It seems that you're using an outdated browser. Some things may not work as they should (or don't work at all).
We suggest you upgrade newer and better browser like: Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer or Opera

×
Community
General discussion (archive)Planescape Torment : why is it so great?(80 posts)(80 posts)
(80 posts)
Pages:
1
2
3
4
5
6
This is my favourite topic
Posted May 19, 2012
Stick with it!
avatar
marcusmaximus: The story is gameplay. Instead of getting xp and rewards for just combat in Planescape: Torment you get xp for making dialogue choices. I don't think Planescape; Torment would work nearly as well as just being a novel. The graphics and sound create a holistic effect, and the pontential experience points and rewards makes the conversations even more fun than they are intrinsically.
That.
Post edited May 19, 2012 by fortune_p_dawg
Posted May 19, 2012
Torment is a very unique kind of an CRPG game, I don't think there's other game that has managed to create such a great blend of narrative, surrealism, characters and mystery. The game mechanics aren't the greatest and at places it feels more like an interactive book than a game, but it definetly is worth the effort.

Oh, and the game really pays of more if you play with a smart character. Brains definetly are more important than brawn in Torment.
Post edited May 19, 2012 by tomimt
Posted May 19, 2012
avatar
FraterPerdurabo: because I despise the Infinity engine.
avatar
SLP2000: Why?

In my opinion, there's nothing better than IE in the video games history.
It probably depends on how you define "engine". In terms of graphics, presentation, opportunity for dialogue, and such stuff, the Infinity Engine was top notch at its time, and is still pretty decent now.

However, the engine is also tied to the idiosyncratic, needlessly complicated, self-contradictory, restrictive, confusing AD&D ruleset. While that's probably great for people how feel at home with this ruleset, it's an annoyance (or worse) for others. And especially in a game like Planescape: Torment, where story, characters, and writing take the focus, the AD&D ruleset is a needlessly complicated distraction that adds nothing to the game. Arguably the game would have been even better with a slimmer ruleset.
Post edited May 19, 2012 by Psyringe
Posted May 19, 2012
PST is one of those rare games where you really feel that the characters come to life, and have some really solid background stories of their own, regardless of whether they're playable characters like Fall-From-Grace or key NPCs like Ravel. It's the pinnacle of a story-driven game. As an RPG, its system is passable, but not as robust even when compared to other AD&D-based games with pre-made characters like Baldur's Gate, and even less so than games with player-generated parties like Icewind Dale or Darklands.

It's still one of the greatest games ever made though. The beauty of the story is that it never runs out of surprises to pull, until the end when all is revealed.
Post edited May 19, 2012 by lowyhong
Posted May 20, 2012
I bought Neverwinter Nights Diamond today and I am impressed as hell. It's funny because it was the first game I wanted to buy on GOG, and I bought first PST, then The Witcher (which I played only for a couple of hours before getting bored out of my mind for the boring combat abd predictable quests), then bought Gothic II which seemed quite pleasant, played a couple hours.

Then I bought THIS. Played Hordes Of The Underdark for a bit as I have read that it's the best expansion for it, but it exceeded my expectations! Really good combat style, it's so refreshing to see all these spells and these mysterious creatures that can be summoned. Also the voice acting is the best I have heard after the one in DAO, and , most important, there's some humour and all the characters seem to have personality.

And all this for 10 bucks with all that ton of stuff and expansion packs. I am impressed. Leroux, I will def check the Prophet and the other one you mentioned, I will save that thread.

I think I really found what I was looking for, there's so much to explore in this game, I also just really like the dark atmosphere in it. I am going to see the ending in PST on youtube. I am sure it is a great story but the graphics are too dated and the lack of combat etc really make it more of a book than a game.

Thanks to all for the input.
Posted May 20, 2012
avatar
escapist23: I am going to see the ending in PST on youtube. I am sure it is a great story but the graphics are too dated and the lack of combat etc really make it more of a book than a game.
You will miss out on a lot of stuff, but I daren't tell what. Spoilers and all that.
Posted May 20, 2012
avatar
escapist23: I bought Neverwinter Nights Diamond today and I am impressed as hell. It's funny because it was the first game I wanted to buy on GOG, and I bought first PST, then The Witcher (which I played only for a couple of hours before getting bored out of my mind for the boring combat abd predictable quests), then bought Gothic II which seemed quite pleasant, played a couple hours.

Then I bought THIS. Played Hordes Of The Underdark for a bit as I have read that it's the best expansion for it, but it exceeded my expectations! Really good combat style, it's so refreshing to see all these spells and these mysterious creatures that can be summoned. Also the voice acting is the best I have heard after the one in DAO, and , most important, there's some humour and all the characters seem to have personality.

And all this for 10 bucks with all that ton of stuff and expansion packs. I am impressed. Leroux, I will def check the Prophet and the other one you mentioned, I will save that thread.

I think I really found what I was looking for, there's so much to explore in this game, I also just really like the dark atmosphere in it. I am going to see the ending in PST on youtube. I am sure it is a great story but the graphics are too dated and the lack of combat etc really make it more of a book than a game.

