#PLANESCAPE TORMENT TVTROPES PROFESSIONAL#

However, the modifications Black Isle Studios made to the original engine keep players in the game at all times-instead of watching player interaction or combat statistics scroll by in a tiny text window at the bottom of the screen, messages float up from the characters in the game window. Just as in Baldur's Gate, players can pause the game at any time, assign tasks to their party, and unpause. It might be more difficult to get through the game if everyone hates the Nameless One, but all the puzzles have multiple solutions to account for any style of play. What's even better, though, is that no matter what alignment players choose, there's a way to get through the game. Also, alignment is determined through game actions and dialogue choices-players can choose to be a nice guy most of the time, or a total asshole to everyone they meet, and the alignment will change accordingly. When the game starts, the Nameless One is a basic fighter, but he can become a thief or a mage by simply asking the right people the right questions (and usually solving a few puzzles).

#PLANESCAPE TORMENT TVTROPES PROFESSIONAL#

The rest of the Nameless One's career is determined in-game, through asking professional specialists to train him, or seeking instruction with a master. When players start the game, they can distribute character points to various aspects of the Nameless One, but that's the last bit of out-of-game modification they can do.

Most quests, however, will give the player more information on the Nameless One himself, or open up new careers for the scarred main character. The Nameless One might be pursuing objects that have severe impact on the world, or perhaps just uncovering a spy's secret plot. While most of the quests are fetch-and-carry jobs, they have some of the most interesting storylines. The story is mostly contained in dialogue, however, so players should expect to do a lot of reading, especially in the first few hours, when the entire Hive neighborhood lies open and just about every NPC with a name has some quest for you. From the very beginning, the mystery surrounding the Nameless One is a gem. What really draws you in, however, is the incredibly deep and involving storyline. Wherever you go, whether it's the orderly Harmonium or undead-infested Dead Nations, the artwork conveys the feeling of the area perfectly. And the richer areas of town are covered in mosaics, statues, and brilliant lights. Zombies shuffle along hallways littered with severed body parts. NPCs wander through a squalid city filled with garbage. The lovingly detailed backgrounds lend an eerie darkness to the game. However, not all the problems with the engine have been resolved-pathfinding is still sticky, characters block other characters, and inventory management is still a little sub-game in itself.

Even the spell effects have been redone to make them bigger, better, and much more impressive. On-screen characters are larger, and the backgrounds far more animated. The journal breaks up quests into completed and assigned categories. Automaps now have auto-notation, as well as custom notes. Although similar, Torment does things Baldur's Gate fans have been crying out for. The game engine is a modified version of Bioware's Baldur's Gate tech. This rather bizarre location, along with an immortal main character who's lived and died so many times that he's become an expert at anything and everything, lets the developers do things we've never seen before in an RPG-and they do it incredibly well. The city is ruled over by the Lady of Pain, a mysterious, powerful figure. Sigil, the city where most of the action is located, is the central hub of the universe, where portals open to all other dimensions. Torment is based on TSR's Planescape AD&D universe, which means that instead of elves, dragons, and furry-footed munchkins, players will encounter undead zombies, liches, and other things that go bump in the night.

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