Planescape: Torment

Other products by Black Isle Studios

Product Details

• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B00002EPZ2
• Media: CD-ROM
• Release Date: December 14, 1999
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (187 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,990 in Video Games (See Bestsellers in Video Games)

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  Video Games > PC Games > Role-Playing

• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.com Review
In Planescape: Torment, you play a nameless, scarred, immortal on a quest to discover his past, his identity, and his role in the conflict over the nature of reality. The brilliant role-playing and adventure game focuses on the "Planescape" campaign setting of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons game, and combines the best elements of Interplay's phenomenally successful Baldur's Gate with an enthralling story line, well-written dialogue, and beautiful artwork and graphics.

In an inspired choice, Black Isle Studios, the developer of Planescape: Torment, has chosen to provide the player, at least initially, with as little details about the story as possible. After viewing a mysterious introductory movie, players guide The Nameless One on a journey through the bleak city of Sigil and its underground catacombs. The story leads from there to the bizarre realities of alternate planes of existence, where belief and thought determine the laws of physics. Through dialogue with hundreds of nonplayer characters, puzzle solving, and point-and-click combat, The Nameless One discovers clues about his identity and the circumstances surrounding his condition.

Gamers overwhelmed by detailed role-playing games will find Planescape: Torment easier to grasp; players can freely switch between three different character classes (Fighter, Mage, Thief) for The Nameless One as the game progresses, and learning the combat and magic system--with a simple point-and-click interface--takes only a few minutes. Literally hundreds of weapons, items, spells, and "tattoos" can be collected and affixed to The Nameless One or any of the several party members acquired during the course of the game. If you're a fan of role-playing or adventure games, Planescape: Torment's engrossing world creates a must-have gaming experience. --Doug Radcliffe

Pros:

• Fascinating, unique setting
• Engrossing story
• Rich graphics and spell effects
• Intriguing dialogue

Cons:

• Zoomed-in perspective tends to limit combat to close range
• Long load times

Product Description
Advanced Dungeons & DragonsProduct InformationThe Planescape "multiverse" is the settingfor the game - but setting is actually a misnomer... the Planescape multiverseis actually composed of a series of "planes" (other dimensions) thatrotate around a c

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

155 of 157 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Even better than whatever I write., September 2, 2002

By	Anthony Boyd (California) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

First, you have to ask yourself: why is a game from a few years ago STILL getting 5-star reviews -- a bunch in just the past couple months?!? And second: how could a 2-D game (like the Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 series) possibly hold up against 3-D games like Neverwinter Nights? Well, it's because of gameplay. It's remarkable.

You start out by waking up on a slab, in a cemetary. You have no memory, but you've got a lot of wordy tattoos all over your body, and a very talkative floating skull to fill you in. As you progress, you'll meet up with many other characters who can join your group (or not), including a strange living computer called a Modron, and a bizarre man engulfed in flames.

But what really makes the game stand out is how open-ended it is. It's like Morrowind in that respect. You can do anything, go anywhere, fight or talk, do some quests and ignore others. Your character can find "masters" who will teach your character to fight, become a magician, or a thief. You can even switch back and forth. But even better than that is the dialogue, which is NOT forced or pre-programmed to lead you one way each time. The dialogues that each character speaks can take into account your experience, your intelligence, how attactive you are, where you are in the game, etc.

One of the most amazing discoveries for me went like this. Playing the game the first time, I had a fairly average character who was very strong. Some of the dialogue with Ravel, about two-thirds into the game, was just stunning. The plot twists threw me for a loop. But then I played again with a wimpy but incredibly smart character. I was stunned to see my character pulling out plot details from the characters almost as soon as they joined the group. By the time I got to Ravel, I was a completely different character and had completely different conversations with her. And the end! It can change! It's pretty great ending(s) too, so I won't even mention what happens.

If anything is a disappointment, it is that the opening cemetary is pretty dark -- work through it and get out as soon as you can. If you can find a save-game online that at least gets you down onto the first floor of the cemetary, maybe do that. Once you are in town, the game just blossoms into something incredible. My only sadness is that the game did well when it was launched, but not stellar. I'd like to thank their marketing department for the hideous box cover for probably killing quite a few sales. Because of this, I've lost hope for there ever being a sequel or even a game with a similar style. I'm very sad to see that, even after a few years, this game still has no rival.

