[Video Game] Quote Game...

[SBoydW]

I've heard of this game wert, though I've never played it.

[Werthead]

I've heard of this game wert, though I've never played it.

 

Given how many copies it sold on release, this is not surprising ;)

 

I recently conducted a poll on the forum I'm a moderator on to find the greatest PC game of all time and this came second (StarCraft, perhaps unsurprisingly, came first), ahead of Baldur's Gate II, Civilization IV and Half-Life. A very respectable placing. If you can find a copy of the game and the XP patch it is very highly recommended.

[SinisterDeath]

Bump,

what is Planescape?

[Werthead]

Planescape was a campaign setting for Dungeons and Dragons, or more accuately Planescape was the name given for the multiverse within which the individual D&D worlds (Dragonlance, Forgotten Realms, player-created worlds etc) resided. In 1994 the planes were given their own boxed game setting, which won tons of awards and was very popular for about five years before passing out of use. The primary idea of Planescape is that its myriad dimensions and worlds are based around philosophies, laws and morality which shift according to the people who are resident within them.

 

Of course, whilst this sounds great in concept, D&D was not the best fit for the idea as it was a bit too esoteric, so Planescape became very, very popular amongst hard-core D&D 'role'-players and forgotten about by everyone who just wanted to kill orcs and pretend to be Drizzt.

 

Luckily, Black Isle/BioWare had already produced Baldur's Gate, one of the other greatest RPGs of all time, when they got their hands on the Planescape licence and produced Torment, which was released in late 1999 as the one and I believe only game ever produced based on the setting. The game is notable for the main character being unkillable (you immediately resurrect), based on the logic that no-one goes, "Hey! I'm dead! Time to restart the whole game!" and just hits quick-load anyway and for the game being built around an investigation of your missing memories and discovering the highly complex and individual motivations of the dozen or so NPCs who join the party as the game progresses. Whilst set in the D&D multiverse there are virtually no recognisable D&D elements in the game (no orcs, no elves, no dwarves) and the rules are so bent and twisted to fit the game's needs as to be unrecognisable. Whilst there is combat, it is actually barely needed (like one of the other great PC RPGs, Deus Ex, I think there's only one battle in the game that needs to be fought, every other situation can be evaded through role-playing and dialogue).

 

Naturally, despite fantastic reviews the mildly puzzling and difficult-to-get-across concept meant that the game did not sell well and it died a death, only to become a major cult classic. Never ones not to raid their own games for good ideas, BioWare later ransacked a lot of the plot and wrapped it in lightsabre goodness to produce Knights of the Old Republic, although this lacked a lot of the original's games' subtlety. Planescape: Torment remains the best-written PC RPG ever made and it's vaguely disturbing that we're nearly a decade down the line from it and nothing else has really come along to dislodge it.

 

Here's a recent article on the game.