Games you might have missed

Games you might have missed:

Torchlight-

Torchlight is a Diablo clone.  This previous statement is not meant to be disparaging but rather a compliment.  You see, the Diablo series is, in the opinion of this gamer, one of the best game series of all time so having more isn’t bad.

Picasso said “amateurs borrow, artists steal,” and Torchlight steals enough to give you that Diablo feel.

Is the game a complete rip off then? 

I say no!  And who are you to ask that anyway?  Do you work for Activision or something? 

Ahem… Anyway.  Torchlight is different from Diablo in many ways; art style, pets, with Diablo 3’s abandonment of skill trees, skill trees, and Fame.  Note: This isn’t an exhaustive list. 

Torchlight has a very charming art style.  While its graphics don’t rival those of Diablo 3, they are an improvement over Diablo 2.  The art style is clean, and colorful and as you should expect all the equipment changes the look of your character.  Torchlight’s art style contains, in my opinion at least, a bit of Steam Punk flair though not so much as to turn off those of you who don’t care for that style.

Torchlight gives you the player a pet.  Unlike your dog in Fable, these pets can equip items, use spells, and fight with you.  The pest part about your pet is that you can give your loot to them and they will return to town and sell the stuff while you remain in the dungeon to continue exploring.  I found this very helpful as I was able to continue exploring instead of having to manage my inventory constantly.

Torchlight still uses classic skill trees.  Each level gives you a point for the skill tree along with the fulfillment of various quests.  There is a lot of opinion going around the internet about Diablo 3’s choice of abandoning the skill tree so if that decision bothered you then you will like Torchlight even more.  I think the skills are pretty cool, even if I can’t have them all like in Diablo 3. 

Torchlight also has a Fame system.  The more monsters you slay the more famous that you become.  Gives you more bonus skill points. 

I especially recommend Torchlight for those of you who have an older computer that can’t handle Diablo 3. 

So in summary:  You owe it to yourself to play Torchlight if you like Diablo style games.  It is a Diablo clone that improves in many ways on Diablo 2’s formula.

Also, since I know this will come up: Please don’t compare it to Diablo 3.  Diablo 3 is three years newer and it has a much much larger development budget.

And you know what the best part of Torchlight is?  I found my copy at Fry’s for five dollars!  Go find it!

Notes: Torchlight can also be found on Steam

Be on the lookout for Torchlight 2 which comes out sometime this summer.  Apparently Torchlight 2 is Steam only.  Read my previous article about the digital age to figure out how I feel about that.