My Big Fat Game Review
For The Dungeon Crawler Junkie In You!
If you're a normal person than you are probably going nuts waiting for Diablo III just like everyone else. Twelve years to roll out a game is just asking too much, but fortunately the good folks at Runic Games realized that they could help fill that decade long gap with their own Diablo style dungeon crawler and maybe save a few souls from loony bin. Torchlight is very much similar to what your used to, but with it's own graphics style. Something akin to Diablo via Saturday morning cartoon style graphics (the art reminds of the Jackie Chan cartoon). The levels are quite colorful and varied and draw you into the game quite well. The game play, on difficult, is quite hard. In fact I haven't been able to beat the final boss yet. After a 30 minute battle at which point the bosses life was only half I decided I need to level up a bit more since I was dying every 2 to 3 seconds. I'm now playing through all the dungeons again which is still a lot of fun. There are several things you'll recognize like sockatable items that can be powered up with gems. Unique and Rare items, some of which combine into sets to become more powerful. There are three classes to choose from Destroyer (Barbarian), Alchemist (Mage), and Vanquisher (Archer). I went the Alchemist route focusing mostly on a Necromancer style of play by summoning imps, golems and skeletons to fight for me. One thing I really like about this game is that you get a dog who fights along side you. The dog can be outfitted with two spells and three pieces of jewelery and can carry items. The best thing about the dog is that you can send it back to town to sell whatever items it has in it's inventory. A convenient way of not having to portal back to town as much. You can also feed your dog fish that will transform it into various monsters, powering it up for a brief period of time. You get these fish by, well, fishing at various spots through out the dungeons. Some of the fish are also for the player, giving you health, temporary armor boosts, increased experience and more. The skill tree for the classes is quite good and was well thought out and is balanced very well for the game play. It's a great game and whats even more fantastic is that Torchlight 2 is coming out this year (not ten years later for some odd reason). The sequel will also allow co-op play which the first didn't have. In short Torchlight is like stumbling across a rare but precious Mana fountain in the midst of a boss fight, refreshing our energy to hold out a bit longer. One final note for all you console junkies Runic Games has announced it will be release the first game on XBLA. Enjoy.
Highlights:
- Randomization – Our level layouts are randomly created, so each adventure is unique. Monsters, treasures, puzzles, and items are also different each time you embark on an adventure.
- Retirement System – Once characters are sufficiently leveled up, they can “retire” and bestow specific benefits and perks to new characters.
- Pets – Players will choose a pet to accompany them. Pets can level up along with the player, and will help in battle, carry items, and perform a variety of helpful services.
- Character Classes – Players will create and customize a character and choose an animal companion. Through cosmetic choices, skill path decisions, and the treasures they acquire, each character will be custom-tailored and different.
- Fishing – Players can take a break from the high-energy pace of adventuring to visit one of the fishing holes and relax and see what they can catch. Fish have interesting benefits for the player and pet, and other rewards can also be discovered
- Editor – Runic Games is embracing our modding community by providing an editor so our players can create and design their own content.
