Planescape Torment

Planescape Torment

I've tried to play this game multiple times but never got that far as other games got in the way.  This was one of the games that I bought my laptop for so I made a decision to finish it this time.  The game is usually rated among the top RPG's in every list and so far I haven't been disappointed.  The game has a half a million lines of text and almost none of it is voiced so you do spend a lot of time in dialog sequences but each one is full of descriptive text and really helps you to become part of the world.  It plays from a top down perspective like the Baldur's Gate games. I turned down the difficulty as it only pertains to the combat because I really wanted to just enjoy the story.  The main character is very interesting, he is a person who can't die with amnesia and you are trying to find out who you are. Sometimes a person or a place will bring back a memory so you do need to explore all the areas and talk to as many people as possible. There are times that you do need to "die" to forward the story so it's a unique game design that keeps things interesting.

The story so far has been terrific and you have companions that travel with you, the banter between them is great and funny at times.  You do have an alignment which determines who can join you and if you do actions that go against that alignment you can lose party members and ultimately change your alignment.  I made my character have a high wisdom attribute which allows me more dialog options and some of the responses are awesome.  It's kind of like Mass Effect except the answers aren't so black and white.  If you respond certain ways you can end up fighting and killing the person you were trying to get information from and then that makes you fail a quest you were on.  I really like that dynamic and most of the game is that way which makes each dialog meaningful.  Each person you speak to is described in much detail, they may not speak much but each person has a part in the world and just makes the whole story better. 

I guess that I'm about 12 hours in and depending on how much you explore it could take between 20-40 hours to finish.  The game is about 14 years old but there are patches that make the game work perfect on new systems and higher resolutions.  It's a unique game and I can see why so many people love the game.  There is a kickstarter for a spiritual sequel but really some games just need to exist uniquely. 

New Releases

PC
CastleStorm (download - $10) - Bought.  Just started the tutorial so far but looks like it will be a fun single and multiplayer game.
Cloudberry Kingdom (download - $10)
Narco Terror (download - $10) - No Idea.
Realms of Arkania - Blade of Destiny (download - $20) - Remake of the original, tempted on this one until I read the game is really unfiinished.  It just released on Steam but they put the german release on the US store.
Rise of the Triad (download - $15) - Another remake that looks really cool. 
Skulls of the Shogun Bone-a-Fide Edition (download - $15) - Already bought, cool take on an RTS. 

Xbox 360
Cloudberry Kingdom (XBLA - $10)
Narco Terror (XBLA - $10)

PlayStation 3
Cloudberry Kingdom (PSN - $10)
Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly (PS2 Classics)
Narco Terror (PSN - $10)
Samurai Warriors: Xtreme Legends (PS2 Classics)
The Last Bounty Hunter (PSN)
Rise of the Triad and Cloudberry Kingdom

Wii U
Cloudberry Kingdom (eShop - $10)
Pikmin 3 - Finally another game for the Wii. 

Vita
PixelJunk Monsters: Ultimate HD (PSN - $15)
Puzzle by Nikoli V: Slitherlink (PSN)

Nintendo 3DS
Family Kart 3D (eShop - $5)
Kirby's Dream Land (Virtual Console)