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Editorial Remembering... Planescape: Torment

VentilatorOfDoom

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Tags: Black Isle Studios; Planescape: Torment

<p>Thunderbolt Games <a href="http://www.thunderboltgames.com/features/article/remembering-planescape-torment-feature-for-pc.html" target="_blank">put up a retrospective</a> of MCA's one-hit masterpiece, <strong>Planescape: Torment</strong>.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Somehow, despite its flaws, <em>Planescape</em> feels more endearing than most every big budget title made today. While almost every modern game feels so focus-tested they never leave players any doubt as to how to progress, and feature perfectly crafted difficulty curves to climb, they are also so slick, shallow, and risk-free as to risk losing all sense of emotional connection. By not challenging us to do anything other than sit and follow a straight line of breadcrumbs from opening tutorial to three-stage last boss, so many games have lost their sense of adventure, of risk, of discovery and accomplishment. And while <em>Planescape</em> is not, by any means, perfect, it is something more interesting than almost every game found today. In not doing all of our thinking for us, by not rushing ahead, by not laying its entire story out in front of us from the opening scenes, <em>Planescape</em> feels less like an interactive movie, as most games of today are trying to be, and instead creates the feeling of wading through a dense, dusty, 1,000 page fantasy novel. It meanders and sprawls and hints at two dozen paths before finally working its way back, brilliantly, to an answer that&rsquo;s been staring us in the face the entire time.</p>
</blockquote>
 

someone else

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Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
Can you link us to a "this game sucks" article for PST instead?
Do the same for Arcanum and Fallout and what other rpgs are highly regarded on the Codex? Betrayal At Krondor, Ultima VII, Gothic 2, Ultima Underworld.
 
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Mighty Mouse said:
Can you link us to a "this game sucks" article for PST instead?
Do the same for Arcanum and Fallout and what other rpgs are highly regarded on the Codex? Betrayal At Krondor, Ultima VII, Gothic 2, Ultima Underworld.

We have lots of those. We use the tags 'Skyway' and 'Metalcraze' when posting them to make it easier for searches.
 

Zarniwoop

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Shadorwun: Hong Kong
I'm busy playing it now, for the first time (believe it or not)

So far it's been a good few hours, the whole plot wasn't explained in the first 10 minutes and not once has any party member tried to hump me, male or female.

Neither has there been any opportunity to shoot things from behind crates, express my very enstusiastic desire to become a dragon, or one on-screen reminder to press a certain button/click on a question mark/breathe in and out.

Why oh why can't new games be like this? :(
 

Jools

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Azrael the cat said:
Mighty Mouse said:
Can you link us to a "this game sucks" article for PST instead?
Do the same for Arcanum and Fallout and what other rpgs are highly regarded on the Codex? Betrayal At Krondor, Ultima VII, Gothic 2, Ultima Underworld.

We have lots of those. We use the tags 'Skyway' and 'Metalcraze' when posting them to make it easier for searches.

Also, social.bioware .
 

Sulimo

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I didn't really like PST, I mean, why do I have to play some ugly deformed zombie guy? I want to roleplay a sexy handsome dark elf with a heart of gold. Good going ruining my roleplaying, MCA.

And besides, text is a poor medium for conveying sarcasm, so most of the times I had to laugh while the game was totally serious. Lameeee. And I really wanted to bromance/skullfuck Morte, but the game wouldn't let me.
 

Xor

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Sulimo said:
I didn't really like PST, I mean, why do I have to play some ugly deformed zombie guy? I want to roleplay a sexy handsome dark elf with a heart of gold. Good going ruining my roleplaying, MCA.

And besides, text is a poor medium for conveying sarcasm, so most of the times I had to laugh while the game was totally serious. Lameeee. And I really wanted to bromance/skullfuck Morte, but the game wouldn't let me.

I know you're trolling but this still pisses me off because there are people who believe this.


PST is an enduring classic. Unlike modern RPGs, in 10 years people will still be looking back to PST as one of the best RPGs ever created.
 

Sulimo

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It's surprising how many people write off RPG's directly off the bat simply because they can't create their own character with a variety of anime haircuts. I seriously don't get those people. What's wrong with TNO/Geralt/Gothicdude/Risendude?
 

markec

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Sulimo said:
I seriously don't get those people. What's wrong with TNO/Geralt/Gothicdude/Risendude?

They are not busty elven chicks wearing chain bikinis?
 

SCO

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I wonder how morte managed to do something with the prostitute. I mean TNO said he didn't want to know, but i certainly did.

Lose 3 stars from my ranking for this.


22/5
 

Phelot

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Volourn said:
Great game that is both under and over appreciated.

Yeah. So few people seem to know about it, but those that do turn into a raving lunatic over how awesome the game is. I used to be like that, but I've calmed down.
 

Turisas

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markec said:
Sulimo said:
I seriously don't get those people. What's wrong with TNO/Geralt/Gothicdude/Risendude?

They are not busty elven chicks wearing chain bikinis?

"I play with female characters so I don't have to look at a guy's butt all the time, I'm not gay lol!"
 

Phelot

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markec said:
Sulimo said:
I seriously don't get those people. What's wrong with TNO/Geralt/Gothicdude/Risendude?

They are not busty elven chicks wearing chain bikinis?

Well, in the case of TNO and Geralt they have plenty of big boobs to gawk at in game, but I pity the brofest that awaits the Gothic and Risen dude.
 

poetic codex

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It's articles like these that ruined planescape torment for me. along with all those threads where people say things like "this is the best story ever !!" " Best game ever !!" "Most under-rated game !!"

I don't understand how a game could be called under-rated when it's considered blasphemy to even give the slightest criticism about it.

So I went into Planescape expecting the best writing, and "best game ever !" Instead, I found writing filled with high-school level angst, and a game that's quite awkward mechanically. The UI is cumbersome, the combat is boring, and the majority of the quests are basic "fetch it" or fed-ex quests. Sure they might be slightly more creative fed ex quests, but its the same thing in the end. I don't see a major difference between having to fetch six wolf pelts, vs having to fetch a demon tongue. They're both fed-ex quests.

Have any of you people actually tried playing the game lately? As a pure adventure game, or interactive novel, it probably would have worked very nicely, but it's mediocre to terrible as an RPG.
 

poetic codex

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meanwhileInPoland said:
but it's mediocre to terrible as an RPG.

super gra kurwo super gra

Selective quoting. *sigh*

The biggest gripes for me in PST were the dialogue, quest design, combat, and UI. These are the basic RPG building blocks. As an interactive novel, they could still use the same amount of text and tell the story they want to tell without the poorly designed RPG mechanics in the way. I really really enjoyed Anchorhead which is a pure text game,and I feel I would have enjoyed PST more in that format as opposed to an RPG format.
 

Volourn

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Let's be honest, whiole PST's writing is overall great and is betetr than 99% of games, it does have its boneheaded moments of striaght up retartoness.
 

Black Cat

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Worse writing than most books, worse gameplay than most games, highschool level philosophy and metaphysics.

How do you actually manage to underrate it?
 

Volourn

Pretty Princess
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Be quiet little girl. Let the big tits discuss adult things. Go play with your little kittens.
 

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