Did i just buy a good RPG?

[Meshugger]

By the time you get to the Sensory Stones you should be hooked if you like the game at all.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I just tried all the sensory stones and just before that i was in my "own" maze. Incredible writing for a game, almost like a good book.

[Meshugger]

Yup, i finished it yesterday. Awesome game, should be recommended to anyone, regardless they've played an RPG or not before. At the end, my character had the following stats:

 

STR: 14

DEX 10

CON: 12

INT: 18

WIS: 24

CHA: 20

 

Lawful Good, apparantly i got the best ending

Knowing your first incarnation, thus your real name, merging with the trancendent one, have a nice last talk with the party, off to the blood war in order to repent for your sins across the planes

 

 

Now, further on with the review.

 

- Story

 

Should be no suprise if i tell you it's the best ever in a computer/console game. The dialogue, the writing, the whole idea of mortality and its influence on the nature of man. Superb, excellent, magnificent.

 

- Setting

 

Very interesting and it suits the story well IMO, since i find the regular DnD world of dwarfes, elves and trolls to be boring. How can a world divided into different planes NOT be interesting? A tour around Sigil meeting one wacky character after the other really pushed the player forward.

 

- Characters

 

A wise-cracking skull, a succubi that's bored with sex, a floating mage which is constantly on fire and so on. They all had their different reasons on why they joined the Nameless One's quest for his identity, filled with different banters against you and against one another.

 

- Combat

 

Err, not so good. Very clunky indeed, but it wasn't so bad that it stopped me from playing though. Now i understand why no one praises this game for its combat though

 

- Soundtrack

 

Very moody, with Annah's and Deionarra's theme standing out as classics. Otherwise, the rest of the songs where ok, but forgettable.

 

- Graphics

 

Pretty good, considering it's an RPG from 1999. Again, it certainly didn't stop me from finishing it.

 

- Artwork

 

Very good. It really captured the whole grim feel planescape in terms of symbols, places(ravel maze, pillar of skulls, Sigil) and overall feel of how the planes should look like. (I missed the higher planes though).

 

- Overall

 

- Best RPG ever? YES!

- Best story ever? YES!

- Best combat/gameplay ever? Nope.

- Best GAME ever? Haven't decided yet, definately in my top 3.

 

P.S. I wish to thank Chris Avellone for writing and story. Excellent work.

Edited November 16, 2005 by Meshugger

[Lyric Suite]

Personally i don't understand what makes Torment's combat system bad.

 

The character animations were the best i ever seen in any Infinity engine game (critical hits were a treat to the eye), spell effects were amazing and special abilities were actually fun to use.

 

What the game lacked were good combat situations, but other then that i actually enjoyed the fighting in Torment more then Baldur's Gate (too easy/repetitious) and Baldur's Gate 2 (felt too much like work).

 

Icewind Dale I it's the only IE game that has it beat IMHO.

 

I think most people merely like to claim Torment's combat was bad just because it's the only thing they are allowed to attack.

 

Personally i think the most glaring flaw was the fact the whole latter portion was completely rushed. Once you leave Sigil the game simply doesn't live up to that standard anymore, all though the ending itself was amazing.

Edited November 16, 2005 by Lyric Suite

[julianw]

I am having trouble even getting into the game. Don't see what's all the fuss about. I am in Sigil for an hour now and nothing interesting has happened. I couldn't finish Icewind Dale, either. I guess after BG and Kotor series, I might need a long break from rpgs.

[kalimeeri]

I am having trouble even getting into the game. Don't see what's all the fuss about. I am in Sigil for an hour now and nothing interesting has happened. I couldn't finish Icewind Dale, either. I guess after BG and Kotor series, I might need a long break from rpgs.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

If you really want to play this game, put away your preconceptions. About the only thing PST shares with IWD or BG2 is the engine. You can play either of those two games superficially, just watching events unfold. But PST is all about character and morals, and it's very deep. You have to talk to everybody, particularly your party members (again and again). TNO is a bit similar to Kreia; nobody tells you anything, you have to be paying attention, and figure it out on your own. And you may not like the answers so very much. Awesome stuff.

[Lyric Suite]

I am having trouble even getting into the game. Don't see what's all the fuss about. I am in Sigil for an hour now and nothing interesting has happened. I couldn't finish Icewind Dale, either. I guess after BG and Kotor series, I might need a long break from rpgs.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Define 'interesting'. :cool:

[julianw]

I guess the problem is after three hours+ of gameplay, I still have no clue what's going on or what to do next. I know I probably need to do something to stop this life and death cycle. So far, boring dialogues from the Sigil citizens and random attacks from the bandits really aren't helping. Perhaps when I find that damn guy and my damn journal, I might finally have some clue about this story that people seem to worship so much.

Edited November 16, 2005 by julianw

[Diogo Ribeiro]

A Torment thread. Whoa, the novelty.

 

People complaining about how "easy" Torment combat was seem to forget how difficult it was to defeat the demon in Curst. Trias's prision with all the gehreleths and mercykillers wasn't exactly a cakewalk either.  I don't recall Nordom's maze to be exactly "easy" either.

 

In fact, the demon in Curst was harder than any of BG2's dragons.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

A game's combat can hardly be defined in its difficulty levels based on a handful of events. Considering all of a game's particular ingame mechanics and different possible player strategies one can apply, you're bound to stumble on people who will swear a game was insanely hard, or a walk in the park. Personally I can't remember any meaningful situation where Torment's combat caused me troubles, except when I was going against the designer's plans (such as trying to rub out Many-As-One or Lothar).

 

For instance, the Fiend in the Box one encounters in Curst was easilly dispatched with Annah, Dak'kon and Fall-from-Grace in the party. I talked to Dak'kon and unloaded all my spells on the demon; then I had Grace and Dak'kon cast all they had as well while I 'entertained' the demon as a Fighter. When they were all out of spells, I simply talked to Annah and switched over to Thief, then proceeded to rain down backstabbing death on the fiend. It actually went down pretty quick. Barring that, I have slayed it as a soloing Fighter and Thief. Since the main character can't die and is resurrected nearby, its more of a game of patience than skill (though of course high level and good gear count).

 

Nordom's maze was also easy depending on your style of play. Barring the possibility of setting the maze's difficulty to "Easy", you didn't need to fight every monster in every room... All you had to do - if you wanted to do so - was just to find Nordom and whack the Evil Wizard. Trial and error pretty much give away in which rooms they were.

 

 

As for the criticism regarding Torment's combat system, it's been brought up time and again but the main issues were that it featured a much simpler version of the combat seen in other IE games in regards to challenge, diversity of opponents (both in style and tactics; a clear focus on behalf of enemies in melee combat is undeniable) and the problem with party members not living up to their classes' namesake (ie, characters in the party, aside the Nameless One, only used their specialized weapons rather than any class-specific weapon, which limited tactics; anyone trying to go for something like, say, ranged support could only rely on spellcasting).

 

The game's combat often feels like something to distract gamers with, an afterthought, and it clearly doesn't have the same level of focus in combat as there was in games like Baldur's Gate 2. BG2 presented many more options regarding combat styles, enemies and tactics; it was much more combat-oriented and it shows. This doesn't necessarily make the combat in Torment bad; but it can't hope to compare with what the other IE games had.

[Gabrielle]

I guess someone has to love the game.