Rating: Summary: Atmosphere Atmosphere Atmosphere Review: It's been a long time, since Darklands I think, since a game has immersed me in atmosphere as rich as Planescape: Torment. This game is truly worth your time and effort, though it is, as all great games are, too short -- at least in my opinion. Those people who hunt for the "best of the best" equipment may be disappointed, as I didn't manage to find any armor for my character or even a simple missle weapon. The focus of the game is more on character interaction, and there is LOTS of it. The problem with this is that you'll really have to skim the dialog for the gist of what's being said rather than fully appreciating the skill that went in to constructing the conversations.
Rating: Summary: Great RPG, but not for everyone Review: I'm a big fan of Baldur's Gate and the Fallouts, so naturally I went and bought the next series, Planescape Torment. What I was confronted with was a game rich in storyline and graphic detail, but on the playability end as compared to the other RPG's released by Interplay, I knew issues were at hand. The game runs slow sometimes even if you have a super PC and the patch is virtually a must if you want fully enjoy the game.First and foremost, I am a huge fan of Bioware. I think they have done wonders for both PC RPG's and also bringing AD&D to the computer. But, After I was a few hours into the game, I was hit with the cold similarity that Planescape Torment was very easily compared to the Fallout series. It seemed to me strongly that the Planescape Torment setting was awfully close to the Fallout games. I'm not too much into conspiracies, but I'll put my money on it that this game was a result of a dropped project to make Fallout 3 using the Baldur's Gate Engine. The graphics, the screen font, the dark settings, they all fit Fallout. This was a bummer to me, and I almost felt like I was playing a thrown together project saved by a team of fans from the Planescape setting. But, I can't let that ruin the game. It is a very intelligent game, and certainly not one for kids in terms of understanding and content. The dialogue and intrigue are very intense and do make you part of the game and your character, much more than almost any game I've played before. That is not an easy feat for a PC game. My final analysis is that this may not be a game for fans of Baldur's Gate or Fallout, and with the later fans you will absolutely see what I'm saying when comparing Planescape to the post-apocalyse setting. That is where my fifth star dissapeared to. All in all, this is an excellent roleplaying game, but not for all RPG fans. This is a thinking game, not a combat game. A job well done once again at Bioware.
Rating: Summary: This is *the* game Review: This game is great. I've been playing CRPG's for quite a long time now, I've began playing with the pool of radiance and I've tried to play as many of them as possible, and I can easily assure you that you won't come across a game like this for five or ten years. I can't even think of any game that can be compared to this one. User interface is fair, visual effects are top notch, dialogues are extra-ordinary, and the storyline is utterly magnificent & Unique -which is the most impressing feature of the game- ! This game alone is worth buying a new PC - and you won't be done with it till you finish it several times with different characters - cause you have many options to solve things at several breakpoints, and the game develops totally in a different manner according to your choices. And most of the time you'll be so personalised with your character that, you'll never want it to end. Your companions are not just empty bags of hitpoints or spells in this game, they all have a background, and they have *emotions* which can change during the game according to your reactions to them. I really can't see a serious drawback to this game - but be sure to download the 1.1 patch from interplay, otherwise the game is nearly useless. Just go and buy this one, it's worth every penny, or cent or whatever currency you're using ...
Rating: Summary: Stability problems Review: I can't argue with much of the content of the reviews here. However, be aware that the character control is really poor and that's aggravating in the extreme. I have a high-end PC with lots of memory and disk and the game crashes (just leaves for the ether), on average, about once for every 3 hours of play. The game has lots of nice dialog options, character 'alignment' (good/lawful/neutral, etc.), but the problems I've mentioned make it pretty low in my estimation.
