Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

To start: this is not full-blown Dungeons and Dragons. This is the fourth of the D&D "Adventure System" boxes that use a dumbed-down version of 4th edition D&D rules. Temple of Elemental Evil is however, a fantastically fun game. It is enjoyable to play whether it's your first introduction to D&D, or if you're an experienced tabletop gamer. Since the previous three Adventure System boxes came out, D&D has undergone another edition change after the universally-panned fourth edition. While Temple of Elemental Evil does not depart very much from the established formula, it introduces a few tweaks that make it much more enjoyable. Unlike before, there is a solid campaign for playing each of the 13 scenarios in order, with if/then rules for each scenario based on what you did in the previous one. The game scales its difficulty based upon how easily you overcame the last encounter, and you can also get some interesting upgrades that come in handy against the more challenging monsters you encounter later on. I only wish I could easily apply those rules to the previous three adventure system games. The previous three Adventure System games were Castle Ravenloft, Wrath of Ashardalon, and Legend of Drizzt. Balance was a big shortcoming of those games. Castle Ravenloft was brutally difficult, Wrath of Ashardalon was slightly easier, and Legend of Drizzt was actually a little too easy (especially for those playing the titular character). While each had its issues with balance, campaign play was seriously lacking. You could pick any scenario and play it, and it didn't make a difference what order you did them in or whether you played multiple scenarios at all. Winning a scenario had no effect on future adventures, and the leveling system (such as it was) was useless. Part of the beauty of the full Dungeons and Dragons game is the character you develop; after playing through multiple encounters and gaining levels and equipment, you begin to feel an affinity for your character. While that never was a mechanic before in the previous Adventure System games, this time I really enjoyed playing and upgrading Talon the Ranger in ToEE. After playing the final scenario, I asked myself "How can I keep this going?" and actually used some homebrew rules for converting her to an AD&D Second Edition character. Dungeons and Dragons was never only about subterranean hacking and slashing, and this game does introduce a very minor amount of open-air adventures and game mechanics--just enough to make you feel like this campaign is set in a real living world, not some generic nameless amorphous catacombs. I hope Wizards of the Coast keeps this line going. After three passable entries, this game is a true winner. The seemingly minor tweaks to the system make this game an engrossing experience, and for me felt like a true Dungeons and Dragons experience with all the white knuckle dice-rolling, rules-parsing, and victorious fist pumps after slaying the boss monster when you only have a couple hit points left. I highly recommend purchasing this, and for what it's worth, I recommend that Wizards of the Coast keep going with this game system. Maybe one set in the "Dark Sun" world next?