally I couldn't bare to play any longer after a few hours. TOEE is what would happen to Baldur's Gate if it fell from an ungly tree and hit every branch on the way down. Not to be harsh but the game was sluggish, boring, simplisitc, and linear. Maybe it gets engaing at the end but the small distance I dared travel into its depths I got the distinct feeling of wasting my time. (and money)

 

After getting around the display bug I was having (an ominous sign of things to come?) I am really enjoying this game.

This game is definitely for by-the-rules D&D players. I've played every modern D&D crpg since Baldur's Gate and this one is the king of them all in terms of rules interpretation. I am very impressed.

That said, it just may not be for your casual RPG player/gamer. If you've never played pen and paper D&D before, I have a feeling you just wouldn't understand some of the nuances of the game. These nuances really make the hassle of bugs and poor play control worth it for me.

The game is quite beautiful visually. And I'm loving the Vangelis-style score as well.

If all these things interest you in a D&D crpg, then definitely check out the game.

 

It would be the dream to have BG2 remade in this engine. Hope the new BG will arrive soon... I payed 7 euro for this game and I don't regret it at all. I have installed the mod pack and patch3 for the game to nullify (jk : god I wish...) the bugs.

 

Sorry, but if a game bug out weighs the benefits and causes such strife to frustrate me then it can't be worth it. (not meaning to be vane here) I am known for taking difficult situations easily, but this game almost made me snap.
As to Ythaniel's point, the game is definitely based on D&D core rules, no doubt about that, that is definitely not my complaint here. I play the old pen and paper version as much as the next D&D fan.