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This is a good introduction to AD&D What would happen if there was a place where there existed a portal to anywhere you wanted to go, both real and imaginary? You would find yourself in Sigil, the city of doors, deep in the center of the multi-verse known as Planescape; a place where the mere belief in something will cause its existence. You play the role of 'The Nameless One' an immortal being with a touch of amnesia, in his search to find out about himself. Gameplay: Torment utilizes the Infinity Engine made popular by Baldur's Gate, yet it seems to be geared more toward the new RPGer rather than fans of BG. The interface is probably, the only downside to this game. Everything is accessed through a circular right-click menu that is accessed during a paused game. Everything from talking to your characters, changing weapons, casting a spell and using special abilities is run from this window. It's a good idea in theory, yet it tries to do too much with too little. The original quick buttons found in BG were a much more efficient set-up. The game uses a slightly modified AD&D second generation rule-set. As with the interface, the rule set has been simplified in this game. You have no choice to your starting character. Simply put, you are the nameless - an immortal human male, who starts as a fighter. During the game, you have the option of changing between your starting class of a fighter and a thief or mage. There's no dual-classing, switching to another class is like building a new character, yet switching back, you will find all your previously earned experience saved. Your available party members are not only locked in whatever class you find them in, but are, for the most part, locked in their weapon and armor choices. What makes this game one of the better RPGs on the market is the story. In your quest to discover yourself, you learn about the story and concept of the planeworlds, an interesting universe where belief is very fabric of being. Though it introduces the player to the world, the story is very linear and you'll find yourself without much choice in the matter besides your decision to play good or evil. Graphics: If you've played any of the Black Isle games on the Infinity Engine, you'll be very familiar with the sights and sounds of Torment. It's a bit more zoomed in than the others, and that can lead to confusion when trying to cross long distances without the use of your mini-map. But for being 5 years old and only 800x600 it is very artistically done. A lot of work was put into creating a town that looks and feels like it could be the center of the universe. Besides the obvious, the game has aged very well. Sound: The ambient music is excellently done, as well as the voice acting. The biggest problem is in the game's EAX manipulation. If you have this turned on, you'll be hard pressed to hear the voice-acting in any outdoor or cavernous scenes as it just blends into white-noise. Besides that, the only annoyance comes with the apparent necessity to have your characters have a voice prompt after they do *anything*. After you've heard one of your character announce they have stealthed for the umpteenth time, you'll be hoping to never hear it again. Overall: While it's a fun game, it's not quite my cup-of-tea. Your character is immortal, you die and wake up somewhere with your inventory intact. For the most part, you can go around with your level one thief and try to take out City Guards with no side effect. The game is just too easy, even at the hardest settings. Add that to the severely linear gameplay and at times it becomes a little slow. It's your typical quest driven RPG without much in the way of side quests. Luckily, you have a variable alignment which can change depending on your actions, and that adds a little to the mix, but not enough. If the story wasn't as well written, then this game would have been a flop, so pick this up as a nice interactive novel, but don't expect a second play through unless the best RPG you've played before this is FF.