Sketchy combat and repetitive gameplay sink this title for me. The combat was so disappointing, and to me could have been the highlight of this game, instead, it is what brings this game down, almost to the very depths of shite-dom. Spend your money elsewhere.
Crippling bugs like shipping this title with a broken save game system, make this a dodo.
I possess a late 70s pen & paper 1st edition D&D heritage, and I remember fondly the original Temple of Elemental Evil module that was released in the late 1980s, in step with the Village of Hommlet (T1) module. This computer game was a loving recreation of that classic module by Gygax and Mentzer, a superb representation of the 3.5 edition ruleset, with one of the better interfaces I have seen in a turn-based tactical game. The fact that over a decade later, mods are still being put out for this game speaks to just how highly regarded this game is held in the RPG community. I initially completed this game back in 2003, bugs and all, and without the aid of the Circle of Eight mod, playing a mighty paladin as my main character. Since then, I have completed the game numerous times with the Circle of Eight content installed, and I can only say that this game beats Baldur's Gate, and any other cRPG of this generation, most definitely.
Bland is the word to describe PoE, in every aspect. The companions are bland, the quests are bland, the lore is bland. Heck, what is the point of the stronghold ? I am not even going to go into the immersion-breaking tombstones and NPCs that litter the game, literally everywhere. They made me sick. Combat never felt balanced and magic-users always felt under-powered. I honestly tried to love this game, God did I try. I even gave it a generous 3 stars. But that is all it gets from me. And all it deserves.