103 of 104 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Addictive and Very Creative, December 28, 1999

By A Customer

This has to be one of the most creative <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/electronics/browse-electronics/-/229593/002-2818223-1369817">RPGs</a> I've ever played. The graphics and animations are impressive, stylized, and original. The plot is relatively non-linear and effectively rests in the hands of the player with multiple endings. The alignment and attributes of the player character affect game play. I played a character with high intelligence and wisdom, and I enjoyed outwitting people in the game. Although the game is VERY dialog driven, I felt there were enough graphics and action to make it feel relatively balanced and seamless. The NPCs are highly original and interact with the party to a much greater extent than in Baldur's Gate. Talking to your party members can be integral to being successful at a Succubus, who has given up her past; a sarcastic, floating skull who can taunt enemies with profanities; a wild and unpredictable Tiefling (part human/part lower plane) thief who seems to have a thing for you . . . Guest voices include Dan Castellanetta (Homer!), Sheena Easton, and Michael T. Weiss (The Pretender). The game is very dark and somber with appropriate music that really added to the mood, yet has very effective comic relief via. Morte the sarcastic skull. I was genuinely surprised by the plot and character development. I was always kept guessing. Your immortality allows for many creative developments. Dying becomes a method to be taken to a place you want to go. Limbs are taken off and reattached. A woman pays you for the privilege of killing you. The magic and magic items are phenomenal. Many items have almost a voodooesque feel to them (roach charm, blood charm, cranium rat charm), while some magic items can actually talk to you and try to seduce you to the ways of evil. Many magic items are appropriately alignment and class restricted. Spell effect animations effectively add a distinctive style to the already rich substance of the game. The animations on the higher level spells can sometimes involve amazing cut scenes! This game could best be called a Fallout 2 on acid with a twist of Baldur's Gate. One moment you're in Hell talking to a pile of skulls, the next you're trying to save a city about to be destroyed by a deranged angel. It's almost as though at least five writers with years of pent up creative frustration exploded into this game. The result is creatively brilliant. I also appreciate the replay value of this game. I just played as a lawful good mage, now I'm going to I'm expecting a totally different kind of game. The latest issue of Newsweek (Jan 1, 2000) declares that "in the century to come, the medium producing the most dynamic, vital and exciting new art will be . . . videogames. . . . Eventually, we'll have artists who realize that videogames are technologically advanced enough for real story telling. . . the closest I've seen to this aspiration. It breathes like a novel, astonishes with great visual art, and allows for more realistic role-playing than in most other games that have ever been on the market. It is definitely a ground-breaker in this genre.

111 of 113 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best, deepest, most meaningful game ever, March 13, 2000

By	Lucian Wischik "Lucian" (Seattle) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Torment is the best computer game I have ever played. It feels wrong to call this 'just a game'. Computer games will become an important new art form in the coming century, and Torment gives us a delicious foretaste of what is to come.

Moral choices abound. The game takes note of what you say and do, and rates your morality and alignment accordingly. The game itself changes depending on how you play it: each action and choice closes some doors and opens others. Consider a point in the dialog where you are offered these choices. (1) Vow: "Tell me and I will not harm you" -- (2) Bluff: "Tell me or I'll break your neck" -- (3) Threat: "Tell me or I'll break your neck" -- (4) "Please tell me". This illustrates the sort of choice that gives expression to your moral character.

You feel like an actor in a play -- but one who can choose his own script. This brings you very close to your game character. When it was revealed that a past incarnation of my character had committed some evil, I personally felt heartbroken about it. This sort of immersion-into-character is not possible in a conventional novel.

The story is compelling and meaningful. It is supported by excellent writing. Some of the key dramatic scenes are still going through my head two months after completing the game. It is an ongoing source of delight to discuss and discover new interpretations of the story and characters.

The characters are deep and complex, and funny. You get the feeling more than in other games that they have their own agendas. Eventually some of their secrets are revealed and -- best of all -- you yourself, in the game, are the one who discovers those secrets.