Newsgroup: it.comp.giochi.rpg
Titolo: Recensione di Planescape su www.ga-rpg.com

  Planescape: Torment First Impressions
  Posted by: Chris
            I apologize a bit up front for the lackluster news
coverage the past few days. We really only have
            two news reporters with one smack dab in the middle of
finals at school, and myself who is playing
            a little gem called Planescape: Torment.
            I thought the game would be good, but I will have to admit
this game is the best CRPG I’ve played
            in a long time. I just wish to note that I have put in
about 15 hours so far into Torment, and feel
            like I am no where near the finish line. The only real
Torment about this game is turning it off.
            Unless something just goes horribly wrong later in the
game, Planescape: Torment should win
            computer role-playing game of the year honors by many.
            Company Line:
                 The Planescape "multiverse" is the setting for the
game - but setting is actually a
                 misnomer... the Planescape multiverse is actually
composed of a series of "planes"
                 (other dimensions) that rotate around a central city,
Sigil, like spokes on a wheel.
                 The city of Sigil is the central fixture of the
Planescape multiverse. Also called the
                 "Cage" or the "City of Doors", it's unique in that
scattered throughout its labyrinth of
                 streets are portals (some hidden, some obvious) that
lead to anywhere in existence,
                 provided you hold the proper key. It is neutral
ground and watering hole for races and
                 creatures from across the multiverse, all under the
watchful eye of the Lady of Pain,
                 the enigmatic ruler of the city.
                 The world of Planescape is a more adult, hard-core
fantasy setting compared to other
                 AD&D worlds. The architecture, the people, the
creatures -- everything has an edge
                 to it. Belief, emotions, faith, and other abstract
concepts actually make their
                 presence felt in reality. In the Planescape
multiverse, belief has the power to reshape
                 worlds, kill and resurrect beings, and change the
laws of physics.
            Storyline & Setting:
                 You start the game as a dead human called the
Nameless One. You have died many
                 times before it seems, and each time you die and come
back to life forgetting more of
                 your memories. Your goal, as it seems right now, is
to recover your memories so you
                 can figure out just exactly who you were and what is
going on in this strange world.
                 The world of Planescape is connected by portals which
can be triggered by items
                 throughout the game, like a pile of junk can trigger
a portal in a certain area. You can
                 find out what the triggers are by talking to some
NPCs, but I’ve found a few that were
                 simply just a matter of luck of saving something that
looked unique that triggered one.
                 The setting of Torment is very morbid, and has a
gothic feel to it. The characters and
                 several of the items you encounter in Torment are
definitely unique to this game, and
                 really put a strange twist on your normal run of the
mill swords and sorcery CRPG. You
                 can heal by stitching up your wounds, or rubbing
embalming fluid on your body for
                 example.
                 You have the option to pick up party members
throughout the game with Morte being
                 automatically placed in your party at the start.
Morte is one of the more humorous
                 characters I’ve seen in any game, and reminds me of
the skull from Lucas Arts Classic
                 The Curse of Monkey Island named Murray. In fact
Morte may have the same voice
                 actor that Murray did, but I am not sure about that.
Morte has the hots for many of
                 the women you encounter, but doesn’t have the body to
back it up. You see Morte is
                 a floating skull, that attacks with a tooth. That is
simply how different this game is
                 than anything I’ve seen before in this genre, but it
is a good difference.
                 The game carries an ESRB rating of Teen, and does
have many adult themes to it that
                 justifies that rating. Definitely not a game to buy
your 10 year old little brother for
                 xmas.
            Stability:
                 The game is very polished for a game this complex,
and extremely bug free. The only
                 big gripe I have so far is there seems to be a memory
leak after I play a single game
                 for over two hours that slows down the game very
noticeably. Exiting the current
                 game after saving, and reloading your saved game can
simply rectify this problem. I
                 believe Black Isle is aware of this problem on some
people’s computers, and are
                 working on a solution.
                 There is of course no 3D support, so all the fuss
over D3D and Glide API’s is mute in
                 this case – THANK GOD! I’m sorry I tried to play
Ultima IX: Ascension with a TNT2
                 card, and the experience left a bad taste in my mouth
about Origin. Thank god
                 companies like Bioware and Black Isle are now the
kings of the CRPG market, it can
                 only be good for every fan of the genre that doesn’t
care about the latest greatest
                 graphics engine. Hey isn’t that what FPS fans are
into?
            Game Play:
                 What I will say about Planescape: Torment, without
throwing out to many spoilers, is
                 that the game is extremely addictive and very
challenging. If you are looking for a
                 game to compare Torment with then think of Fallout 2
minus the bugs, and not
                 Baldur’s Gate. I originally thought that Torment
would play just like Baldur’s Gate with
                 a new sand box to adventure in, but other than
Bioware's Infinity engine the
                 comparisons end quickly.