Rating: Summary: Torement will be a classic Review: By far the best computerized RPG I've ever played. Far superior to Baldur's Gate. The graphics were attractive, the story engrossing and and the characters fascinating. It's the only computer game that I started over and played again as soon as I finished playing it the first time...the fact that you can play the game differently and develop your character in different ways is a real novelty. It was also nice that the game often departed from the traditional "hack and slash" format of so many computer role playing games and often rewarded clever role playing far more than it did violence (there's plenty of combat for hack and slash fans, however). Even the music was good because it was varied and appropriate to what was happening in the game...kind of like a good movie soundtrack (this is the first time I've played a prolonged computer game that I actually left the music on for the whole time). I think that fantasy or D&D fans who don't usually like computerized role playing games mightlike this one. The main drawbacks are that the game is a bit buggy in places and occasionally crashed, even though my computer exceeded the minimum system requirements. Downloading the patch from Black Isles website helped a bit but sometimes I had to reboot because the game started to run really slowly. The fact that I stayed intrigued in spite of this is a testimony to the quality of the game. Just don't start playing this when you've got a big project due at work or are getting ready for finals in school because you will find yourself staying up until 4:00 AM for this one....unless you have way more self discipline than I do.
Rating: Summary: A great game from the engine of the Baulder's Gate Series Review: This is a great RPG of ADD game rules. Following the Baulder's Gate engine, this makes for a great time. Good spell graphics, and items. A little weak on the armor and weapons, and the plot is very linear, but an all around impressive game.
Rating: Summary: Another super game from Black Isle Studios Review: I can't rave enough about this game. In particular, the dialog within the party and with NPCs really raises the bar. I think it's one of the best RPG's out there. It isn't perfect -- the focus on dialog isn't optimal for replay -- but I'm happy with a game that plays GREAT the first time through. I don't have much to add to what others have said here except that: This game plays on windows NT (though the specs say it isn't supported). I played it through on a laptop using DirectX 3.0 and WinNT 4 SP-5. I didn't have sound, however, because my sound card drivers aren't directX compatible -- and you do lose part of the plot if you don't have sound.
Rating: Summary: Very Entertaining Review: Torment is a wonderful game, fun, interesting, surprising and very engaging - everything a good RPG should be. I only have two complaints, and the first is the lack of characters you can have in your party. I really enjoyed the unique relationships between all the characters and would have enjoyed having more choices of members in my party. Secondly, I found switching from the different classes to be a little discouraging. You memorize all these spells as a mage which you just magically 'forget' when you become a fighter. I would have preferred if they had allowed you to keep your skills you build up. Still, it's a really fun game, definitely keeps you attention and doesn't rely on repetitive fight scenes like many other games do. Great dialogue and storyline - very original.
Rating: Summary: 5 stars, 5 stars, 5 stars! Review: actually, i think a previous review (by Michael S Antonelli) has already said it all, but i just can't help sharing my enthusiasm... normally, i'm not what u'd call a hardcore player, and i play quite "moderately", only once in a while, never neglecting the daily routine of real life on account of pc games, and so on & so forth. but the minute i installed "planescape torment" on my computer i suddenly seemed to fall hopelessly into a trance and all i could do was keep at it day and night and--when somehow i wasn't playing it--thought about it during all my waking hours, only hitting the hay--very unwillingly--when i could no longer keep my eyes open and my head from spinning. this is really rpg at its most outstanding and ideal, the rpg of ur dream: the landscape--no, the planescape--beautifully rendered, the storyline original and fascinating, the characters unique and, hmm, can i say endearing? really, the dialogue is so well written that i almost feel that they r ppl i actually know (especially morte's abrupt quips often makes me laugh out loud). well, to sum up, if u play rpg and haven't bought this one--i really don't know what u r waiting for!
Rating: Summary: It doen't get any better Review: Playing RPGs with paper and pencil in the early 80's I remember thinking that someday a computer would handle all the mundane math and free up the players to enjoy the adventure and story. I have played every major RPG computer game since then, and this one is the closest to that vision. It is better than Bauldur's Gate, its technical predecessor, because it realizes a fundemental thruth - people play these games ultimately for the story it tells. No matter how good you are, you don't get to take the weapons or gold you find away with you when you finish an RPG, but the story stays with you forever, if it is good. This game is like playing through a well written novel, where the you have to actually think, fight, or puzzle your way to the next plot twist.
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