"I've fallen, and I keep getting up!"

Any game where you play an immortal has got to be cool. Base it on TSR's AD&D Planescape world, and it gets better. Top it off by adding great visuals, sound, and a killer story, and you've got an incredible game.

Which, of course, Planescape: Torment is.

The game begins with your horribly scarred character waking up in a grim, bloody mortuary with no idea who he is, where he is, or how he got there. Interesting, no? He meets up with a floating skull named Morte, who happens to share his room, and the two begin their escape. The game then progresses to tell the story of a sad, lonely man who must come to terms with who he is and put to rest the shadows (heh, inside joke if you played it) of his past.

Gameplay: 9/10
The gameplay is similar to Baldur's Gate, also by Black Isle Studios. It utilizes the same engine, but it has been refined and made much better. You must basically wander the planes, gathering clues about who you are, and fight off all hostile creatures you meet. The combat system is very well implemented, and allows the same Pause feature found in Baldur's Gate, where you can instantly pause the action by hitting the space bar and assign tasks to your characters, then resume play. Oh, and did I forget to mention that your character can't die? Well, he can, but he just wakes up a few moments later and shrugs it off. The only flaws with the gameplay are that ''click'' detection is sometimes off, meaning that if you think you clicked on an item or enemy, sometimes it doesn't register. Also, pathfinding becomes a problem in cramped areas when you have a large party. There is also a very annoying bug that sometimes causes the game to slow to a crawl for no reason at all, until you exit the screen and come back (no, it's not my computer, trust me). Still, there problems aside, the gameplay is top notch.

Graphics: 9/10
Characters are larger than in Baldur's Gate, and the graphics are very detailed. There really aren't any repeated textures or objects (well, maybe a few), but overall the areas are highly unique and, like I mentioned, detailed. Spell effects are also very nice, especially some of the higher level spells, which utilize CG cutscenes for some stunning effects. No problems in the graphic department, really.

Music/Sound: 8/10
The music in Torment is really quite good for the most part. The main theme of the game is one of the better tunes. Battle music is also well done. However, there are also a few tunes that might induce yawns, but this really has no implication on the enjoyment of the game. No songs could be classified as annoying or bad. The sound is great, and the voice acting is very good too. Some noticeable people lended their voices to the game, like Dan Castelleneta (sp?) from The Simpsons, and Mitch Pileggi (sp?) from the X-Files.

Story: 10/10
This is where Torment thrives. The story in this game is one of the better I've seen, and I've played more then my fair share of games. You have to read a LOT to play this game, but it is all worth it because, like I said, the story is incredible. The game still maintains a very non-linear feel in the midst of it.

Overall: 9/10
If you enjoy RPG games, chances are you'll love this game. Almost perfect. Expect to spend some serious playing time on this game.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 04/02/00, Updated 04/02/00