What Is Planescape Torment?

Or, better yet, what is it not?

On my last post, which was my first post on this blog, I told the epic tale of how I got involved with Torment but I failed (though not really because I didn't *try* to) mention what *is* Planescape: Torment? To put it simply: Planescape: Torment (PS:T) is a computer role playing game (CRPG) developed by Black Isle Studios and released in 1999 by Interplay. To expand upon this Planescape: Torment is the best computer role playing game ever made and as far as a compelling storyline is concerned it is the best game ever made on any platform and in any genre. I would go so far as to say that it is the best fictional story ever created out of any medium (film, book, video game, etc.) Now obviously "the best storyline" is a subjective phrase but let me tell you why it's so for me. You see when any particular story be it from a film, game, or book moves you and makes you think about it -- a lot -- and ponder upon the characters, plot and themes long after you have read the book, watched the film or played the game then it is good. All of the crap games, movies and books (and music if you will) that you pass off without a glance behind, well, it is exactly that crap. It sucks. The really good stuff compels you to go back to it time and time again whether in your mind or by replaying the game, watching the movie or reading the book. Never have I gone back to a story, in my mind and through replaying it, thinking about the characters, pondering what was left unsaid, adding my own little theories and expanding upon what has already been created more than with Planescape: Torment. There has not been a movie, book or other game that I have thought about more than PS:T. It reigns king. And that is why it's the best.

You want a rating? How about a 9.5 out of 10. I know it's not a perfect 10 and that wasn't a typo. The reason being because of a few bugs and an awkward interface. So while the bugs and interface issues knocked off half a point, because it is a game after all, the exceptional story really does make up for this (even if it is highly text based) and it is a near perfect game as such. Storywise it is a perfect 10.

I've talked a ton about its story but haven't mentioned really anything about it. It is simply this: Set in TSR/Wizards of the Coast's Planescape fantasy setting, you wake up in a mortuary unaware of your past; hell, you don't even know your name. As such you are called "The Nameless One". You have tattoos all over your body which happens to be covered in scars. There also happens to be a floating skull near you when you wake up who can talk. Oh, and you can't die. That's it. That's all you know and I can't really explain the rest without giving away the story but what follows is very epic on a personal level. And to the critics out there who think this is your typical run-of-the-mill amnesiac story. Well, it's not. Nothing else touches it. In fact in came out before many of the amnesia films that are popular today. The closet resemblance would be Memento. (because of the tattoos which help the protagonists remember things that they have forgotten) But PS:T was before Memento... except that it really doesn't matter if something is original or unique if it sucks. PS:T doesn't. (By the way, plot aside, the characters in PS:T are another very important reason for why it is so bad ass. I've never seen characters that were so engrossing as those in Torment)

I decided that the collective knowledge and professionalism of, well, professionals was probably greater than mine so what I have done is created a list of links for you to learn more about PS:T. There are two links under "General Information" which explain the story, origins and legacy of PS:T (CAREFUL with the Wikipedia link because it contains major SPOILERS if you haven't played the game yet and plan on doing so sometime)

I also listed some reviews from various established folks so you don't think I'm full of crap. There are others out there who raved about PS:T. (It has made it's way into basically every computer gaming hall of fame list that exists from Computer Gaming World to Gamespot) This is not a conclusive list but it gets you started.

General Information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planescape:_Torment (MAJOR SPOILERS)
http://www.spellholdstudios.net/games/pst

Reviews:
http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/planescapetorment/review.html?print=0
http://www.gamespot.com/features/6135401/index.html
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/04/circuits/articles/27game.html
http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=19285&tab=overview
http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20061006/quantum_08.shtml
http://www.gamepro.com/article/reviews/3948/planescape-torment/
http://www.gamespy.com/articles/540/540546p1.html
http://pc.ign.com/articles/159/159939p1.html
http://top100.ign.com/2007/ign_top_game_71.html
http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/pc/planescapetorment?q=planescape

Planescape: Torment. Why A Blog?

Why not? Is it not the greatest (story-wise) game ever? Wouldn’t that qualify it for its own unofficial blog created over a decade after the game's release?!

I know its status is that of “cult” not “blockbuster” and as such it didn’t sell sooo many copies but you know what, that doesn’t matter to me because guess what, I played it; and it raped my mind. And I don't throw such verbiage around lightly either. You can also believe me when I say that I was very skeptical going into this game so yes, it really is that good.

Here’s the dark of it: Back in the late 90s when I was a young lad of 13 or so I loved to play video games; had always loved playing video games since when I was but a babe playing Super Mario World on the SNES. And I still love to play games. But at that particular time I had played almost every single title on the SNES and the N64--except for those that hadn’t come out yet right? I must confess that I hadn't gotten into the whole Playstation thing however. I think it was the discs. It seemed so inferior to me because of the load times. I was young and as impatient as ever. That and I also felt that the graphics on the Playstation were inferior to the N64. Anyways back then I also hadn’t played very many computer games because we didn’t have a computer--the console ruled all. Once my dad brought his work computer home and I went out and bought a bunch of dos games: Cooridor 7, Duke Nukem you name it. That was short lived however because my dad took his computer back to work after about a month. But then one day my dad brought home a computer that was to be a “family computer” but which essentially became mine and before I knew it I had bought Mechwarriors 3. I loved it and all of the other games that I bought during my pc gaming honeymoon: from Quake to Grim Fandango I earned my stripes in just about every genre. Except for one….CRPGs.

