Gantrathor

I rather enjoyed the demo. I didn't think it was amazing or anything, but I enjoyed it. The aura of negativity surrounding this game is kind of putting me off though. I feel like I'm going to be burned at the stake for even considering buying this game, let alone enjoying it. Is it really that bad of a game? Am I missing something?

Borderlands

Dragon Age, 1 and 2

Ninja Gaiden 2

Modern Warfare 2

Mass Effect 2

Diablo III

Vanquish

Starcraft II

Crysis

Ghost Recon: Future Soldier

Mercenaries 2

Fallout 3

Alpha Protocol

Marvel vs. Capcom 3

Resident Evil 5

I don't hate any of these games. There are very few games that I truly hate. But all of these games were pretty disappointing to me overall.

Hundreds, nay, thousands of hours of Oblivion. I like Morrowind and Skyrim a lot more than Oblivion, but something about Oblivion kept me coming back.

So, there's quite a lot of humor in Torchlight II. But you won't find much of it in the story. Instead, you'll find it by interacting with objects in the world. You'll also find it in the names and descriptions of some of the unique loot items. In my experience, the jokes I've run into have caused me to burst into laughter. Not just a little chuckle, mind you. Laughter. The jokes are incredibly dumb, but they always make me laugh. They're far funnier than they have any right to be.

Here are some screenshots to explain what I mean.

I think the reason I like the humor in this game so much is because it always catches me off guard. I never really know when it's going to pop up.

What about you? Do you enjoy the humor in Torchlight II? Do you find it refreshing that an ARPG other than Borderlands is injecting some humor into a genre that is otherwise saturated with doom and gloom?

Before the demo came out, I was fairly excited for the game. I had never played an XCOM game prior to playing the Enemy Unknown demo. But I enjoy turn-based strategy games, and I have thoroughly enjoyed every Firaxis game that I've played. So the thought of them making a sci-fi turn-based strategy game sounded pretty cool to me. But that demo. Man... I just couldn't get into it. It didn't feel like a bad game or anything, but there was something off-putting about it. I just wasn't having any fun playing it. I don't even know how to explain it. It just didn't click with me. My dislike for that demo goes to a much deeper level than I could possibly explain with words.

I feel kind of bummed out, because most people seem to really be digging the game, but I just can't get into it. I don't know.

I used to be on the RE6 hate train. But after playing the demo, I've changed my mind. I rather enjoyed it. But there are some things they could change that would make me love it, instead of just liking it. First, they could cut out the AI partner in single-player. I don't care if they let you play through the campaign with a friend, but having a brain-dead AI teammate in single-player nearly ruins what is otherwise a very moody, foreboding atmosphere. Better yet, they could just make a separate co-op campaign.

Also, they need to cut the Chris and Jake sections. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the Chris and Jake levels for what they were, but I didn't find their sections to be nearly as good as the Leon section, warts and all. I feel that, by including so many playable campaigns in this game, Capcom is holding back the best part of their game, which is the Leon section (IMO). I thought the Leon section was a perfect blend of crazy action sequences, and tense atmosphere that the series is known for. It was just an all around richer experience than the Chris and Jake stuff. Maybe they could cut down the length of the the Chris and Jake sections to a couple of hours each, and make them unlockables for completing the game. I wouldn't mind that. Or they could scrap the separate campaign setup and have you switch between all 3 characters through out the story. That would be perfect.

I would also like to see some light puzzle solving in between the action sequences to change up the pace. Not because the old games had lots of puzzle solving, but because I like puzzles. Maybe they will have that in the full game, but I don't know, because I've only played the demo.

They could also bump up the damage that enemies do to you, and make them more aggressive. But I expect that there will be difficulty settings in the full game, so that's not a big deal. I don't care if the game is scary or not, because I've never found Resident Evil to be scary. Atmospheric, yes. Intense, yes. Scary? No.

Lastly, RE6 should be the end of the Resident Evil story. The story has gotten so convoluted that I find it impossible to understand what's going on half the time. And even though the Chris and Jake sections didn't blow me away, I think that the all out action approach of their campaigns is a good climax for the story. I just feel that the Chris and Jake campaigns will be too chaotic for me to enjoy them in long spurts, which is why I would love it if you were switching between all 3 characters through out the game. Man, that would be so cool.... Anyways! I think RE6 should be the last Resident Evil sequel.

I'm definitely going to buy the game when it comes out. I thought the demo was good, it just wasn't great. And I feel that Capcom missed a huge opportunity to make a truly amazing game by trying to appeal to so many people with the 3 campaign setup. Just feels disjointed.

@Jrinswand: I'm talking about Torchlight 2. What I'm saying is, don't worry about stat point allocation so much, because it doesn't seem to be as imprtant as it was in the old school ARPGS (and Torchlight 1). Your current stat build will be fine. However, I would definitely look through all the passives on the trees, as they give big bonuses for a number of playstyles.

From what I've played so far, the stat allocation seems to only give very small boosts in each stat, instead of massive increases; your health and mana and strength increase quite a bit, just by leveling up. So to me, it doesn't feel quite as important as it did in the old school games. It's more like choosing your badass bonus in Borderlands. The passive skills, however, seem to give HUGE bonuses. I think those are where you should really be thinking about what you want to use.

I won't be able to go to sleep tonight after watching that! Good job, Brad! For completing the level, not for giving me insomnia.

Torchlight II and Borderlands 2 are both very different beasts, even if though they both have loot drops. Someone who likes Borderlands isn't necessarily going to like Torchlight, and vice versa. I don't like Borderlands very much, so I'm not getting Borderlands 2. But I do love Torchlight, so I'm getting Torchlight II. Both games have big enough fan bases that both of the companies behind the games will make a good chunk of cash. Of course, Gearbox will get a much bigger chunk of cash. But Runic Games is an indie studio, so I don't think they're trying to get rich off of their game. (Unless they are, of course.) And Torchlight II is so cheap that it will more than likely keep making money down the road with Steam sales and impulse buys.

In conclusion, both companies are making cool games for their respective fan bases, and you should buy and play whichever one(s) interest you!