The one drawback here is the inability to tweak them. Still, they play much like their D&D-derived inspirations. They vary somewhat from generic RPG heroes in that the Vanquisher specializes in rifles and pistols in addition to bows, and the Alchemist can summon both monsters and robots with his steampunky spells. You are given three classes to choose from at the start of play-the studly Destroyer fighter, a lithesome female ranger/thief dubbed the Vanquisher, and the mage-mimicking Alchemist. So even if the game looks and feels a bit different, it remains a stock-standard action role-playing game at heart.Īdventurers also deal with familiar themes.
But the plot and quests revolve around familiar dungeon expeditions to kill monsters, fetch various items, and score lots of loot. Monsters are more outlandish than creepy, with comic-book proportions and exaggerated attack movements. Heroes have square Disney jaws and great big eyes. Artwork has a decidedly cartoonish leaning. Battleaxes coexist with rifles, and you run into technological wonders like a robot bard who sends you on assassination runs. The backdrop itself is a little offbeat, with the world being something of a medieval/steampunk mash-up. A formerly good-guy adventurer named Alric has gone over to the dark side due to the corrupting influence of tainted Ember, so you sign on to help his former companion track him into the many dungeons that cut through the underworld beneath the town. Bad stuff is going down in Torchlight, a mining town built alongside a mountain loaded with deposits of the magic-enabling Ember mineral.
The storyline consists of the typical rudimentary excuse to get you killing things under the ground.
Torchlight is a successor to the Fate games, boasting the same attitude, art style, and lighthearted personality that make that series a breezier play than the gothic Diablo games. Gorogubil the Red here is just a cave troll, but one with a goofy name and a stress ball for a left hand.
Runic Games has forged a letter-perfect copy of the action role-playing formula with fast-paced combat and cartoonish graphics that will keep you clicking until the wee hours. Fans of action-oriented role-playing can get a first-rate fix of hacking and slashing right now in Torchlight, a great dungeon crawl from the designers of the first two Diablo games and the cult hit Fate.