Thanks to all for the input.
Once you finish with NWN (which could take a while depending on how many modules you play), you should definitely check out the second as well. It uses 3.5, which is a little more refined than 3.0 and has a bunch more classes and such. As has been mentioned above, the vanilla campaign starts pretty meh, but MotB is really good and you get to start at lv. 18, which is a nice change. Haven't played the second expansion, but it seems more IWD-like, in that you create your entire party.
Posted May 20, 2012
avatar
escapist23: I think I really found what I was looking for, there's so much to explore in this game, I also just really like the dark atmosphere in it. I am going to see the ending in PST on youtube. I am sure it is a great story but the graphics are too dated and the lack of combat etc really make it more of a book than a game.
I'm sad to see Torment abandoned, but I understand that it isn't anyone's cup of tea. That being said, I'm also glad you found what you were looking for and that I might have had a certain part in it. After I got Neverwinter Nights Diamond, I played it for 2-3 years, barely touching other games (apart from the occasional short freeware adventure). I still haven't seen the half of it, but I got disctracted by discovering GOG (which re-newed my interest in other games that NWN had successfully subdued for a long time). ;)

I'm more of a single player myself, but NWN is also great for multiplayer, if that interests you.
Post edited May 20, 2012 by Leroux
Posted May 20, 2012
avatar
escapist23: I bought Neverwinter Nights Diamond today and I am impressed as hell. It's funny because it was the first game I wanted to buy on GOG, and I bought first PST, then The Witcher (which I played only for a couple of hours before getting bored out of my mind for the boring combat abd predictable quests), then bought Gothic II which seemed quite pleasant, played a couple hours.

Then I bought THIS. Played Hordes Of The Underdark for a bit as I have read that it's the best expansion for it, but it exceeded my expectations! Really good combat style, it's so refreshing to see all these spells and these mysterious creatures that can be summoned. Also the voice acting is the best I have heard after the one in DAO, and , most important, there's some humour and all the characters seem to have personality.

And all this for 10 bucks with all that ton of stuff and expansion packs. I am impressed. Leroux, I will def check the Prophet and the other one you mentioned, I will save that thread.

I think I really found what I was looking for, there's so much to explore in this game, I also just really like the dark atmosphere in it. I am going to see the ending in PST on youtube. I am sure it is a great story but the graphics are too dated and the lack of combat etc really make it more of a book than a game.

Thanks to all for the input.
Did the expansion of NWN make it look better somehow? Because I find the old ugly 3d graphics of the original NWN to look much worse than Planescape: Torment which I still find to have beautiful art. (BUT I think PS:T is one of the most beautiful games, I don't care about resolution and I found the art style very interesting and I like how the character sprites were bigger than other games with the same engine.) Watching the ending of PS:T on youtube is pretty much pointless. The game was more about the journey than destination to me...
Post edited May 20, 2012 by marcusmaximus
Posted May 20, 2012
avatar
marcusmaximus: I think PS:T is one of the most beautiful games, I don't care about resolution
There is a high-resolution mod. It doesn't zoom in madly, just lets you see further. Works like a charm and makes Torment even more pleasant to behold.
Posted May 20, 2012
I played Planescape and kept waiting for some action to happen. I ended up quitting somewhere in the Hive as well.

This was the wrong mindset for this game. I came back to the game later and just pretended it was a book, with some interactive elements. I have a much greater appreciation for Planescape: Torment now. The dialogue is superb and it is really an enjoyable game for the story aspects. You just have to get past the fact that there isn't a lot of interesting combat and you will enjoy the game much more.
Post edited May 20, 2012 by jungletoad
Posted May 20, 2012
The gameplay is terrible, the story and writing elevate the game somewhat. You have to tolerate reading long stretches of text though.
Posted May 20, 2012
avatar
evilguy12: The gameplay is terrible, the story and writing elevate the game somewhat. You have to tolerate reading long stretches of text though.
I really think that 50 years from now, historians will view the period when reading well-written texts became something to be "tolerated" rather than "enjoyed", as a watershed for cultural decline. But that might be only me. ;)
Posted May 20, 2012
Once you start meeting the characters it really shows the quality of the writing and characterisation, I love the way some of the dialogue works, eg. you are asked a riddle and even if you personally know the answer, if TNO hasnt the correct stats, he cannot answer it or a combat dialogue option to get someone to open a gate, where you can grab their wrist. Or something like getting XP for killing yourself.

But as said earlier it depends on your mindset, its not a wham bam thank you mam kinda game, you need to immerse yourself in it and savour it I think.
Posted May 20, 2012
avatar
FraterPerdurabo: I despise the Infinity engine.
To each his own but back in '97 it was a pretty good graphics engine, not the best but still good. It hasn't aged well, in fact it has aged terrible but with BG Enhanced Edition in the works there is a good chance a Planescape mod will come out and hopefully a Fallout version as well.

http://www.baldursgate.com/news/category/all/
Post edited May 20, 2012 by Parvateshwar
Pages:
1
2
3
4
5
6
This is my favourite topic
Community
General discussion (archive)Planescape Torment : why is it so great?(80 posts)(80 posts)
(80 posts)