Planescape: Torment
Recommendable for all ages!
Planescape: Torment is a 1999 fantasy real-time strategy game that was easily named a masterpiece, due to the high efforts and talent of its developers. This game's success announces another remarkable release of the same publisher, one of the best RPG's, that also has the same engine. But Torment has an improved one. The whole universe of Planescape is inspired from AD&D, having a unique setting, with attractive characteristics. You play as The Nameless One, that embarks in a journey to regain his own life, his memories and identity. The artificial intelligence is superior, being found in your road comrades behaviour. Those that will play this game will be extremely impressed by the beauty present in every part of the environment. The graphics represent the main attraction, and I don't think this review will be enough for me to describe the many things I was astonished by. The labyrinths are easy to pass, with rare moments when you actually have to defeat some monsters, with high possibility of a successful travel. An aspect of maximum importance that has to be taken into account is the attention to the various conversations between The Nameless One and the Non-Playing Characters encountered throughout the game. This will be beneficial for your comrades and not only. Some of the discussions will seem to you longer than expected, but nothing is perfect dear gamers and RPG lovers! The verdict? Planescape Torment is recommendable for all ages!
Best Writing in a Game. Period.
Planescape: Torment never achieved the commercial success that its cousins rpg Baldur's Gate and Fallout 1 attained but it deserves to stand among those hallowed titles in as a contender for best computer game of all time. The reason for this is simple. As the review title notes, the writing in PS:T is absolutely phenomenal. From the outstanding original plot, to the detailed and interesting development of the World, to the interactions with the NPCs, especially your companions, PS:T has absolutely top-notch writing in every facet of the game. I can still remember with vivid detail the devious simplicity of the tagline question, "What can change the nature of a man?". The graphics in the game were phenomenal for the time and are still attractive today due to the hand-drawn cel art and the CG-rendered spell animations. Gameplay is mostly open, allowing the standard DnD style RPG choice of being a good or evil mage, thief, or wizard, but PS:T, being based entirely on the power of Will and Choice, forces players to define themselves through their playstyle. You start as a True neutral fighter and must perform Good/Evil deeds in order to change your alignment, and you must find trainers in order to change your class. Combat is similar to Baldur's Gate, although with radial menus instead of a command bar. The only real flaw with this game is that it was released with a host of bugs (though that was also true of Fallout 2). Of course, for some philistines there is the debatable downside that there is a LOT of reading involved. But really, unless you are some min-max RPG junkie who lives only for stats and level progression, you can not go wrong with this game. A true masterpiece.Note: there are multiple fan-made patches that update the graphics and also fix a lot of minor bugs in the game. These are current as of 2012, which shows how much this game means to those who have played it despite its age.
