Never mind their awkward relaunch publicity stunt, retro-gaming site Good Old Games saved the really important stuff for today: You can finally buy and play Planescape: Torment, the old Advanced Dungeons & Dragons computer roleplaying game everyone’s raved about for years.
Raved why? Because. You just have to play it to see.
GOG describes it as “one of the most beloved role-playing games ever,” adding that it’s probably “the most difficult-to-procure game on the site” and noting that “it’s one of the most requested…[with] copies on eBay [selling] for upwards of $60.”
As I’m typing this up, a quick eBay scan shows multiple “big box” copies of the game listing for as much $70.
Not for long. The GOG version sells for just $9.99, comes DRM-free (no code-wheels or entering text from the manual or however it worked back in December 1999), and here’s the best part: It’s been retooled to install and work under Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7 (32 and 64 bit).
GOG says it also comes with bonus materials, including the soundtrack, the 50 page manual, 104 pieces of artwork, 16 avatars for GOG’s forums, 2 high-definition desktop wallpapers, and a comic book by original designers Chris Avellone and Colin McComb.
The only downside’s that it’s still locked to 640×480, which is too small to run native (without stretching), meaning you’ll have to settle for something scaled, and adjust your video card’s settings to maintain aspect ratio (it’s not widescreen). Mods exist that allow you to tweak some of that stuff, but it’s unclear how compatible they’ll be with the GOG version.
The download’s about 1GB. You can get it here.
Don’t let the 1999 VGA graphics or dated AD&D mechanics fool you. If you think Mass Effect or Dragon Age represent the best the industry can do with a story, give this game a shake. You may be surprised by how little the industry’s progressed (some might even argue regressed) in 10 years.
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