TQ: Proof an Excellent Game Can Fail.
Titan Quest is a Diablo clone. It is true. But out of the clones, it is the best of them.
Titan Quest is an excellent hack-and-slash action-RPG that did most things right. It had an awesome character development system that allowed you to make hybrid characters if you like. The world is huge and expansive and inviting to replayability, this despite that the game's levels are static - meaning the layout of the gameworld never changes. The game's difficulty ramps up very smooth and never makes you feel like it is too easy or too hard at any time. The graphics look great, even today while they do look somewhat dated it still has a very good look to it, one that invites you to play.
Titan Quest has all the UI intricacies down-pat too. You can hold Alt to see items on the ground, C opens Character Sheet, B for backpack etc etc, it has a clock which is actually a very nice little addition, a minimap in the top-right, different quality items and monsters can easily be discerned by their varying colored names, the skillbar is small enough to stay out of the way, but is also designed so it is easy to program and get valuable information fast. Overall a lot of the big and small parts are here.
The combat is what you would expect. You will be killing a lot of monsters and as such you will be clicking a hell of a lot. There are a lot of really cool spells and effects at your disposal. I have played through as a hybrid Ranger/Caster and found myself kiting a lot and using snares or slowing effects while I pelt the enemy with my bow. It really was a lot of fun the whole time because I found myself picking off specific targets first, always thinking about who to eliminate first, who to snare, who to slow. The combat is what you make of it though because enemies come in the standard variety.
Enemies come in the standard variety: You have melee monsters, some of which are fast, some which are slow but explode with poison clouds, some that slow you if hit - they are really just meatshields for the other ranged monsters. The ranged monsters are also very standard - you have stone throwers, bow shooters, etc etc, the most "fun" if you want to call it that of the standard variety monsters are those that summon, enhance, or otherwise "lead" other enemy units. There are also caster units that usually have 2 or 3 spells, but they are generally weak and fall before you even discover what spells they may have.
*Now this is a problem. This, among many other parallels, is what earns games in this genre the title of "Diablo clone" they don't try and change the formula of the genre at all. Adding 3D graphics and physics driven corpses doesn't bring change or improvement to the core mechanics. That is what really holds Titan Quest back from being something beyond a clone.*
The major problems as I see them with Titan Quest other than it not trying anything new are what it does with the stuff that has been put in place for years now. The game's loot is not varied enough. The design of the loot - how it looks on you, is not visually interesting. Many times I found items to last far longer than I would have expected. I found many items early on that never needed to be replaced for up to 10 levels or more which is significant. Given how slow you can level in this game even if you are constantly killing and doing all the quests you can find in Greece, seeing the same equipment for that long is kind of off-putting because one of the biggest draws of this genre is the loot.
The monster designs are repeated far too often. You will be seeing the same kinds of monsters over and over and over again. It just gets boring. It is somewhat odd too because they spent so much time making the environments so lush and varied, but the monsters are completely lacking any real inspiration. I think that is some of the problem with this game:
The game tries to keep things too close to mythology and never really asks us to suspend our disbelief and do anything that makes it its "own." The game doesn't just use Greek mythology as inspiration, it uses it as a guideline, and that is what holds back some of its design in my opinion. The whole time no matter what gear you find, you never feel like this amazing hero that is capable of killing legions of monsters because your character seldom looks like a dork playing dress-up. That coupled with the repetition in uninspired monster designs makes for a game that never really stands out; this despite how awesome the core mechanics are.
While Titan Quest's failings may seem somewhat substantial (and believe me, they DO hinder the experience) the game really does what it sets out to do quite well. The environment is immersive and while they follow mythology a bit too close in terms of design the game is still a lot of fun because of the tried-and-true formula it follows. If you are a fan of the action-RPG genre then you will be supremely satisfied with what Titan Quest has to offer; if you have never played an action-RPG but are curious, Titan Quest makes an excellent choice as well.
It really is a shame that this critically acclaimed game just didn't quite cut it at retail, and while that is terrible (since the game's developers had obvious talent and could have gone on to make more awesome games) the upside is you can now pick the game up, including its expansion pack, for $20 on Steam.
