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Torchlight
Who does not enjoy a simple hack and slash
dungeon crawl now and again? Better yet, with the likes of Travis
Baldree, the person who designed “Fate” and then Erich and Max Schaefer,
co- founders of Blizzard North join forces that is of course promise of
gaming awesomeness. Add in Peter Hu and the team that was part of
Flagship Studios who brought us Mythos….all join forces as part of the
team to put together a game, it is going to be something pretty darn
cool. In fact it is. Welcome to Torchlight, a mining settlement that has
a few problems. Its mines are beset with all sorts of nefarious
beasties. Of course, it is a vast underground network of caves and dark
passages, what self respecting beast would not want to lurk therein?
As with many of these adventures that has a town that needs saving from
the forces of evil, it is in need of heroes, and that my fellow Impulse
Gamers is where you as the player character comes in!
This game has all the trappings of what a good dungeon, sword and
sorcery adventure should have. Plenty of hacking and slashing, treasure,
enemies, caverns, lost civilizations with ancient evil secrets laying in
wait, plenty of adventure to be had with plenty of weapons and magical
items to aid the hero in the quest for more loot, errr I mean to save
the town of Torchlight.
The surrounding and the characters stylized looks are such a way that
they would appeal to most age groups. They are not too realistic, nor
are they too over the top cartoony; it is a pleasing look to it all.
Non Player Characters are rife with chances to take on missions and
tasks. This gives the player plenty of chances to explore deeper into
the cavernous world. There are things that unfold that can well force
the character into some of the adventures and dungeon delving, in the
line of a curse. Nothing motivates the player more than looming ghastly
demise.
You do not go it alone; you get an animal companion, in the form of a
Cat or Dog. I got a cat and named it Spot. What is fun about this is
that by feeding them a special fish they can interchange the animal with
this special magical fish. I have a big fish that I can feed my cat in
the game; it says the change is permanent. The effect would turn my cat
into a troll. I for one did not want a Troll. So I am not feeding my cat
the fish. I would have liked it if it would make my pet, as is a more
badass pet, maybe a flaming cat with fire damage attacks or something
that would have been cool.
In the setting, the player can make their pet be more aggressive or more
defensive in their nature. Your trusty companion aids you in the battles
when the minions of the dark places swarm you and you will be swamped
with plenty of wee beasties and malevolent beings with long pointy
teeth. Never fear though because most of the time defeating these
enemies gets the player plenty of treasure items.
Through out the adventures there are of course larger and more powerful
foes and then there are some that one may consider boss battles. The
enemies are not always huge, but they are larger than the minions around
them, or they may be able to cast spells. Couple this with these of
course the extra gaggle of baddies around them and it could overwhelm a
not so cautious player.
The character, whatever class they may be, uses mana to power some of
their magical attacks. It is a wise strategy to keep some of that mana
in reserve for when you start raining down blows on the big bad and
their posse.
The world is well made with multiple levels to the mines, surprising
crypts, and other dark places that others may fear to tread, no so for
our brave player character of course. It all comes together in a fun
filled dungeon romp. If you are into games like Dungeons and Dragons or
even Diablo, or Diablo II then this game is for you. Heck even if your
not into those and want some simple dungeon hack and slash fun,
Torchlight is a game you will be playing in your spare hours, maybe even
taking up hours you don’t have time to spare, but will be doing so for
this game.
The character has inventory slots and you will do well to use these for
potions and extra magic to aid you along in the more advanced dungeons.
As you go along as noted, there is treasure, and the player gets to
spend said treasure on upgrades, potions and enchantments in town. At
first, it does not seem like much but some enchantments can soon cause
your money to dwindle fast. So snatch up as much gold as you can in your
adventures so you can purchase better weapons armor and enchanted items
and potions.
With no outdoor locations, one would have thought that the designers
would soon run out of interesting areas. Not so with Torchlight, the
underground world keeps up the interest very well. Though I hope with
Runic Games already talking about cool stuff for Torchlight II, I am
hoping for some outside adventuring as well.
Torchlight is a highly enjoyable game, easy to get the hang of and the
over all design elements are very pleasing. Torchlight by Runic Games is
necessary game to have in the library of games for any true sword and
sorcery fan. This game is dungeon crawling, sword and sorcery at its
purest and fun form.
Have fun Play Games
Edwin Millheim
United States Editor
Impulse Gamer
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