February 28, 2017 is indeed a solemn day for all lovers of traditional RPGs with the deepest meaning.
Today, inXile Entertainment's highly coveted Tides of Numenera has been released. And it is desirable because it does not stop the story inside the world of the cult Planescape. Torment. Like 18 years ago, gamers are waiting for colorful characters, the deepest elaborated game world and a plot with a huge letter "C". It consists of more than 800,000 interactive words alone, just think about this size!. And this is not graphomania at all, but a universe made by maestro Monte Cook.
Connoisseurs know in advance that similar things will drag on with arms and legs. We now, as traditionally, will fully consider this project. You should carefully consider its pluses, minuses and slightly dig into the epic of the universe. Perhaps we'll start. Back in 1999, one of the best, according to almost all people, role-playing video game came out - Planescape Torment. It was a time when role-playing video games that have become classics now came out one after another. Diablo, various video games in the setting of Dungeon and Dragons and similar. Planescape Torment was fundamentally different in their background. A world where the most extraordinary and eccentric than the others. The protagonist without a name and the past, however, “Nameless”, can be considered as a name. And you associate yourself with him much stronger than with anyone else.
So worked out the world of the distant future billions of years ahead, that a page of text could go to the presentation of any insignificant scripted NPC. At the same time, not a boring enumeration of some features, but an artistic narrative with metaphors and comparisons. It gave the feeling of reading a fascinating book. By the way, a large part of the gameplay consisted of reading, thinking about decisions, analyzing what was just happening. There was a very high variability and with the intention, it was possible to go the whole video game, taking part in 10 - one and a half fights. The plot was really deep. The nameless one started his own way in the morgue, not remembering himself at all and not knowing anything about this big world with demons, magicians, monsters and other creatures. He asked himself a large number of questions about the meaning of life, about death, was in an existential search. He evenly recalled his own past and learned about the world.
And so, at the beginning of March 2013, it was announced that inXile Entertainment plans to start work on a video game that continues the theme of this universe. Not the 2nd part, not a plot continuation, but specifically the latest holistic video game. We decided to raise funds through crowdfunding. They announced that in projects to raise $ 900,000 in a couple of weeks on Kickstarter. What is the result? The project raised a million dollars in 7 hours from the start of the collection. This is an absolute record among the charges for a role-playing video game. I think the dimensions of hopes based on these figures are understandable. The creators did not rush headlong to do anything, but began to slowly and thoughtfully create a potential hit. After a series of reschedules, the video game eventually came out.
More text than the Bible. So they say about the plot of this video game. And this is of course. But do not think that you will be forced to read canvases of a boring artistic text. A giant part of this size is occupied by dialogs with selection variations. At the same time, there may be 6-7 or more alternatives. They all offer different results. Entire new branches of history are being opened up. And although finally there are few alternative endings, the replay value here is at a very high level. You can go through the plot again and again. Not only separate fragments will change, as in almost all pseudo-plot plans, but also the direction completely. 99% of the time the plot is presented in words. Only an insignificant part of it is shown as scripted scenes of heroes that you don’t actually notice. Here this is somehow not desirable.
In the center of the story, again, the nameless protagonist without the past is not the same as in the first part. He is considered one of the incarnations of the Changing Supreme of this world. It does not appear in the morgue, but at the restoration crystal. In general, the plot of the video game is fundamentally new. It is dedicated not to the issues of death and the suffering of an endless life, but to the main issues of life and the evaluation of one's own actions for posterity. It is difficult to explain the linear moves of a short story the size of 2 Bibles in the conditions of a small review. The Ninth World is a universe using billions of years later of today's civilization. Here, the emphasis is not on witchcraft, as in the video game predecessor, but on technological processes that have reached the level of magic. Teleportation, transfers in time and space, all this is in the order of things. Gods, demons, magicians and other creatures coexist with this. Most of the companions of the main character of the video game, either do not forget themselves, or look for answers to get out of their own difficult situations.
Result. If you are ready, you will need to read, read and read again. It won't be sour stuff. Mountains of fascinating conversations with an abundance of references, jokes, and from time to time touching on the basic themes of existence. Plus, the ability to radically change everything again and again, providing different answers. Suddenly you are an altruist who does not like violence. In this case, the idea of making a video game way with a minimum of conflicts and victims is your choice. The visual shell of a video game can be called economical. It doesn't look like 2017 at all. It's faster than something from the mid-noughties. The animation of strikes and various magical things does not shine with variety. Textures from a distance seem to be beautiful, but it’s better not to bring the camera closer. It can be favorably noted except that a pleasant palette and shadows. But a video game will force the imagination to work so diligently that it is unlikely that there will be time to think about the picture at all. In terms of gameplay - a traditional RPG in every sense. A main protagonist is given, whose gender and personalities are chosen first. For him and for his upcoming companions, there is a pumping system from 3 main sections.
From this come all further “dances” with pumping. Turn around will be in which. Individuality and ability is under every video game nuance. Of course, it is necessary to work with development in the direction that is useful for your manner of passing. Be a diplomat and decide everything with words or make yourself a fighter first, it's up to you. The process of a video game consists of exploring maps, conducting quest quests, and unwinding role-playing distinctive features. Often not alone, but with a certain number of partners. The abundance of missions, locations, prescribed characters and inconceivable details of this world will amaze you more than once. Planescape fans. Torment are sure to remain enthusiastic about the video game. Since this is the situation that was in this case, 18 years ago. Well, simply adherents of not bad role-playing video games can be safely advised. If only they are not rivals of a very huge amount of text and the prospect of spending a lot of time on a video game. Worthy development of the known universe.
