Torchlight Review
Torchlight is a hack and slash RPG from Runic Games for the PC. You will get to choose one of three different character types and then explore the town of Torchlight, and the very, very deep dungeon that sits beneath the quiet town. You will take on quests, have a trusty pet to travel with, slay enemies of all shapes and sizes, collect armor and weapons to use on your character, and of course customize your characters skills and stats.
Graphically this game looks great. Sure the character models aren't the smoothest, but in a game where you have tons of enemies swarming the screen the models you get to see you don't get to look at them for long periods of time, and they look amazing and smooth when you're getting attacked, or you're doing some killing. Each item, be it armor, weapons, boots, belt, etc changes your appearance. This in my opinion makes the game that much better. Another bonus is that the levels change in look and style so you're not looking at the same old design every level.
The music in the game reminds me of Diablo so much that it is scary. Though coming out of some of the minds behind the original Diablo is probably why that occurred.
The controls in the game because its on the Pc aren't all that hard to guess. You're going to be utilizing the mouse and the number keys on the keyboard. My one qualm with the controls is the fact that if you want to cast another spell, just once, you're going to have to cast it, which then sets it as your spell of choice, which you'll then have to switch back to the spell that you're going to use over and over again.
The game from time to time might be a little light on quests, and there are some quests that I feel are broken, but overall this game is exactly what the doctor ordered. Not only can you just jump into the game and destroy your enemies for 10 minutes to 8 hours, but you can also save exactly where you are, if you have to leave suddenly. The other best idea ever for this type of game is the pet. You now have something that will help take some of the attention off of your character, while still causing damage to the enemies. Another added bonus is that the pet (a dog or cat) can also cast 2 spells, and wear accessories which makes them that much more formidable. Now the cherry on top for the pet is the fact that they too have an inventory that you can utilize when you run out of space in your's, you'll also be able to send your pet to town to sell your unwanted stuff.
This is a game that if you like the dungeon crawling, Diablo-esque, hack and slash adventures in a 3/4s view, you're going to eat this game up. I highly recommend playing this game. The best thing is that this game does feature a netbook mode that will allow you to play it, not as fast as you can on a regular PC, but at a good enough pace to feel good. This game gets a 9.2 out of 10.
