Planescape: Torment

The Good
Has there ever been a game in which you were so immersed that you actually felt you were the character? A game you didn't want to finish because you wouldn't know what to do with yourself once it ended? One that made you feel that playing any other game would be cheating on it? Would you like to play one like that? Well, Planescape: Torment is one of those rare games.

Much like the player, the character, The Nameless One, has no inclination as to what is happening. This is something beneficial to you, the player. While playing, and learning as The Nameless One learns, you come to be absorbed in, and perhaps feel for, this man-thing. You and he experience, literally and figuratively, everything for the first time, or so it seems, together.

Along your path to knowledge of self, you will come across those who would be companions. Companions doesn't necessarily mean friends and you will find this out along the way. There will also come a time when you will have to decide between these companions -- who will continue on with you and who will be left behind. A decision that will not come easily.

Planescape is a game, no, an experience, where Charisma, Knowledge, and Wisdom come into effect more than the usual Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution. The latter three are not without there uses, of course, but the gameplay is much more rich with the former three.

Generally speaking, the graphics were very detailed. Sometimes it is hard to play such detailed games for fear of missing something. The music was suitable, if not minimal. Some tunes were heartfelt, while others were ominous. Battles, while not a great percentage of gameplay, were there to be had. Sometimes you are able to choose whether to battle or not. It is not thrust upon you. Dialogue, dialogue, dialogue. Plenty of interaction is waiting for you in Planescape. There is the feeling that one IS getting to know the surroundings, the people, the creatures.

The Bad
Nothing, really, and all of it is bearable. The graphics got to be too dark sometimes. It would have been a welcome relief to see bright colors sometimes, just sometimes. The lagginess of the game is, well, I do not wish to say constant, but it's there. As I write this, I strain to think of something more to add. Dialogues may get to be too much sometimes, especially after much playing. TAKE A BREAK!

The Bottom Line
You might love it or hate it, but do NOT miss it.