PLANESCAPE TORMENT

                 Reviewed by Stefan Herber

I'm sure you all know the feeling after completing a long
difficult RPG in which you really cared for your characters -
there's a bit of a void which lasts until you find another totally
absorbing game.  And so it is with me at the moment..

I suppose if you asked any RPG fanatic what their top 5 games
were, the ones that would come up time and time again would
include "Betrayal at Krondor" and "Ultima 7". I'm not sure
Planescape bests either of those - but it comes damn close.
Despite a plot premise which is almost old hack - you wake up in a
mortuary with no recollection of your past existence and have to
piece it all together again - the game proves to have a very
strong and original plot, excellent characterisation, believable
characters and is occasionally very funny indeed. Can you think of
another game where one of the main characters is a lecherous
skull? Or a dialogue option early on where a poor beggar asks you
to find his missing sister who you discover is working as a
prostitute like the following: "She is a prostitute and one so
foul I doubt I would go with her free of charge?" And where have
you come across a brothel in any other game where the services
provided are not the usual but consist of intellectual
conversations and pastimes only?

The game uses the now familiar "Fallout" and "Baldur's Gate"
engine. That means it's top down and has no 3-D acceleration.
Never mind - the visuals are more than adequate. You only create
one character - the lead - but get to pick up to another five on
your travels. You have no choice but to start as a fighter but can
later switch to a mage or thief. Sadly I wasted some time on both
the first and last and never got a chance to throw some of the big
spells I learned (which I understand have their own excellent
graphic sequences.) Acting is excellent and I noted that one
character (a Glaswegian half devil female thief) was in fact
voiced by ex-chanteuse Sheena Easton. The combat is variable - I
think it is slightly easier than "Baldur" was although there are
some sequences that require a fair bit of thought if you don't
want to be slain. You can never die as you're a cursed immortal
but your party members can and although you can resurrect them
from an early stage they will of course lose all experience points
gained in their fatal encounter. An important point is that you
get far more experience points from solving missions rather than
just butchering everyone in sight - this was a trend started in
"Fallout" but is much more obvious here. Also killing the right
people too soon brings the game to a sudden halt as there is no
way you can discover the way to advance.

Flaws? I still can't get used to the real time fight engine, which
is the same as in "Baldur". Maybe I'll have cracked it by the end
of "Icewind Dale". Casting spells is difficult as well and I wish
that the developers would find an easier way of doing it … la
"Septerra".  Also sometimes the spellcasting fails for no obvious
reason. One other word of warning - there are a few sequences when
you have to leave your party behind - make sure you know where
they all are otherwise you'll end up having to restart the game
when a third finished because you can't find one of them. As for
the ending -it's the most downbeat I can remember since "Black
Dahlia" - this is one game where you and whichever of your party
you choose to fall in love with (either the Glaswegian half-devil
or the beautiful courtesan) do not walk off happily into the
sunset..

Otherwise - not to be missed in any circumstances.













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