When people ask me to name those games that actually deserve a 10/10 score, I usually... Let me rephrase: When people on the internet start praising unworthy games, I often get an urge to inform them, that there is a world of games beyond Square-Enix; games that are fantastic without necessarily having the word
Fantasy in the title. Although I like to tell myself, that I in principle am against giving games a numerical (or alphabetical) score, even I cannot resist the urge to attach 10's to games that deserve them. It's just so much fun, is it not?
The problem/challenge/source-of-much-joy is, however, when you return to a game that you gave a 10, only to find out that it didn't actually deserve it. That's why you should never give a 10 to a game that you haven't played through at least twice. But, then again, would anybody do that?
A source of even greater joy, are the rare occasions, when you return to a game to find that 10 is exactly what it deserves. I am writing all this nonsense because I, at the time of writing, am replaying Planescape: Torment, the classic from 1999. A game that is so unbearably well-designed that it almost makes existence worthwhile for a... while. Where a game like Final Fantasy VII, which currently also stands as a 10-game in my book, appears less and less impressive one you've gotten used to Square's methods, Torment stays as fresh as ever, even though it is almost as old as FFVII. Somehow, I'm sure that Torment will be equally enjoyable in 10 years, while the poor design of the otherwise fantastic FFVII will become even harder to look past as time passes.
In other words:
Is Torment fantastic? Yes.
Is Torment better than StarCraft? They can't be compared.
Can Torment be compared to Final Fantasy VII? Yes, I just did, see above.
Is Torment better than Final Fantasy VII? Yes.
Is Torment better than Baldur's Gate I+II? I'd say they add to each other.
Is this blog rather pointless? So far, yes.
This picture is legitimate proof that the Bananroulade (or, in English: Banana Roll) exists. During the first weeks after the release of this heavenly cake, not many people believed that the cake companies would actually have the guts to combine the wonders of Roulade and banana. Even well-known Roulade-enthusiasts dismissed the rumours of the new Bananroulade as false. The picture above, however, erases any remnants of doubt there might be. The Bananroulade is not only real, it is also on sale. But then again, who in their right mind would actually buy two of these rather bombastic cakes? It'll kill you for sure, but oh, what a way to go.
