"What can change the nature of a good game?"

Planescape is a game developed by Black Isle and came out in 1999. The game was an RPG, but one that was rarely done on the PC. Planescape is very story intensive compared to most RPGs which are just hack and slashs. It had poor sales which was a same because this game is by far one of the best I've played, and deserved to be a blockbuster. For the people who have played it they, for the most part, love it while there is some who don't like it because it has too much story. Some say it's a interactive novel, but I just call it a damn good game.

Graphics-9
The graphics make the best use of the InfinityEngine in my opinion. The characters are large and animate very well compared to BGs small characters that are hard to see. The backgrounds are also great even thought they aren't the most vibrant colors you will see, which wouldn't fit because of the somewhat dark story. I've played the game with the patch so I have experience the ''slowdown'' problem that happened when it first came out, so therefor my game runs great and only slows down a little when there is a big battle. Torment has cut scenes too and their pretty good but are still out matched by other companies. Also the spell affects are awesome, the high point of the graphics. After being used to the dark and moody colors you set off a spell and you'll be dazzeld with the colors.

Sound-9
Great voice acting. All of the voices are high quality and expressed right. The music is also great too, with some original pieces. Overall the sound is as good as it needs to be.

Gameplay-10
The game uses Biowares InfinityEngine which is great for interpreting the AD&D rules. Some people new to PC rpgs may seem overwhelmed with AD&D rules but learning the basics so you can play is easy if given a little time. You can create a character in the beginning by putting points into different categories which will affect the outcomes in the game, which increases the replay value. At the beginning you are a Fighter but pretty soon after you start you can become a Mage or a Thief. You can only be one at a time of course but during the course of the game you can switch to whatever class you want, so your not restricted to just one. Torment does not have alot of battles because in this game the word is mightier than the sword. You can get experience by talking to people and finding out new things and you are given a good amount of dialog options to choose from, and the chooses you make do make a difference. When combat is needed it is very easy to do commands and other things with the help of the pause button which stops the action and allows you to rethink your plans. There is also an alignment which is affected by everything you do, ranging from Lawful, chaotic, neutral with either good, neutral, evil. It's very cool how much the choices you make in the game affect things. The gameplay does everything good.

Story-10
Being a story based RPG, it was obvious. The story starts of you being the Nameless one who looses his memory and has instructions on his back saying for him to find a person and get his journal back. Of course it becomes a lot more than that, leading you like a great novel. You get companions that have their own stories that are as complex as yours, leading to great NPC interactions. The game just has one of the best stories I've seen in a game, and even most of the books I read. I consider the story my favorite part of an RPG, so playing Planescape is just asking for me to love it.

Planescape has it all, good story, gameplay, graphics, and sound. I will always remember this game as being one of the best I've ever played. It's a sad thing that this game didn't make the commercial success it deserved, but I defiantly got my monies worth. Buy this game.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 04/10/02, Updated 04/10/02