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3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 Planescape: Torment is a rarity among computer and video games. Rather than focusing on combat, the game is largely centered on roleplaying. I suspect that many people reading this review have played the Baldur's Gate and/or Knights of the Old Republic games. I did too, several times, before playing Torment. As such, I'll gear my review to this audience. If you're looking for white-knuckled battles and powerful magic items, don't bother. That's not the point of Torment. The RPGs you've already played will sate your cravings. On the other hand, if you want an interactive graphic novel, you'll love this game. The story is the centerpiece, and it's all to do with The Nameless One--your character. The game is a journey of discovery as Nameless slowly learns what he is. I never found an excitingly powerful weapon or suit of armor; I only found three fights in the entire game to be somewhat memorable--and even then, only because of who they were against, not because they required any great strategy. Yet I was consumed by the story. Without giving too much away, I can say that Nameless is caught between life and death, never truly experiencing either. Each dialog presents you with a variety of moral choices, making this a great game for pure roleplaying. On the downside, character creation is pretty inflexible. You set Nameless' stats, but everything else about him is predetermined. The story kind of requires it. Fortunately, the story is a very well-written one, and the dialogue is sharp and clever. The graphics are 2D sprite-based, not 3D, so some players may feel as if they've been thrown back into the age of Super Nintendo--but not to worry. The environments are lush and deeply detailed, the characters are well-illustrated, and animations (such as spell effects) are interesting to watch even now. The user interface is rather clumsy and irritating, but the game is so dialogue-heavy that the UI isn't your primary concern. The sound and music are adequate--no more, no less. Given the copious amount of dialogue, it's a shame Black Isle didn't see fit to record more voice acting. Fans of Fallout, Baldur's Gate, and Knights of the Old Republic will recognize a few voices--and, I suspect, wish for more audio to properly convey these characters' emotions. It is a small cast. In all, seven characters can join Nameless in his trek (as opposed to the 25 of Baldur's Gate). However, each character has his or her own unique set of sprites and animations, special items and talents, and backstory. KotOR fans are already familiar with a cast who have all been affected by the player character in some way--in that respect, this game is much the same. To be completely honest, I think the concept of Planescape: Torment is better suited to a novel than a game. There is a novel, in fact, but the reviews are unimpressive. So play the game! (Oh, and one more thing--crank Nameless' Intelligence way the hell up. Trust me.)