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Role Playing (Games)

A Retrospective on Planescape Torment 99

Despite the cult status of Planescape: Torment, it was one of the least successful entries in the Baldur's Gate family of games. At the Rock, Paper, Shotgun blog Keiron Gillen has a great look back at the game, with a specific emphasis on the connection between the game mechanics and the story, and the importance of Torment to games as a medium. "While we're a long way from the videogame equivalent of a Tolstoy or a Dostoevsky, for what it's worth, Planescape is as close as we've come, and worthy of real literary consideration. Of course, such dry analysis always turns people away from the Great dead Russians - when it should be remembered these are works full of life and joys and - yes - deep sadness. The same is true here. It's a philosophical buddy-hatey road movie based around the search for the self and the endlessly reiterated question "What can change the nature of a man?". And you find yourself lingering on that. Not just what can change the nature of your character - but what made you and what manner of man are you anyway."
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A Retrospective on Planescape Torment

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  • by moderatorrater ( 1095745 ) on Thursday September 27, 2007 @02:57AM (#20764901)
    Gametap has it, and you can get a 15 day trial subscription. Gametap is my current favorite game. I get to play something different every month for only $15. I'm a fan.
  • by LarsWestergren ( 9033 ) on Thursday September 27, 2007 @03:14AM (#20765027) Homepage Journal
    Slashdotting....

    Always great that PS: T is acknowledged.

    If you liked it, or get curious about it, you may want to look at the Neverwinter Nights 2 expansion Mask of the Betrayer which is released tomorrow in Europe and in a couple of weeks in the US. Many of the same people who worked on PS:T have worked on this. Also if you just loved the Planescape setting, there is Rogue Dao's Planescape Trilogy [planescapetrilogy.com] for NWN2, first episode will be out in a month or so.

    I thought NWN2 was a good game, but it was a resource hog and did contain bugs that turned some people off it. Now that it has been out a year and 8 or so major patches have been out, it is polished enough that you should definitely consider picking it up. They have promised that Mask of the Betrayer will have a much more dark and personal storyline and much more polish too.
  • by Brataccas ( 213587 ) on Thursday September 27, 2007 @04:12AM (#20765271)
    If you are planning to (re)play PS:T, make sure you patch the game with the official and unofficial patches from Planescape-Torment.Org [planescape-torment.org]. (WARNING: the bug fix descriptions contain spoilers, read at your own risk!)

    PS:T was the single greatest gaming experience I have ever been a part of. When people complain that games aren't art, it is obvious they have never played this.

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