Planescape: Torment (pc)
Gameplay: 96%
Story: 100%
Graphics: 80%
Music/Sound: 95%
Overall: 98%
Out of all the rpgs based on the Dungeons & Dragons games, Planescape: Torment is my favorite. There are many reasons for this game to be my favorite. The first one is that its not like any of the other D&D games. Planescape: Torment seems to reside in its own level. It is based on the”Planescape” universe, while the other D&D games (Baldur’s Gate and Icewind Dale) are based on the “Forgotten Realms” universe. Planescape: Torment provides for a very unique experience in the world of Dungeons & Dragons.
The story is simple yet mysterious. You are simply called “The Nameless One”, you do not get to name your character in the game. The game starts with you waking up in a morgue, completely oblivious to your surroundings. After you wake up you are greeted by a skull who can talk, he tells you that he doesn’t know anything except that you were brought in my some men. After a short conversation you and the skull decide to break out from the morgue, and the adventure begins. I like Planescape the same reason I like Xenogears, you start out with knowing nothing about the main character or the world. The script is written in such a way that you find out your purpose in the game as you progress. As you progress through the game “The Nameless One” finds out about his past and regains his memory. You have no memory of your past or why you were there in the morgue. “The Nameless One” cannot die, he simply reappears in the morgue if you are killed. It is really enjoyable to go through the story and pick up pieces on your origin. Other rpgs could learn a thing or two from Planescape: Torment.
In Planescape, Class is determined by the choices you make. You begin as a Fighter but you can be a Wizard, Thief or Priest by choosing to train in other areas. If you like talking to people, this is the game for you. Conversations play a very important role in Planescape, more so than combat. You have to talk your way through quests, and it also important to talk with your own party members to gain more information about the quest. Once you engage in a dialogue with the NPC you can get access to more response choices. Sometimes to progress in the story you have to click on a specific response. You can even gain experience by clicking the right response. The right choice can change the story’s course quite dramatically.
The combat is pretty simple, you click on the click on the monster you want to attack. You can even pause the game to give advanced commands. You can use magic or other skills if you wish. If you are not the fighting type, you can avoid combat to focus more on the conversation type. The freedom of choice given to the player makes Planescape a very interesting game. You can also pick up items and weapons left by the monster after you kill it. Overall combat is very easy to learn, although it never becomes necessary.
The menus are clean and very accessible. You can equip weapons and items through the menus. I found equipping items a chore sometimes, but its not something that will ruin the game. You also get access to the Journal. The Journal is probably the most important item to have in your inventory. Your Journal automatically records your experiences in the world, if you are confused about the storyline or what you have to do next to progress, simply read the Journal. There is also a huge Encyclopedia in the game which you can use through the menu. The Encyclopedia contains valuable information about the monsters and NPCs you encounter. If you don’t like reading you won’t like these aspects of Planescape: Torment. The world of Planescape is a very dark one, you get access to such strange items such as Embalming Fluids and Needles. If you have fascination with the macabre, this is the game to get.
The darkness part also applies to the graphics. The graphics are very dark and moody, lighting is used brilliantly in the game. From the town of Sigil to the Inner Sanctum, the world of Planescape is very detailed, The backgrounds are pre-rendered, and the areas in the game make excellent use of colored lighting. Planescape: Torment is based on the Baldur’s Gate engine, but the camera (unlike in Baldur’s Gate) is zoomed quite a bit in the game, which makes your characters look bigger than most D&D rpgs. You don’t need a high end system or a GeForce video card to run Planescape. In my 333Mhz PC which is equipped with a 2MB ATI graphics card, Planescape ran very smoothly with few hiccups. Although the resolution is set to 640 x 800 the graphics look very good, but as I said before the world of Planescape will not suit the kind of people who like happy colors and trees, all of it is very dark.
The music and sound effects blew me away. Planescape takes advantage of the EAX positional audtio and makes good use of it. Fronm the orchestrated score to the groan of the zombies, it all sounds magnificent. The voice acting is also good and often it tells you the emotions of your character or NPCs. It is a shame that with so much conversation, voice acting is only offered in key dialogues. Music and sound add a lot to Planescape and it easily is one of the best aspects of the game.
Planescape: Torment is an intelligent rpg, it incorporates story with the huge realm of Planescape brilliantly. Interplay and Black Isle have surpassed what they achieved with Baldur’s Gate, and I believe that other rpgs will look up to Planescape for ideas in gameplay, characters and storylines. Planescape is a gem in every area, and surpasses some of the more popular PC and console rpgs. If you like good storylines, intelligent conversations and have a fascination with the dead, Planescape is the game to get. But if you enjoy the repetitive “explore dungeon and kill everything in sight” type of games then stay away for Planescape. This is probably the best thing I have bought for 10 dollars. Kudos to Black Isle for creating such an enjoyable rpgs.
Categories: Reviews, Role Playing
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