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Decent gameplay, engrossing storyline -- like BG but better

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: January 17, 2001
Author: Amazon User

You've probably read about how much story and text Planescape throws at you. Some might consider this a bad thing, but I can vouch that all of verbiage they give you is GOOD. I knew this was a different, better kind of game when I started out in a mausoleum filled with zombies. Not just repetitive undead attackers, though -- each zombie had its own description and characteristics, and for the first time in a game I got the feeling that these undead were actual former people -- very creepy. Farther on you are exposed to the troubled pasts of the main character and his cohorts, but not all at once; your companions react to each other and the things that happen to you. Talk to them periodically and different options open up. Not to mention all of the existential issues that are explored with the main character, who is immortal but can't remember his past incarnations. Some people have noted that maybe P:T presents you with too much storyline, and doesn't let you role-play enough, but there is still ample opportunity to affect your character's standing both with your stats (wisdom is important even though your character can only be a fighter, mage, and thief) and with your actions within the game.

Then again, if all the text bores you, you can probably just ignore it and play through a worthy successor to Baldur's Gate. It's obviously very similar in gameplay to BG (same company, same engine), which includes the good (strong combat engine, good graphics, great sound and music) with the bad (iffy pathfinding, and sort-of non-linearity, except you are obligated to do most of the unrelated side quests just to build up enough experience to get through the main quest). BG is a good game, and is definitely longer than P:T, but I liked Planescape better anyway because of the atmosphere the story added, and because there was always something compelling for your character to do (unlike BG where sometimes you were just clearing out area after area).

The best of the Infinity Engine games

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: June 07, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Planescape: Torment is not your typical computer game, perhaps because Planescape isn't your typical universe. Within the bounds of the planes, any and all things are possible. Ladies of Pain both control and are controlled by their surroundings, skulls can float and talk and a man can wake up from a Mortuary table with no idea of how he got there.

Of the Infinity Engine games (Baldur's Gate I & II, Icewind Dale), Torment is the most literate, playing almost like reading a book. To some this may be a bad thing, but to me it made the characters memorable and unique, the setting bizarre and fantastic and the plot... well, let's just say it is unforgettable. Unlike in other games where you are out to defeat some mythical monster or another, in Torment you are simply trying to find Yourself.

No CRPG player can go without this game.

Torment : not your normal RPG

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: July 15, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Planescape : Torment is one of the most unique games I have ever played. It is focused more on role playing than on action, and rewards you according to your decisions. The best part of the game is the beggining. Unlike other games, it immediatly teaches you the basics of the game and your side kick acts as your encyclopedia and Helper. He is also quite strong, and most of the other NPC's are strong as well, and unique in their own ways. You have the choice of becoming a Fighter, Mage, or Thief as per the AD&D 2E rules. There is also a Thief, Mage, and Fighter in your party, so if you decide to be a mage, you will have fighters in your party to help you out. Intelligence and Wisdom are the most important abilities in this game, as like in Fallout, they determine which speech options you get during the game. Some speech options even reward you with as much as 500,000 experience points, while fighting a creature might only bring you 4000. The Alignment system in the game is based on your actions, as you start out true neutral and go toward a specific alignment with your decisions in the game. Ex. Killing a villager for no reason might make you more Evil Killing a thief might make you more Lawful Letting a thief go would make you more Good Howling and barking at the thief might make you more Chaotic The game also comes with a nifty manual which has in it the experience charts for the classes. There are many secrets which can be uncovered by mistake, and bring about interesting results. One thing to remember is to talk to everyone, and save before talking. Many dialogue options might lead to combat, and you dont want a spellcaster mad at you when you are level 1. I give this oldie, but goodie 5 stars because while it shows it's age graphics wise, it beats out the plots of almost all roleplaying games of 2001.

A truly stellar game.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: November 07, 2002
Author: Amazon User

While the box art may not be the prettiest, and the game may not have sold as many copies as some others - this is easily one of _the_ deepest roleplaying games written on a computer. It has a LOT of text - which may put some off - but the depth of story and characterisation is second to none.
It's one of very, very few games that I've ever gone back to after completing, and played through again - there's so much detail, and different ways to accomplish similar aims, that two runs through the game can be quite different - and yet both amazing.
Thoroughly recommended - and an absolute steal at the price now!

The game that won't die

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: December 23, 2005
Author: Amazon User

The word 'classic' is not one associated with fantasy video games, but Planescape: Torment deserves nothing less. The game's a little wordy, but it's an engrossing story unprecidented in video games and incredibly rare in even good books. However, one doesn't play a game for story (although this game is worth it), one would play Planescape for it's uniquity. This game surpasses fads and game-of-the-month status (It was actually named as one of Gamespot's Greatest Games of All Time), and it surmounts them because it isn't like any other game of its time or since. Instead of elves and dwarves, a town will be populated by fiends and zombies; instead of controlling a handsome prince out to rescue a princess and save the world, you control a scarred, immortal amnesiac searching for a way to die so that he might join his already dead love whom he doesn't remember anymore.

