Planescape: Torment

After playing adventure and computer roleplaying games for almost 2 decades I can clearly say that this was one of the best, if not *the* best experience I had sofar.

The game sets itself appart from other games of the genre that (over-)used classic medieval or tolkien-style fantasy. Instead it introduces us to a completely new fantasy setting originating in the Planescape universe of the AD&D pen & paper roleplaying series. The story is extremly interesting, non-linear and full of surprises until the very end of the game. Characters and quests are very well developed and although the game has countless side quests and interesting choices for the player, I never felt that I got lost in the game or stuck. The game features lots of dialog that truly contributes to the storyline, immersion of the player and presents content and choices that are truly part of the game advancement rather than a tedious cosmetic add-on found in many other hack-and-slash roleplaying games. The combat system is interesting and well balanced. While combat and character development do play vital roles in the game, they are by far not as excessive or repetitive as in most RPG games like e.g. Icewind Dale or even the classic Ultima series. Every dungeon crawl is followed by at least one interesting NPC encounter. Quite often long and complex quests that are not related to combat, such as investigating a crime, create a good balance between combat and dialog/exploration that may be somewhere around 50:50, which I felt very comfortable with.

Although at the very beginning things might look a little bit confusing for newbies, this game is both interesting to the RPG veteran and still suitable for the occasional or less experienced player. The reason are the many new elements of the game, the lack of really fatal mistakes in character development, absence of hardcore puzzles and the length of the game itself. This game can be completed in reasonable time, while still offering many hours of entertainment and an almost unprecedented depth of the story. The trick lies in the removal of almost all redundant and repetitive tasks that you find in many other RPGs. This makes Planescape such a dense experience. Every hour of gameplay is full of interesting content and when playing, unlike in most other RPGs, I never felt forced to "work" towards a goal. Instead, discovery, achievement and story-telling are combined in a very clever way. Even after you complete this game you will not regret the time you have spent on it. The biggest problem will rather be, that you find yourself looking forward to a sequel. A true piece of art!

I won't comment too long here -- I've already seen enough praise from other posted comments that perfectly mimc what I think of this great game. I will say, though, that I have been an AD&D Planescape fan since it first showed up, and was totally amazed by the incredible ability to create its unique architectual, character, and overall art style into this 3D masterpiece. It was loads of fun, was chock-full of wonderful elements in RPG and story sense, and I can only hope for more and more of the same. My ONLY disappointment was that you don't get to venture out to more planes of reality, but they have to leave SOMETHING for the sequel, eh ^_~?

This game is nothing short of a work of art, plane and Sigil.

Torment is set within the wonderfully unique Planescape setting for (A)D&D, one of the most original roleplaying settings to ever be created. Put simply, the "normal" world, real and standard D&D, is called the Prime Material Plane... And Planescape is a long walk away from the nearest Tolkien-ish elf or dwarf. The Inner Planes are infinities of pure elemental power, of the four basic elements of alchemy, along with life and death energy, and how these all mix. The Outer Planes are the infinities created and shaped by belief -- heavens and hells of all kinds, related to the various "alignments" of good, evil, law, and chaos; and all home to the gods of any pantheon you could name, as well.

This is quite a backdrop to place the events surrounding a single human, but the game does it excellently. Torment is mostly (mainly because this is where you'll be building up a lot of early levels and getting used to the game and quests) set in Sigil, a curious city built in the center of a ring, floating above an infinitely tall Spire at the center of all the multiverse (maybe). Sigil can only be reached through magic portals, and these portals can be found in almost any bound space (like a doorway), and can be used as long as someone has the proper key (an item, a thought, a song they're singing at the time, a gesture, etc). These portals go *every*where.

Now, the actual story... Waking up, with no memory of who he is, the Nameless One finds himself in the Mortuary of Sigil, surrounded by zombies and a very strange skull -- which flies around about 5 and a half feet up, has eyes, and a wit sharper than a magic sword. The game just flows from there, into a tale of self-discovery and the most compelling objective I've seen in an RPG, so counter to what one does in most: the Nameless One wants to find a way to die. His mortality has been taken away, and while this gives him a phenomenal healing rate and some strange powers -- as well as great potential for incredible power in more "traditional" areas such as warcraft, thievery, or wizardry -- it is a curse in disguise as he loses his memories and will eventually lose his mind totally every time he takes wounds enough to kill anyone else of similar skill (read: level and hit points).

