Why is the combat always brought up in negative light? It seems like the same rt+p combat from all the other infinity engine games, which people loved in BG/IWD.

I'm trying to get into these games again. I just have trouble sticking with them

Search me; if anything, I think it's superior in terms of mechanics. The AI still shits itself in tight areas, but said tight areas are almost non-existent. If the AI ever does go bonkers, using the run function to correct their course enables fixing positions in time for the attack instead of getting caught with the proverbial pants down. Maybe it's because combat no longer requires dealing with the comparatively large number of buffs and debuffs that were in other IE games, instead keeping things simple with a reduced spell list that doesn't require hours of study to master.

So you're saying the combat is better because it was streamlined?
Hmm, would you recommend playing a Fighter or a Mage then?

I usually go mage. The stats that allow for better dialogue and non-combat solutions require Wisdom and Intelligence, the latter of which is important for a mage. Also, there is only one dedicated mage in the game, and... let's just say you might not get along with him. There's a multi-classed mage, but he's not nearly as much of a provider of spell support as a full blown mage.

Personally, I'd say that combat is bland, and there's a lot less of it. Other Infinity Engine games have a larger focus on it. This is more an adventure game, with a few combat elements on occasion. I think it's good enough.

Could be other things, too.

I'm just wondering why though. I've played BG/PT and I thought the combat was the same.

It plays fairly similarly. I think people were just expecting more combat, and for it to be more interesting.
I mean, at the game's start, you only have two characters that can either melee attack something, or not. You don't get a slew of spells and abilities right away.
The initial baddies you fight are pushovers. They die if you stare at them cross-eyed. The fact that one of the starting characters has 75% physical damage reduction makes it that much easier.

Anyway, that's my take.

Sounds like the problem is less the mechanics and more the substance of the fights themselves. If that's the case, then I guess it makes sense (even though one of the companions has a very useful SLA that they can use all day long), but whenever I see someone describe Torment's combat as "clunky" and decidedly not saying the same of BG, I can't help but feel there's some sort of cognitive dissonance going on.

The one thing I can think of for "clunky" is the new radial menu. I don't think it was popular. You don't have that row of 10 or so hot-buttons at the bottom of the screen to control casting, abilities, etc.

Oddly enough, that radial menu was my favorite take on IE combat, and I found it very intuitive. The menu driven style of other games was highly inconvenient and clunky, and hotkeys never appealed to me due to their awkward layout and the sheer number of them.

People like to find things to complain about. It's not the same combat interface they're used to working the same, so people will complain about that. Or, it's good that it's different but then they complain that it takes getting used to or doesn't work as well or that there are features of the other they prefer. And, generally, it takes people a little time to get used to something new and to learn a new system. Plus that cursor's angle and width is a little off compared to what the usual "feel" is in a game, yet it is so subtle it's hard to identify as something that bothers if you're learning a new game/interace and so you just get frustrated and are quicker to criticize because you don't understand why you don't like how it feels. lalalala