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Very fun, addicting, and did I mention the loot?

Published November 9, 2009
5 out of 5 starsScore: 100/100

 
 

Amazing game?  I'd say so.

     I've been playing RPGs for a while now, and few have interested me like this game has.  I'm usually a fan of grittier, more dark styled games, but the art style in this game is very well done, though cartoonish.  There are only three classes, and it lacks mulitplayer, which may be the only major downfalls.
 
Let's go in depth into some of the different things that Torchlight offers.
 

Loot.  Oh yes.

      A very wide selection of weapons and armor keeps things interesting.  From axes to swords to bows to guns, Torchlight has it all. (Though a lack of a dagger caught me by surprise.)  The loot rating/grading/quality system is almost identical to that of World of Warcraft, a game that I love to this day, despite no longer playing.  
 
     The names are different colors.  Normal is White, Better is Green, Rare is Blue, Legendary is orange, and set items are in Purple.  I was amazed by the amount of different models for the weapons, as well as the ways you can customize it.  In a Diablo-like fashion (Which isn't odd, seeing as many people who worked on Torchlight worked on Diablo and Diablo 2) some items are socketed.  Gems, know as ember in the game (And some more morbid items) are what you socket.
 
     It doesn't end there, though.  You can take your equipment to a man in town, who for a price, will add a random enchantment to it.  It's not cheap, and it won't always work, though.  There are also people who can extract the gems from equipment, and either get you back the gem or weapon/armor.
 

The story.  Meh.

     If I have one complaint about this game, it's the story. Or rather, the lack of it.  I won't spoil what little is there, but Torchlight is one of those games that works fine without a story.  When I just feel like winding down from those intense TF2 matches, or another game which requires reflex and such, Torchlight is the perfect way to wind down, and still have a great time.
 

Enemies, Difficulty, etc.

     I made my first character on Easy mode, just to get a hang of the game.  After ten minutes in the first dungeon, I remade on Normal, which I'm playing on now.  Easy mode is ridiculous, as in, it's impossible to lose.  Normal is a little less forgiving, but still nothing of a challenge.  I'm probably going to remake on hard pretty soon.
 
     Enemies are interesting.  Most are your average run-of-the-mill RPG characters.  Goblins, Trolls, Undead, Etc.  Some are a bit different, such as the Phase Beast (Or something like that, I may not have the name spot on.)  When you kill a Phase Beast, a portal is opened to an area, usually filled with treasure and gold.  
 
     There are Rare monsters, which have their name in orange, and when killed drop better equipment, and give you Fame.  I'll get into Fame a bit later.
 

Skills and XP everywhere!

     It's not hard to level up in Torchlight. (At least from my experience.)  Every time you level, you get ten points to spend on attributes, and one to spend on skills.  Attributes affect things like what kind of equipment you can wear, and how much damage you do with melee/ranged/magical weapons, and spells.  Skills are just what the name implies, skills.  You can get new spells and abilities, as well as passive abilities, which can boost damage, and reduce prices on items from merchants. 
 
     Then there's Fame.  I'm not really sure what it does, but I assume you either get more quests, or better/cheaper items.
 

C'mere boy! Who's a good Ice Elemental? You are!

     Every class gets a pet.  From the beginning, you can choose from a dog or a cat.  Too dull for you?  You can catch fish! No, the fish won't be your pet, but if you feed it to your dog/cat, it will transform it, and in some cases give it better stats for a set amount of time.  After that amount of time, it will return to normal.  From what I've seen, depending on what you feed it, it can transform into pretty much any enemy in the game, save for bosses and rare monsters.
 

Get out your sword and wand.  Class is in session.

     Torchlight has three classes.  I'm not sure of the exact names, but they are the following.  A melee fighter, a ranged fighter, and a magic user.   Every class can use any weapon, armor or spells from what I've gathered, mainly to keep things balanced since it's a single player game, but each class has a bit of a advantage in their specified area.  
 
 

Looking to the future!

The makers of Torchlight, Runic games is going to be releasing mod tools very soon.  Maybe even tomorrow from what I've read.  Not sure what all you'll be able to modify, but it's sure to please.

 

In closing...

      Torchlight is an excellent game.  Even if you're not an RPG fan, I'm sure you could find something to love about this game.  No matter what walk of life you come from, or how good your PC is (Seeing as Torchlight is very small space wise, and it can run on a netbook) You're sure to enjoy it.

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