The whole game is set in a universe where how you look at a door determines to where it goes; you have to outwit your previous personalities who've left traps to kill you; you have to travel through hell to question talking skulls; you have to seduce a witch, betray an angel, and kill yourself in a world where even your equipment has its own motives. More time was spent on single spell animations in Planescape than on the entire stories of most other games, your party members (including a walking suit of armor possessed by justice, a old man with the power to shape matter with his will, a talking floating skull, and a demon-turned-priestess) will chat amongst themselves in just wandering around town. Great (though spare) voice acting supports a erie and touching soundtrack setting the ambience for gameplay that exemplifies bioware's already perfected game engine.

I recommend this game..., to say the least.

An All-Time Classic

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: January 01, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I am quite tired and do not have the mental or physical faculties to sit here and break down HOW and WHY this game is so incredibly good. I'll state as fast as I can.

Philosophical - The game's story is beyond deep. Dialogue in this game is not just a side-mention aspect of the game, it IS a major part of the game. The different descriptions, vewpoints, and perspectives of the characters come alive during the game and caused me to double-take the wonderful quality of the storytelling.

An easy way to compare it is if Final Fantasy is a good movie, Planescape is a GREAT book.

Atmosphere / Art / Music / Ambiance - The game environments are fun, interesting, detailed, and still look good enough as to give me pause, today, in 2005...six years after its release. The load screens in between areas are very cool indeed, and the general vibe you get from playing the game is great and something very much lacking from the very popular Japanese RPGs of today.

The music is also absolutely great. I have the entire soundtrack and actually listen to it on a semi-regular basis.

Choice / Individuality - You have much more control over the person you wish to be in the game than you would ever have in more traditional RPGs. Different dialogue choices will pop up based on the makeup of your character. Your character even, in a way, becomes an extension of the personality of your choice.

I am sure that this will go down in the annals of Computer RPG history as one of the best computer role-playing games of all time. If you enjoy RPGs, you will enjoy Planescape.

An enlighted experience

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: January 02, 2006
Author: Amazon User

If you're a AD&D player, let me sum this review up by saying that this game represents the soul of the Planescape campaign setting. If you're familiar with it, this says everything.

As a game, Planescape: Torment is marvelous - it's huge (it gives me the sensation I'd couldn't play everything it has to offer even if I played it over and over again), has a extremous replayability, and suits different styles of playing, yours probably included - you can play either play it as an hack'n'slash game or trying to solve everything by talking, for example.

Now, don't think about it as a game anymore. Think about it as a really good book or movie, but better, because you're actually in it.
The game is really surprising. It's dense. I mean it, it's really dense. You'll get yourself thinking seriously, and in ways you never thought about, of life, death, love, war, good/evil, and many, many other things.
And the best part is that's intentional - as the heart of the Planescape setting is the multiplicty of thinking.
You'll fall in love with the great designed characters. It's not an easy task to create a constantly-burning man, a floating skull or an animated suit of armor that you can take seriously and be so rich, but it's so well done that, in the game, you take these things are nothing but ordinary.

Well, I think I have came to what I wanted - a simple review, more heart-oriented than a technical review by itself. So, if you fell in love with what I've tried to show here, purchase the game, and try to look at it as more than a simple game. Else, simply ignore it - it's really not a game for somebody who don't think high of philosophy and diversity.

Best of the Infinity Engine Games

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: February 10, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I was a big fan of Baldur's Gate 2, but avoided PST because 1) I find the Planescape setting only mildly interesting and 2) the box cover deserves an award for "Most Sales Deterred." I mean, really, it looks like it's a game about the ugliest reggae singer in the world.

However, as my Baldur's Gate 2 fix wore off I started searching for another role-playing game and had read enough reviews of PST to plug my nose and try it. Move over Baldur's Gate--you've been replaced. Incredible game. In terms of mechanics the game is essentially the same as the other infinity engine games. A few tweaks in the interface and a slightly closer perspective (making ranged battle difficult), but it feels very familiar to the Baldur's Gate/Ice Wind Dale games.

The first half of the game involves the typical number of tasks (fetching this, talking to someone, finding that), but the plot starts to build. But it is in the second half of the game that it truly transcends the others of the genera. The plot becomes so engaging that what most interests you is finding the next piece of the puzzle--not so much the fighting. And what a majestic, tragic, haunting puzzle it is. I loved this character who has, as he put it, "one foot in the grave, the other in Hell." Make sure you play a character with a high intelligence or wisdom in order to unlock many of the insights and additional dialogue.

As others have mentioned, you are forced to make a number of meaningful choices that affect events within the game. And, don't be surprised to find yourself stepping away in order to think over your response to certain situations. Some of the choices are difficult or unpleasant. However, because of this, I think that the game does have a somewhat limited appeal. It is more story with some combat than combat with some story. But if you like a good mystery full of humor, suspense, meaning, and atmosphere--then this is for you. Remember, "you must die...while you still can. The circle must come to a close, my love."

