Melissa Moore @Seraphim

Planescape: Torment (Windows)

They don't come much better than this.

The Good
The Pros:
* A non-linear storyline where every decision you make affects someone's life, whether it is a friend's, a foe's, your own, or even others.
* Moral, but not preachy. Evil, yet understandably so. PS:T showcases every branch of the AD&D alignment scale somewhere, and excellently so. You may freely choose from Lawful Good to Chaotic Evil, and any way you choose, is the right way, demonstrating both the benefits and drawbacks of any viewpoint. Like both Arcanum and Fallout, your decisions truly become your own, and you have to live with the decisions you have made.
* Unique teammates. Where else are you going to get from a wisecracking floating skull to a chaste succubus as your party?
* Beautifully written plot. If you love to read, this game is definitely for you, as it is one of the most verbose games I have ever played (and that includes text adventures and IF games as well). In addition, it is truly a unique plot, with more well placed twists and turns than "a maze of twisty little passages".
* Excellent voice acting. Including Jennifer Hale (of KotOR fame), Charlie Adler (Buster Bunny from Tiny Toons, Red Guy from Cow and Chicken, Fallout), John De Lancie (Q from Star Trek: The Next Generation), Sheena Easton (musician), Dan Castelleneta (The Simpsons), and Tony Jay (Fallout, inXile's The Bard's Tale, Shere Khan from Tail Spin), among others, there is a good number of excellent voice actors who deliver their lines superbly.
*Unique environment. It is a step away from both Sci-Fi and Fantasy. It is a location all unto its own, taking place on the Outer Planes in the AD&D universe.
* Ingenious puzzles. Some of them are simply mindboggling, yet entirely logical. Others are very simple, but brought to a whole new light.
* Old-School quality. In this day and age of everything being First-Person perspective, Real-Time, (Massively) Multiplayer, and all-action/no-thought, it is an excellent game that embraces everything good about RPGs from 10-20 years ago.

All in all, it is an emotional rollercoaster ride, worthy of a top spot in any gamer's collection.

The Bad
Cons:
* A little buggy. Make sure you patch your copy to fully enjoy the game.
* Not enough voice acting. While the game is perfect as-is, it would've been an extra helping of icing on the cake to have more dialogue voiced-over.

There are very few things that make this game not worth playing.

The Bottom Line
You find yourself awakening on a slab in a morgue. You have no idea who you are, where you've been, why you're so scarred and tattooed, and why you can't seem to die. Your companion, a floating skull named Morte reads you a list of instructions tattooed on your back... and from there your adventure starts.

Planescape: Torment is a thinking man's RPG, where every problem has a solution- however, whether that solution involves running an errand, figuring out how something works, literally hoping and praying, or hacking and slashing everything in sight, is entirely up to you. Every situation you come across has a good number of ways to solve it, and every decision you make affects your character, as and the world around him.

PS:T is based on the Planescape AD&D setting using 2nd Edition rules, using Real-Time-with-Pause combat, and begins in the town of Sigil. You can have a wide variety of companions, and there is a good number of places to visit.

There is one all-important question that requires an answer: "What can change the nature of a man?" Truly, the answer is Planescape: Torment. It will forever redefine what an RPG is to whomever plays it.

By Melissa Moore on July 31, 2008