Thyroid

Planescape: Torment

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How well does this game hold up, does anyone? I know Thunderpeel likes it, but in general: how does Idle Thumbs feel about this game, as objectively as you can be? :)

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I had started another playthrough a couple years ago that i never ended up finishing, i just found it hard to play. I always did have trouble getting into those infinity engine games though, and it was pretty rough going back.

More objectively, i do think Planescape Torment is something that is pretty incredible and worth at least trying.

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The combat is not really its strength. If I were to play again, I'd probably grab a cheat program/save game editor and crank all the physical stats to max just to not have to worry about it.

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The combat's really easy, i found. The patches on my guide do a good job of removing the randomness to the point where some hardcores think it's too easy.

As for my objective opinion of the game, I'd say it's the closest that any game has come to making me cry. But you have to love reading... There's a lot of text!

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I tried playing it for the first time a few months back and found it really hard to get into. Maybe I'll try again in a bit, but it's pretty rough if you're coming at it having never played it before.

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It's interesting you should say that. The first time I played it I felt really overwhelmed with the world. I stopped playing really early on because of it. When I eventually went back I found myself wondering what was so difficult to get my head around. It was nowhere near as complicated as I'd remembered.

I think one thing is for sure, though. Complicated or not, it's a lot more rewarding when you're giving it your full attention. It's not a casual game, but its depth is very rewarding if you stay with it.

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Fair enough. I'd been playing to kill time at work while waiting for the last show of the night to end so I could lock up. I did that for about 4 nights in a row and just wasn't feeling it, so I stopped playing. Also, the same kind of "GAAAH I WANT TO ZOOM OUT WAY MORE" problems I'm currently having with Baldur's Gate apply.

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Is the story of the game interesting enough to hold up on its own? I'd really like to know what the characters and plot and so on of Planescape: Torment are about, but there is no way I can actually make myself play it at this point. I'm vaguely considering trying to find a video series or something but I wonder if a good one even exists. In fact, if it's mostly reading, is there some kind of "Planescape: Torment as a book" site somewhere?

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Is the story of the game interesting enough to hold up on its own? I'd really like to know what the characters and plot and so on of Planescape: Torment are about, but there is no way I can actually make myself play it at this point. I'm vaguely considering trying to find a video series or something but I wonder if a good one even exists. In fact, if it's mostly reading, is there some kind of "Planescape: Torment as a book" site somewhere?

"Planescape: Torment as a book"

I'm not sure it really holds up as well on its own though. Part of the appeal to me is the degree of reactivity to your choices.

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"Planescape: Torment as a book"

I'm not sure it really holds up as well on its own though. Part of the appeal to me is the degree of reactivity to your choices.

Yeah, I could see how that could be an issue. Nevertheless, I'll give it a go at least. Thanks!

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I've heard the book is dramatically contradictory to some of the key plot points in the game. And more importantly, a lot of the fun of Planescape: Torment is the way it messes with how you think about game narratives and causality. If "you" are not the main character, then a lot of the reveals just won't have the same impact. I can't imagine it would work very well as a story in any other form than what it is. Really, you should just play it -- if you don't like the combat, download a savegame editor and just pump your stats artificially high.

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Really, you should just play it -- if you don't like the combat, download a savegame editor and just pump your stats artificially high.

That's certainly an issue, but beyond that is the time investment that would be required, the compatibility shit I'd probably go through as it's an old game, the undoubtedly shitty user interface and the dodgy graphics.

There's a lot of stuff to get over when playing older games, and I don't know if my interest in this particular game stacks up enough to counteract all that.

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That's certainly an issue, but beyond that is the time investment that would be required, the compatibility shit I'd probably go through as it's an old game, the undoubtedly shitty user interface and the dodgy graphics.

There's a lot of stuff to get over when playing older games, and I don't know if my interest in this particular game stacks up enough to counteract all that.

You know there's a guide for that, right? :erm:

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That's certainly an issue, but beyond that is the time investment that would be required, the compatibility shit I'd probably go through as it's an old game, the undoubtedly shitty user interface and the dodgy graphics.

Well, I doubt there's much help for the "dodgy graphics," but getting a copy from GOG should eliminate the compatibility problems. I don't think the interface and time investment are significantly worse than other RPGs.

Also, I just now looked at the earlier novelization link, and it seems that it's actually the second attempt at a Torment novel, apparently more faithful than the original.

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I always feel like such a philistine when this game is discussed. The BG series hit the right gameplay/plot balance for me in this sort of game. I found PT to be far too wordy for me (and I am a voratious reader of books), while the Icewind games all feel hollow. I gave up to PT after getting to the brothel.

It might be just that BG was one of the first games i went utterly banana's for ruined all else.

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You know there's a guide for that, right? :erm:

I didn't. Hmm... maybe I'll check it out as a game after all, though I still doesn't see myself actually playing it all the way through. After all, I still haven't actually played either of the Baldur's Gate games to completion - though that may change when this BG update comes out.

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