                 Alignment in Torment is determined by your actions in
the game, so you can’t start
                 the game as lawful neutral for example. Also in
Torment, you basically start the game
                 as a fighter no matter what stats you choose. Later
in the game you can train to be a
                 thief, mage, or become more proficient as a fighter.
Stats definitely play a role in the
                 game in determining how much information you can get
out of people being
                 determined by intellect, or how much damage you do to
others being determined by
                 strength. I personally set my wisdom and intellect
high to be a mage later in the
                 game, but never regretted it since I gained so many
experience points just talking to
                 people.
                 Death in torment is not that bad, you basically start
back at the starting point with all
                 your equipment and comrades in arms with you. If any
of your friends die you can pick
                 up a special skill of raise dead early in the game
that is extremely helpful.
                 I feel like I’m reading a book at times when I
initiate a conversation with an NPC with
                 my 18 intellect. The game is definitely text heavy,
and is geared more towards old
                 school computer role-playing gamers. They could have
lightened up a bit on the text,
                 but it works well if you enjoy that type of gameplay
which reeks of replay ability.
                 I would not recommend this game for anyone that
thinks Diablo’s dungeon crawling is
                 the only thing that makes a CRPG fun, because the
combat system in Torment is not
                 the strong point of the game. Icewind Dale is a game
in development by Black Isle
                 that is targeting that market, and I for one can’t
wait since I love dungeon crawling
                 as much as anyone. Again let me stress there is no
HYBRID in this game, Torment is
                 just a plain old CRPG, and that is what makes it
great. I am personally playing the
                 game without a walkthrough guide or hint book, and
would estimate the game to be
                 around 70 hours without help, and possibly more.
            Graphics:
                 The graphics in Torment are stunning for a game
without 3D acceleration.. Bioware's
                 Infinity engine is capable of only 640 x 480
resolution for Torment, but the
                 backgrounds are just spectacular. You play the game
in an isometric view that many
                 are familiar with from either Fallout, Diablo,
Baldur’s Gate, or Ultima VIII. Spells have
                 the most unique graphics I have seen in any game
ever; with animations that are
                 related to the type of spell you have casted. The
graphics for the interface could
                 have been touched up more, but they look fine and fit
with the game. You can
                 definitely see the graphical improvement in the
engine for Torment over Baldur’s Gate.
                 I simply can’t wait to see Icewind Dale, and then
Baldur’s Gate II in 800 x 600
                 resolution. The art teams at Black Isle and Bioware
are definitely some of the best in
                 the business right now.
            Aurals:
                 Planescape: Torment has good background music that
fits the mood of the game. You
                 still have the annoying responses from party members
and your main character when
                 you move people around, but not nearly as bad as
Baldur’s Gate. The game has
                 support for EAX as well, but I don’t have a card that
can take advantage of that. The
                 spell and combat sound effects are good, but not
great without EAX enabled. There is
                 definitely nothing about the sound quality of Torment
that makes it stand out, but on
                 the other hand it doesn’t hurt the game either.
            Conclusions:
                 I would recommend this game to any of my friends
right now; however I will refrain
                 from recommending it to you the reader until I finish
it. You never know that those
                 nasty bugs might just creep up later in the game, but
I do not believe that will be the
                 case this time. You are definitely getting a little
taste of old school CRPG game play in
                 a very unique setting.
                 The game will not appeal to twitch gamers like a
Diablo would, but if you enjoy a game
                 that requires you to think a little more than react
you should love this game. You will
                 not miss 3D support in this game either, the 2D
artwork is spectacular. The storyline
                 for Torment just sucks you right in, and from my
early impressions seems to be well
                 thought out.
                 The only real problems with the game right now are
the memory leak I mentioned, and
                 the fact that the game doesn’t ship with 4 CD jewel
box cases. I simply hate hate
                 hate getting games with multiple CDs in cardboard
holders. Other than those minor
                 gripes, hats off to Black Isle Studios, and thank you
for making such a great game.
                 Look for my full review within a week hopefully.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Daniele Foa'	      Kadath Dragon
df...@iol.it
                 -==UDIC==-
ICQ#: 9716157             IAFo #13
We're flying high
we're watching the world pass us by
Never want to come down
Never want to put my feet back down on the ground
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into?
hehehehe... parole sante!

hehehehe... parole sante!
Eheh... che vi dicevo? Black Isle and Bioware RULEZ! ;-)))
"Is not true what's true. It's true
 what we pretend to be true."
-------------------------------
Celso Riva alias "Rei di Nanto"
-------------------------------
Contact: 
reidi...@tin.it
http://www.multiplayer.it/presstart