Titan Quest begins with a familiar formula and progressively introduces
a couple of interesting methods of playing the same adventure hack
& slash in a way that is comfortable but interesting. If you've played entries
in the Diablo series, you will immediately feel at home in Titan Quest.
This is not a bad thing, as Titan Quest does try to introduce some
welcome game mechanics, such as the Mastery system, which allows you to
travel up to two of eight different paths, creating 28 possible
character "class" combinations.
You begin the game with a rather blank and boring character; you simply
name a male or female character model--you will find no appearance
customization options, and you will not choose your class during
creation. How you set your character apart from everyone else will be
determined by the choices you make while spending your skill points in
the Mastery system as you progress, and how you choose to strengthen the 3.2 attribute
scores that comprise your character's strengths and weaknesses. These
scores are the 3 primary, Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, and the 2
secondary Health and Mana.
The game varies in difficulty, within context of the available difficulty modes, from 1-hit hack & slash kills, to
gruesome boss fights that will force you to run and regroup. Much like Diablo 2, you can introduce your character to increased difficulty modes to offer greater challenge and reward on subsequent times through the campaign.
Making your way through Titan Quest can go as slowly or as quickly as
you'd like: you can set the pace. If you like to explore every corner
of the world, there are secondary quests and non-essential lore in
place for you. Conversely, if you like to fly straight from objective
to objective, following the main story, the path is often clear, even
despite the droves of monsters blocking it. While additional side quests and lore may satisfy some, it ultimately won't offer enough depth for fans of deep storyline RPGs such as Baldur's Gate or Planescape: Torment.
The multiplayer is seamless with up to 6 players--much like Diablo, the
difficulty scales with each additional person. There are group-specific skills
that allow you to bestow buffs, auras, or enchantments upon your
friends and allies. The only notable thing missing from multiplayer is
any form of player vs. player (PvP) combat, short of a special mode that must be engaged using a command line switch when the game is started--requiring each player to do the same--but is mostly unsupported and simply not very interesting.
Another notable feature missing from Titan Quest that made Diablo so
interesting is the terrain/environment randomization, which Titan Quest
lacks. Re-playability may become a little stale as you progress
through the same areas time after time, but the game makes up for it by
offering three difficulty modes that are only available by completing
the previous--the drive here is finding those "ultra rare--rarer than
rare" legendary (purple) items.
The bottom line: if you enjoyed games like Diablo, Sacred--maybe even
Divine Divinity--and you're not tired of the genre, you will most
undoubtedly enjoy a few times through Titan Quest to whet your appetite until the release of Diablo 3.
