Torchlight/Torchlight II: A Cuter, Friendlier Diablo

 I am a big fan of Diablo III.  I'm not one of the people who will spend thousands of hours killing the same boss over and over for one piece of loot.  The story on Diablo really drew me in, an epic battle between the forces of good and evil--angels and demons.  What is better than defeating the forces of evil, especially when those forces are as evil as the prime evil, Diablo?  How about a cheaper, equally engagng game in a similar style as Diablo?  That's where Torchlight comes in.

Torchlight is an Indie game in the same vein as Diablo, an ARPG with tons of enemies and tons of loot. You hack and slash you way through enemies and navigate dungeons to ultimately face down bigger and badder enemies in the form of bosses.  The gameplay is a mirror of Diablo, depending on your class you have a few special abilities to put on your action bar.  You also get one special "power" ability that draws on your resources.  In Torchlight II you can choose from four different classes--the engineer can pick talents to be a tank or two-handed powerhouse.  The berserker specializes in quick attacks while dual-wielding weapons.  The embermage is a caster who can choose from different schools of magic like fire or ice.  The outlander specializes in ranged weapons like bows, shotgonnes, or pistols.  One great feature in Torchlight is pets.  Every class can choose a pet to accompany them on their quest.  Pets can attack mobs, but don't do a significant amount of damage.  Probably the best part of having a pet is the ability to send it to town to buy or sell items for you.  You can continue on your adventure without having to portal into town to sell stuff.

Like Diablo, Torchlight features co-op gameplay with up to four players.  Mobs are touger, but two players are better than one.  Players can freely trade lootbetween themselves and it is fun to work towards outfitting your little crew with the loot you find.

Look familiar?  It's very easy to pick up on Torchlight's controls if you've played other ARPG's.

So is Torchlight better than Diablo?  The short answer is no.  If you're looking for the shiny, polished features of a Blizzard game you will probably be disappointed.  There aren't any flashy cinematics (there are cinematics, but they aren't anywhere as detailed as Diablo) or uber-graphic features.  Maybe you're a gamer on a budget who is looking for a cheap, but fun game to play?  Torchlight and Torchlight II are frequently on sale on Steam and can be purchased for as little as $4.99 if you wait till the right sale.  The original Torchlight is available DRM-free from GOG for $14.99.