Graphics

Better Than Baldur

Considering that Torment uses Bioware's Infinity Engine, which was used to create Baldur's Gate, we could expect nothing but the best 2D graphics. While the Infinity Engine doesn't lend itself to small animations such as those in Silver, it does give a great deal of room to play with. A scene in Torment may be as much as 8 by 8 screens across, allowing for some fantastic buildings and interiors to be displayed. The artists in Planescape: Torment clearly went to a great deal of effort to give Sigil its signature marks - such as buildings with blade-like surfaces jutting out in imitation of the blades on the Lady of Pain. There are areas so run-down that they'd humble the poorest cities on any Prime world, and then there will be sections of the city with so much splendor as to knock the doubts out of any clueless than this isn't his world.

Surrounded!

Odd gates

The perspective has shifted from Ultima-style top-down to a a 2/3rds view like that used in Fallout and Diablo. The field of view has also zoomed in considerably, making characters and objects look significantly larger. This has allowed the artists to put much more detail into everything. While you may not be able to tell apart the individual scars on the Nameless One, you can see his rather odd choice of clothing. Animations also appear smoother, with apparently more frames per action being available, as walking and running feels a bit more natural (ok, so the Nameless One walks funny).

Those ghouls blocked my path for 10 mins!

Weeeiirrddd throne

Over The Top

Nope, not a bad Sylvester Stallone movie. Rather, we're talking about combat effects and spells. These are really, really over the top - almost anime-style. Getting a critical hit will show an impressive flash in a bright color, each special effect individual to the character who did it. Morte's criticals, for example, look like a giant set of red and yellow teeth overlapping the creature that got struck. Dak'kon, however, a Gith fighter/mage who relies on his skill and fine blade, has an effect looks like a bright slash cutting his enemy in half.

Who da chick wit' tail!!!

She likes you!

Spells are just really… wild. The simpler spells are nothing to brag about, but when you cast something better - like Cloudkill, man oh man… it's something. The game 'pauses', the screen gets a green haze and these yellow-green nasty clouds start coming across, fading in and out. It doesn't lend itself very well to description. The more powerful the spell, the greater the effect too.