You have to understand that I wasn’t ignorant to CRPGs--just biased. I had always kept my distance from the likes of: Baldur’s Gate, Icewind Dale, Diablo, (it counts) and all the others. My reasons were grounded in a Playstation toting friend of mine. He swore by the Playstation while I swore by the SNES, N64 and subsequently the computer. I don’t know what it was because neither of us really gave the other's system(s) of choice a chance but I think it was just straight up pride. Blind pride. The kind of burning pride that grips you and whispers to your mind that you're better than the next guy because you are on a higher, more refined and tasteful plane of video game connoisseurship. And he’s thinking the same thing. Not only did he worship the Playstation but his games of choice were RPG’s . That turn based crap found in Final Fantasy-esque games really pissed me off. It was like a damn extension of the Playstaion’s load times! Not only do I have to wait for the game to load every five seconds but then I have to “wait my turn” to fight someone…anyone…everyone! And even when it is "my" turn it feels like I'm waiting as I go through menus to try and figure out how I'm going to fight. And even when I’m not fighting it just “feels” like I’m waiting around. WTF! Fire up Turok!

So naturally I would pass on anything with the letters RPG in them… even if there was a C in front. But then one day I overheard a schoolmate talking about an up-and-coming game called Baldur’s Gate II. (by this time I wasn't really playing consoles anymore. I was a full time PC gamer but the memory of Playstation RPG's still haunted me at night) But this kid's Baldur's Gate rave struck a chord. He promised it was going to be the most bad ass game ever. So I took a plunge. I bought Baldur’s Gate I and for the first time I came home from school and immediately started playing until either my mom made me turn it off by force or until I fell asleep at the keyboard. I hardly ate dinner. I definitely said eff-all to my homework and grades and only took a pee when absolutely necessary. And I did it for months. Now I have always loved games but this was different. This was like smoking the ganja, a straight up addiction. You see Baldur's Gate was different than Final Fantasy. I mean yeah you could pause the battles (and you have to in order to win the tough fights) but it was a choice, a way to represent the tactical genius of a truly great warrior. I know the Final Fantasy styled RPGs had the same idea but it just didn't "feel" the same as Baldur's Gate. It was freaking genius. And I really felt like I was role playing--being myself as a butt kicking hero--not living the life of a Japanese manga character.

So one day I was reading Computer Gaming World, checking out the review on BGII. It was a great review and I was dead set on getting this little ditty to continue my epic quest as I had just finished up BGI but something un-baldurian stood out to me. You see the review ranted and raved about gameplay, graphics, and yes the story but there was one little line that struck me. Just one, almost off-the-cuff remark, that made the hairs stand out on the back of my neck and which would change things forever. I can't quote the line word for word now but the gist of it was: “…while not as dark or deep as the storyline of Planescape: Torment…” The reviewer was saying that while BGII was one of the coolest games ever but that it’s story wasn't as cool, or deep, or dark or whatever as a game called Planescape: Torment. Weird. I mean I thought BGI had a great story (a god of murder trying to be reborn through, well, murder) and I hadn’t even heard of Planescape: Torment.

It would be a while before I came across Torment again because I got wrapped up in BGII which was, frankly, awesome. Additionally I thought BGII's story was even better than the first one in some respects. Who doesn't think that Jon Irenicus is one of the best antagonists ever? And it is for such a reason that I would never forget that reference to Torment because if it was better, story-wise, than BGII...

One day while at the now defunct (but highly nostalgic for I bought almost every PC game in my teenage years there) Media Play and I saw it in a bundle. The memory resurfaced of the high praise that was given to the game by a CGW reviewer. Plus it was two going-out-of style games for the price of one going-out-of-style game. By itself I might have not bought it but with another one attached I had to and so I did. (BTW, I thought it was Myst. I know that doesn't sound right but I swear it was. Thing is, I got the "big box" original version of PST, not the jewel case so it would have had to been shrunk wrapped together with Myst and sold.. It may not even have been an "official" bundle.. I could be wrong but that is my memory. Stephen King once wrote that "memory is like a deck of cards that we stack" so maybe this is what happened to me)

So back to having finally acquired PST. You see when I popped that sucker into my box (I had by this time acquired my very own computer) and was assailed with those dark and grim images of the mortuary, a wacky interface and a very unfamiliar, basic, and uninteresting-if-not-shallow, character creation system (I loved making characters in BGII. I’d re-roll the dice for hours in order to try to get an uber-powerful character) I was turned off and so I turned off the game without even getting off the second floor the mortuary. I even un-installed the poor berk. (I would later learn that the character creation system had its purpose but at the time I didn’t get it. I was hoping for another Baldur’s Gate-esque game)

A year or two later I dusted off my copy of Torment and fired it up for a second go. I don't know why I gave it another chance but most likely I had read some additional high praise for the game and also because of the now historic BGII review.. that one liner. The praise that came across to me as so respectful of the game's story. But for whatever the reason, I gave it another go, a real shot this time. And now I can finally say that the rest is mother***ing history.