I have played many games before, and when I acquired Planescape: Torment, it was with the expectation of having bought a game much like Baldurs Gate. Boy was I wrong.
First of all, Torment is set in the world of Planescape, a place where attitude is essential, and where people on the street have a fair chance of being more powerful than you, even after you acquire a good amount of levels. The game does an excellent job in conveying this feeling, and keeps the dark Atmosphere of Planescape alive throughout the game.
Second the NPC's who join your group throughout the game are more than a little unique (No, I wont spoil it for you) compared to the elves and dwarves of your standard AD&D adventure. You can interact with them (By talking to them, a feature Baldurs gate had nothing of) and you may even see a chance for some romance with the opposite sex (Much needed, if you ask me). This brings me on to my third point.
Talking. Planescape: Torment is not a game for those who just want to kill, kill, and kill. I have never played a game with so much dialogue before, and you can be sure there will be an option that fits your alignment (moral view of the world). As you go along, the game examines what you say, and defines your alignment for you. Those of you who are thinking you need some fights too should rest assured that you will have plenty of opportunity to fight, and I personally enjoyed the fine balance of fights vs. dialogue in Torment.
Technically Torment is much superior to Baldurs Gate, and even Icewind Dale (which came out -after- torment) in many points. It has a quest log to show you (in)completed quests, an NPC log to show you a picture of the monsters you have met, with a brief description of them, and so forth. Also the screen is not littered with bars on all sides, as is Baldurs Gate. Most commands are issued by bringing up a menu using right click. I certainly hope they will bring these excellent features with them into Baldurs Gate II - since they are part of why the game is so enjoyable.
All in all I believe Planescape: Torment to be the best of the Action/RPG games from Black Isle yet, and it is a definite must for anyone who wants to try a different kind of Setting and plot.
I certainly loved it :=)
First of all, Torment is set in the world of Planescape, a place where attitude is essential, and where people on the street have a fair chance of being more powerful than you, even after you acquire a good amount of levels. The game does an excellent job in conveying this feeling, and keeps the dark Atmosphere of Planescape alive throughout the game.
Second the NPC's who join your group throughout the game are more than a little unique (No, I wont spoil it for you) compared to the elves and dwarves of your standard AD&D adventure. You can interact with them (By talking to them, a feature Baldurs gate had nothing of) and you may even see a chance for some romance with the opposite sex (Much needed, if you ask me). This brings me on to my third point.
Talking. Planescape: Torment is not a game for those who just want to kill, kill, and kill. I have never played a game with so much dialogue before, and you can be sure there will be an option that fits your alignment (moral view of the world). As you go along, the game examines what you say, and defines your alignment for you. Those of you who are thinking you need some fights too should rest assured that you will have plenty of opportunity to fight, and I personally enjoyed the fine balance of fights vs. dialogue in Torment.
Technically Torment is much superior to Baldurs Gate, and even Icewind Dale (which came out -after- torment) in many points. It has a quest log to show you (in)completed quests, an NPC log to show you a picture of the monsters you have met, with a brief description of them, and so forth. Also the screen is not littered with bars on all sides, as is Baldurs Gate. Most commands are issued by bringing up a menu using right click. I certainly hope they will bring these excellent features with them into Baldurs Gate II - since they are part of why the game is so enjoyable.
All in all I believe Planescape: Torment to be the best of the Action/RPG games from Black Isle yet, and it is a definite must for anyone who wants to try a different kind of Setting and plot.
I certainly loved it :=)