A Great Game With One Significant Flaw

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 7 / 11
Date: June 28, 2000
Author: Amazon User

By now I'm guessing that you already know that you start the game as an immortal that has lost all of his memories. THIS IS NOT YOUR TYPICAL D&D game. It does indeed use the D&D rules, but due to the world it is in, it seems different from your typical sword/spell kind of game. The best weapon, and this I found hard to except, is a hammer. In all other games of this type swords end up being the best weapon. Anyway, that's not what is keeping me from giving this game five stars. It has great graphics, the fighting is fun, its not too easy, not too hard, the spells look amazing, and overall it is a great game if you liked Baldur's Gate. There is only one flaw, but it enough to keep me from giving it a perfect five. It's quite buggy when moving from one place to another, especially on the third CD. I had to copy the CD's onto my hard drive to get it to work for a while without crashing. There is one other reason, but it's more of a personal preference. In Baldur's Gate you fought a lot of other teams, and that was one of my favorite parts. In Planescape, it's only monsters and people, no balanced teams. If you can get past the bugs, and you liked Baldur's Gate, you should definately consider getting this game.

A good story tormented by disappointing gameplay

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 18 / 46
Date: September 29, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I really wanted to like this game, based on all of the praise it has received and the fact that I really don't have the time to play simply mediocre games. After having played the Baldur's Gate series and thoroughly enjoying it, I thought that this would be more of the same immersive fantasy-based gaming. On some levels, this game is successful in creating an interesting world to explore with some fascinating people to meet and things to do. The story itself is quite intriguing and well-written. The problem is that the game is slowly paced for the first several hours and is tedious throughout.

Gameplay: The controls are fairly simple and should be familiar to anyone who has played Baldur's Gate and similar RPG titles. Your character is an immortal amnesiac who must find out who he is and how to resolve his curse of immortality. The character creation options seem flexible at first, but they really aren't. While you can change classes during the game, you had best learn how to do one thing well, or there will likely be problems later. Also, your alignment (moral view) may change based on your actions, but many of the game's quests (including the main one) are scripted for "right" answers that might force your character to play out of character. Also, there are some unreasonable limits placed on combat. In 30 hours of gameplay, I didn't come across one projectile weapon, which meant that all fights were melee skirmishes. Moreover, you can't tell how wounded your opponents are until they actually kill over.

Planescape: Torment is a very text-heavy game, which is both its strength and greatest weakness. Whoever wrote the dialogue and story is a talented writer, and this would have actually made a decent novel. However, much of the dialogue gets in the way of the gameplay in ways that are truly annoying. You'll find yourself running back and forth between people, going through their entire dialogue trees looking for clues (several times). Sometimes those clues will not be found unless you know exactly who to talk to, when, and about what topic. Even then you might not get what you are looking for. Some of the quests are very imaginative, but others are greatly hindered by this ask-everybody-everything-everytime approach.

The dialogue issue would not be such a problem if it did not plague the main quest, but it does. I hate to consult walkthrough guides, but you will probably have to in order to get pass a few of the several places where you simply won't know what to do next, who to talk to, or what item you need. There is an in-game journal that can be useful, but even it won't point you in the right direction on some occasions (and "completed" quests are not always taken out of the "assigned quests" category).

Actually, this is the first computer RPG that I have played that could not hold my interest until the end. This was largely due to the tedious nature of the gameplay. I knew that it was time to quit when I defeated the main boss, just to get a message afterward that said that, in effect, I had not chosen the correct specific dialogue options before defeating this enemy. What??? It was like finally meeting Diablo at the end of Diablo 2, or Dagoth Ur at the end of Morrowind, or Jon Irenicus at the end of Baldur's Gate 2 and winning the fight, just to learn that you had not been nice enough in your dialogue responses before the fight started and thus would have to redo the 30 minutes of dialogue that preceded the encounter. Very frustrating.

Graphics: Visual representation is decent, even by today's standards. Character models look good, as do environments. The game does have a certain drabness about it, which is part of the storyline. But overall, the graphics are fine.

Sound: Decent, but nothing memorable. The weather in the main city of Sigil is always the same, so there are no thunderstorms or other ambient noises. The voice acting is decent, but quite sparse. More of it would have made the story even more immersive and less text-driven. The music was okay, but again not memorable.

Replayability/Value: I couldn't bear to get through one complete playing of the game, so I can't recommend it for repeat plays. If you insist upon playing this game, try to get it cheap ($10 or less). The story and quests seem too linear to warrant doing them a second time, especially since you are the same basic character during every game. There are a few interesting party members, such as Morte and Annah, but NPC interaction here does not measure up to the high standard set by the Baldur's Gate games.

Overall, I cannot recommend this game to anyone except very patient and/or hardcore roleplaying gamers. For everyone else, there are many computer RPGs available now that are clearly superior to the gameplay, story line, and graphics of Planescape: Torment. If you want to play a truely excellent, classic RPG, check out Morrowind, the Baldur's Gate series, Gothic 2, or even the Diablo series. Though it has a good story, my suspicion is that Planescape: Torment largely appeals to a specific niche of the computer roleplaying market, which does not mind its tedious dialogue system, linear questing, and bizarre story.

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