Waiting for Diablo 3 driving you mad?
No need to fret, fans of action-oriented role-playing can get a first-rate fix of hacking and slashing right now in Torchlight, a dungeon crawl from the designers of the first two Diablo games and the cult hit, Fate.
I was introduced to this game by a friend, whose gaming interests are akin to those of mine; as in the MMORPG/Action/quest based games. If you’re looking for a successor to the Fate games, Torchlight boasts the same attitude, art style, and lighthearted personality that make that series a breezier play than the gothic Diablo games.
Don’t expect any surprises with this game though; the storyline consists of the typical rudimentary excuse to get you killing things under the ground.
You can play as one of three characters, the Destroyer fighter, a lithesome female anger called the Vanquisher, and the mage-mimicking Alchemist. Downside, outside of naming your adventurer, you’re stuck with these three stock choices. Character development runs along the same predictable RPG lines as its predecessors such as World of Warcraft and Arch Lord.
You gain experience points from slaying monsters. You level up every dungeon or so. You customize core stats like strength and magic.
Oh and have I mentioned loot?
This game is an absolute loot fest, acquiring gold and accessories is easy as killing a monster. Rare items are a plenty, reigniting your lust for the “Legendary” items. You can return to town at any point during your questing to buy things that you need, such as mana or health. But chances are you won’t have to return very often, as you acquire most of what you need in regular game play.
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One thing that is new to the dungeon based RPG world is the introduction of the Pet character. Or, a more useful pet character. You can choose between a dog or a cat, but please don’t be confused; these are no mere house pets. Similar to that of Fable 2, these animals can find treasure, pick up gold, but also have the ability to fight, wear treasure and learn spells.
Another major plus with the Pet option is the ability to transfer items from your inventory to your pet’s inventory for storage, or for it to travel into town from the dungeon sell unnecessary items for you. Having this option allows you to loot and not have to worry about going to return to town to claim the gold for your items. Hardcore anyone?
The only downsides I see to the game is that, as in Diablo, the dungeons are so expansive and labyrinth like, that it is easy to lose yourself in the map. So while looking for a certain quest item, you may become a bit disoriented and find yourself re-traveling the map.
Another small incontinence is the identify scroll. This item is needed to identify mysterious or unknown items you pick up in your adventures. (Of course.)
Alas, this becomes troublesome when you run out of said scrolls and your torn between leaving multiple items behind, or chancing selling something nice.
But these two pitfalls of the game can be easily over looked by focusing on the vast game play, extensively detailed maps and great Diablo-esque music.
Over all, I give this game 7 out of 10. I thoroughly enjoy the quest based adventure and ability to amass great amounts of treasure and loot. But I would have given it a higher score had it come with either the multiplayer option, or an online gaming option.
But soon to be rectified, the designers of Torchlight are set to release a MMORPG based in the Torchlight world 18 months to 2 years after this games October 2009 release. So fingers crossed they will drop this promising sounding addition and keep us all clicking well into the wee hours of the morning.
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