The best part of the story is learning it for yourself, but it's not spoiling anything to relate the matter of the Nameless One's immortality and healing speed, or similar. The writing itself is some of the best I have seen, and make it an extremely compelling story unfolded through all the dialog and related writing. Unique items and spells are full of history in their descriptions, and just getting some of these unique spells provides an opportunity to experience the skilled writing, and helps so much to make one of the characters a very real figure.

Ah, yes, the characters. There are a number of companions you may eventually gain, though you are limited to a total of six members in your party. Morte is the skull already mentioned, and he is perhaps the most interesting character (after the Nameless One, of course). Talk long with him every time something related to him happens in the game, and you will learn of the depth of the character. Dak'kon is a githzerai, a member of a race once descended from humans but now much different. His story is very nearly as deep as Morte's, and has direct consequences on his strength in combat, through his blade. Annah is a young tiefling woman, strong-willed and valuable, related somewhere in her family history to the tanar'ri -- demons. While her story is not as important, it provides some very human depth to the Nameless One and the overall tale. Ignus is a mad mage who wields fire like anyone else might use a dagger. His story is far from essential, but it is another interesting facet of the Nameless One's history (it seems everything in this game ties into the Nameless One's history, somehow). Fall-From-Grace is a succubus, a demonic temptress who has turned away from evil and chaos. Instead, she wields the healing magics of the priests. For the story, she is not as important as others, though just the quirk of her nature is interesting. Nordom has to be the most unique character of all. "Backwards modron > Nordom" he states as soon as Morte makes a sarcastic observation. Some explanation is in order: a modron is a semi-robotic creature of pure law from the regulated clockwork plane of Mechanus. Nordom, being a backwards modron, is a rogue, a modron who has been infected by chaos and made into an individual. He and Grace are perhaps the only ones not already tied up in the Nameless One's past. Finally, the last character you may add is Vhailor. Strange, to say the least, Vhailor is a suit of armor inhabited by an undead spirit devoted to Law and Justice. His story is important almost solely for the ending -- but that's all I'll say.

The final act to Torment is excellent. The story is revealed finally, but not too much -- the authors knew where to stop before ruining it. There are a number of different ways to end the game, with some varying amounts of satisfaction depending on how much you liked the other characters.

A beautiful game. I'm on my third or fourth time through it, and I still love it and am still finding new things.

It all stared at the mortuary, I woke up as if I've been taken to a hospital after a night when I had too much in my stomach that really belonged to the bottle. My head hurts and I cant recall a thing, although this time its not just yesterday, I cant remember a thing at all. Next to me I find a skull, although not a dead one, a living, talking, free floating skull. He tells me his name is Morte...

This is probably one of the best games ever made, I haven't played anything that have drawn me in like this game. Normally I'm really not in to role playing games, I think that they are too pretentious and foney, I mean OK: I'll save the world, get the treasure get half the kingdom, bla bla... Just so boring, this game is how ever different. You don't save the world, Its not in the dark ages, it doesn't contain: dwarfs, elves, orchs or any of that crap that I've seen a little too much of. My Journey is a different one, I'm of too get my life back, or at least the memory of it since I don't even have that. I cant even commit suicide, all that happens if I try is that I wake up again. Imortalaty is not a blessing in this game, its a curse. In most games the challenge lies in surviving, but not here. Here immortality is not a cheat that you've found on gamespot, its a fact that cant be switched on or of, this game is different. This game contains a profoundness that games usually never even want to have, every single character you meet in this game has a story, some have more than others, but its always extremely well made and you never feel like its repeating itself. In fact its manuscript is so thick that its thicker than what 5 normal sized novels are together. Sure its story is a linear one, but thats not something thats going to bother when the story is filled with mysteries that unravel as the story goes by. But it does not provide the answer to all questions it awakes. This game will leave you with questions, and gaps that are not supposed to be given answers by it self, that is something you'll have to fill in for yourself.

Well, what can one say about something near perfect? Just one thing, go and buy this one, you won't be sorry. The game is unique among computer rpg's, there is nothing quite like it (well, maybe the Fallouts are along the same lines, but Torment has a lot more emotion to it).

So, if for some reason you have not experienced this game, correct that mistake now, while the game is still sold.