Planescape: Torment

Sick of constantly dying in RPGs? Try one where repeatedly dying actually furthers the plot. Welcome to the weird world of Torment, Black Isle's follow-up to Baldur's Gate. Set in AD&D's Planescape multiverse, Torment players start their journey laid out on a slab, surrounded by corpses. Who are you! Why are you dead? And why is a smart-mouthed, disembodied skull telling you that you'd rather not know the truth? Black Isle promises that Torment will be "nearly cliche-free" and will feature one of the most dramatic endings to date.

The first RPG to be set in the AD&D Planescape world. Torment is darker than the average fantasy role-playing game. It puts you in charge of an immortal who is suffering from a twinge of memory loss. Death isn't an endgame, it's simply another step toward your goal of...well, you'll have to figure it out now, won't you?

Though built on the same engine that powered Baldur's Gate, Torment doesn't take itself quite as seriously as that game. In fact, your floating-skull sidekick, Mort, berates you at every opportunity--when he's not busy flirting with the undead ladies. Plus, improvements to the engine abound, such as the ability to run or to take notes in different map areas.

Uniquely, character creation doesn't consist of rolling digital-dice before the game starts. Instead, personality is dictated by how you play your role: Your actions and even your conversations shape your protagonist and his world. With Planescape's solid engine and excellent story line, the biggest torment for us will be waiting for this puppy to be released.