Another Infinity winner? (Planescape - Torment (PC))

Member Name: sagat

Product:	Planescape - Torment (PC)
Date:	09/11/09 (46 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Deep and engaging plot

Disadvantages: Combat will be frustrasting for some

I have been a fan of games that have used the Infinity engine for some time now. I started out on the original Fallout, before moving onto Baldur's Gate and, more recently, Icewind Dale and Neverwinter Nights. Many moons ago I played Planescape:Torment (known as PT from hereon in) and found it boring and pedestrian with a terrible combat system.

My mistake was trying to play it as I had played the likes of Baldur's Gate, for PT is correctly regarded as one of the greatest ever Role Playing Games, coming from a time when the name actually meant something.

The beauty of 2 dimensional games is that they tend not to age as badly as 3 dimensional. Whack a filter or two over Megadrive and SNES games and some still look pretty sweet. Try the same on early Playstation and Saturn games and the results are pretty damn ugly. PT benefits from some patches to play it in widescreen and touch up the whole game engine, so be sure to download these before play.

In PT, you are the Nameless One. You awake on a mortuary slab with a disembodied, floating, sassy skull for company. Your quest is to find out just what has been happening to you. So far, so standard, but the difference here is that within the game, (except for the most extreme circumstances) you cannot die. Should your health points be reduced to zero, or you decide to disembowel yourself, or rip your arm off, you simply awaken at a restart point with full health and any companions you should have, patiently waiting for you.

This probably comes as a relief to those of us who love to constantly quick save and restart should things go wrong, and it is an interesting game mechanic. Some critics believe that this mechanic damaged the story and characterisation as there was no harm in sending the Nameless One off to battle, leaving companions to cower a safe distance away. I feel that to level this criticism completely misses the point of the game.

Let's be honest now, the Icewind Dale games were good fun, but little more than a series of battles with a bit of waffle in-between. PT proves to be the polar opposite of this. Whilst you can battle your way through the game, to do so would be to miss out on a great deal of fun along the way.

The developers and writers have spent a huge amount of time and effort creating a wonderful world within the city of Sigil for the player to explore. Quests are abundant and NPC's provide genuine entertainment and interest. On my first play through I kept my character as a fighter, but massively boosted the mental statistics, resulting in an intriguing and fascinating adventure.

On your journey of self discovery, you can recruit party members or completely ignore them. I completed my first game with only four companions and I am sure I could have managed with less. The real joy comes from interacting with these companions, learning their histories and opinions, romancing them and then betraying them as you see fit.

The story is an absolute joy to discover, with plenty to be found, even on multiple play throughs. Quests often have multiple solutions depending on what type of character you wish to play as. An interesting character mechanic is that you can switch between thief, fighter and mage at will by talking to your party and learning new skills.

I felt that combat was slightly underdeveloped compared to other games in this engine. Spell animations are absolutely awesome, although can drag on a bit once you have seen them a few times. The battles felt nowhere near as satisfying as the likes of Baldur's Gate, with enemy AI extremely poor as constant thief backstab-> runaway worked on just about everyone. However, with a plot this rich and rewarding, you will find yourself avoiding battles simply to try and outwit your opponents to discover more of the story.

The graphics are luscious and rich with the city of Sigil well represented. Characters animate well and I had no problem with slowdown. There are a wealth of modifications and patches that can be downloaded to restore missing content and add additional quests which are well worth investigating. The voice acting is excellent with characters conversing in an odd oldee style of English which matches the setting beautifully.

Overall, I think I preferred the action of Baldur's Gate to this game, which you have to invest a great deal of patience and attention in. Whilst the story was glorious and engaging, I am not sure if I will seek to constantly play through as I have found with other games such as Fallout. Planescape: Torment will not suit everyone and is definitely not one for newcomers to the genre, but for those with the patience and time to invest, it is a glorious experience which I am glad I came back to.

Summary: An excellent investment for hardened RPGers