Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10182 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: Avalon Interactive
• Released on: 2001-06-29
• Platforms: Windows 95, Windows 98
• Number of items: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
In Planescape: Torment, you play a nameless, scarred, immortal on a quest to discover his past, his identity, and his role in the conflict over the nature of reality. The brilliant role-playing and adventure game focuses on the "Planescape" campaign setting of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons game, and combines the best elements of Interplay's phenomenally successful Baldur's Gate with an enthralling storyline, well-written dialogue, and beautiful artwork and graphics.

In an inspired choice, Black Isle Studios, the developer of Planescape: Torment (and also the Baldurs Gate series), has chosen to provide the player, at least initially, with as little details about the story as possible. After viewing a mysterious introductory movie, players guide The Nameless One on a journey through the bleak city of Sigil and its underground catacombs.

The story leads from there to the bizarre realities of alternative planes of existence, where belief and thought determine the laws of physics. Through dialogue with hundreds of non-player characters, puzzle-solving, and point-and-click combat, The Nameless One discovers clues about his identity and the circumstances surrounding his condition.

Gamers overwhelmed by detailed role-playing games will find Planescape: Torment easier to grasp; players can freely switch between three different character classes (Fighter, Mage, Thief) for The Nameless One as the game progresses, and learning the combat and magic system--with a simple point-and-click interface--takes only a few minutes. Literally hundreds of weapons, items, spells, and "tattoos" can be collected and affixed to The Nameless One or any of the several party members acquired during the course of the game. If you're a fan of role-playing or adventure games, Planescape: Torment's engrossing world creates a must-have gaming experience.--Doug Radcliffe Amazon.com

Manufacturer's Description
Welcome to Sigil, the "City of Doors", - a place with gates that lead anywhere in existence, provided you have the proper key. It is a neutral ground and watering hole for races across the multi-verse, all under the watchful shadow of the Lady of Pain, the enigmatic ruler of the city. It is a place where the word is mightier than the sword, where thought defines reality, where belief has the power to reshape worlds and change the laws of physics.

Customer Reviews

A lost treasure
This was released by Black Isle in the interim period between the much more commercially successful Baldur's Gate series, and it passed many people by, me included. Having only recently got a copy, Planescape: Torment wipes the floor with every other RPG I've played. Rich in imagination, it has thousands of words of beautifully evocative text and dialogue, brilliant characters, an epic, moving story and is quite wonderfully bonkers in places (like the "pregnant" street that needs to give birth to some houses) and all without a single RPG cliche in sight. The atmosphere is fantastic too - it really gives off the feeling of being stuck in a twisted, hellish dustbowl of a reality, with corruption and betrayal lingering in the corners of Sigil.

The story revolves around The Nameless One, who is your character to guide and develop through the game. Set on the bizarre city of Sigil - a labyrinth of portals both real and magical - and its surrounding lands, you must gather The Nameless One's memories and unravel the mystery behind his past - he is an immortal who keeps getting killed, but by unknown assailants. I don't want to give away any more than that though, as it has one of the most compelling stories of any game I've played, though the ending had me in a turnoil of emotion; surely a rarity in the gaming world...

Along the way, you'll meet dozens of complex and vivid characters, and the best parts of the game come through in the interaction with them - the wisecracking, guilt-ridden Morte; Vhailor, the indomitable paragon of Justice; Ignus, the insane, burning wreck of a man; Deionarra, the ghost of a former companion... all of these people and more jump out of the screen as truly great literary characters leap from the page. There are some complaints to be levelled at this game, mainly that the combat situations are a little dull, but then this is an RPG that is breaking all the rules and veering away from churning out yet another staid dungeon hack. This truly is a game that rewards time and careful consideration, and never once patronises the player's intelligence.


This is almost certainly a contender for the greatest RPG of all time, if not the greatest game of all time. There are so many reasons that this game has received the praise it has, and it's almost a crime that it didn't sell very well.

WHAT RPGs DREAMS ARE MADE OFF !!
Words fail to describe the perfect symphony of brilliant ideas, emerging story-line and detailed coding that makes this game an unsurpassable classic!
I have yet to meet anyone who has played it and not raved about it!

NamelessOne and his companions are characters that will stay with you forever. The graphics may seem a bit outdated nowdays (they are the same as the first BALDUR's GATE, they share the same engine); however, true RPG gamers know that graphics are not a self-sustained aim.

If you can't find it here, try stock houses and eBay, but, believe me, you have to have this one!
Comment

The finest game ever made
I'm amazed to see that there are still a couple of people who don't rate this game, although if you're after twee, brightly coloured but ultimately rather shallow cliches like baldurs gate then I guess it's not for you.

For me this game stands leagues apart though. Even years after last playing it it still holds a fond place in my memory, the most atmospheric and engrossing game I've ever played. A truly unique setting, endless wit and creativity going in to every bit of the game. Detailed characters with engaging history and emotional torment, quirky settings, a real sense of character development and growth, interesting items and armour, superb dialogue and one of the best plots with some wonderful philosophical elements.

The closest any computer game has ever come to being an interactive book IMO.