Planescape: Torment
Published By: Interplay

Reviewed by _fo0k
2/11/2000

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First Impressions:

We all know by now about Black Isle and what they've done to bring TSR BACK among the leaders in computer role playing with Baldur's Gate. Torment is another product using the game system of the guys who invented role playing. The original PlaneScape system was released as a pencil and paper rpg game by TSR a few years ago, and had a lot of fresh new ideas for gaming, but just didn't take off too well. I was quite surprised to see them push the rules (which are essentially the same as the AD&D second edition rules) in a computer game this soon (if ever)... but they seem to have a winning combination with Black Isle. The Premise: you wake up on a slab in the middle of a mortuary, with no idea of where you are, or even who you are. You are zombieville... covered with scars and stitches, and tattoo's all over your body, providing the only link you currently possess to your past. Before you know it, a floating skull named Morte befriends you, and helps you get out of this place to start trying to get your memory back. Your adventures revolve around Sigil, a city that seems to be the center of existance, with portals leading to other planes and worlds. Sigil is a dark place, full of thugs, other-world creatures, and sorcerers.

Gameplay:

I'm putting INTERFACE as the topic of this column. It plays just like Baldur's Gate. There's a picture window for each character in your group along the bottom of the screen, with the vital HP stat underneath to keep you up to date on how beat up each person is. When they start getting hurt, it reflects in the face above. You have all of the industry standards: an Inventory screen, spellbook screen, character stats/skills screen, and so on. You have an auto-updating journal so you can go back to anything you need to re-read, and a nice little section which lists all incomplete quests, completed quests, and a handy encyclopedia with biographies on the various creatures and people you've met along the way.

The game plays in real time, but hit the spacebar at any time to pause the game. This allows you to change the action of each character in your group (have the mage target the skeleton with his magic missile spell, while Morte and Nameless charge into melee, etc).

The downsides to Torment are not terrible, but there are a few. The game has some slowdown problems out of the box. I noticed just today that there's an update patch out that addresses this (along with numerous other bug fixes) but I haven't had a chance to get it in yet. At times it just FEELS sluggish, even on my p3-500 with 256 MB ram and a GeForce 256. When a creature dies, it generally leaves a little pile of loot for you to pick up, but sometimes the loot doesn't highlight when you point on it, you have to move the mouse away and back on it. Nothing serious, but it just feels blicky in a few areas. They also have a "Quickmenu" that you can access by right-clicking on your character, but it seems a bit redundant because the keyboard hotkeys are just plain faster, and you can assign them however you wish.

Graphics:

It doesn't look as good this time around, since I've already played through Baldur's Gate. Torment uses the same engine, but has a much darker, gloomier mood. It works fine, and the graphics are definitely acceptable, but only slightly better than average as far as I am concerned.

Sound/Music:

The voice acting is VERY good. I look at sounds in computer games like this: if you don't really notice anything about them in particular, they are doing exactly what they should be. I did get a big "SCHWING!!!" the first time I heard a double barrel shotgun in Doom 2 through my subwoofer, but since then, the only time I've actually given sound much of a thought was when there was something WRONG. Most dialog is screen text, but they throw in voices during occasional narratives of particular importance, and all of it that I've heard has been top notch. If I was going to complain, it would be that the characters under my control talk every time I interact with them in any way, which is pretty much a continuous thing through the game. "Nameless one" (The main character) says "I'm Gone..." every time you click on him to move somewhere. He DOES sound pretty badass when he says it, but after the first thousand or so times, I started saying it when I'd take out the garbage. Maybe I can turn it off, but it didn't get to me enough to actually LOOK for the switch.

Multiplayer:

N/A

Enjoyment and Overall Impression:

I am having a great time with Torment. Despite the occasional subtle interface quirk, the storyline is fantastic, and has me hooked. There's a primary path to victory (I am assuming, I've only made it into disk 3 of the 4 disk set) with lots of subquests along the way that you can ignore, but they are usually worth doing because they sometimes give some HONKIN experience and goodies. Some of the ideas are fresh: One character I've met in my travels is a sorcerer who experimented with various fire-based spells, and unfortunately managed to transform himself into a medieval version of the human torch. Always on fire, I need to find a way to extinguish him (I *HAVE* the decanter of endless water, but can't seem to find the command word for it. DAMN!).

Marketing Efforts Towards Women:

There is at least one female character you can pick up for your group, but most things are pretty male-oriented. There are an ABUNDANCE of "harlots" in town for you younger guys to try to hit on. Morte (the floating skull companion to Nameless) is a sexist pig, and has plenty of crude remarks to make about having his way with the female zombies running around. You have no other choice than "Nameless One" as your primary character, a male.

Editor's Note: We have received some feedback from some of the female members of WomenGamers.Com who have complained about the sexist depiction of women in this game.

Cheats, Hints, and URLs:

Planescape, Torment : Official Strategies & Secrets by Chris Avellone, Matthew J. Norton, Colin McComb