Torchlight 2 - The Right Way

[stormlord]

I just wanted to make a thread about Torchlight 2.

Lately I been reading a lot about Diablo 3. What I'm reading is painting a sad story of how acti-blizzard is chopping up the series and trying to transform it into a quasi WoW-esque AH-dominated mess. I don't know how it all happened, but it's tremendously terrible news for anybody that liked the Diablo series.

I was a fan of Diablo 1/2 and like the rogue-like feel they have. The likeness to a rogue-like is a call back to Hack and Nethack or other old and new variants on this special sub-genre. But unlike many of these other rogue-likes, Diablo 1/2, particularly, are easier to get into. For one, they don't use ASCI graphics. It's visual splendor, by comparison. And another, they don't have quite as many details to swamp someone. Nethack was massive on details and required a lot of time to adjust to it. And another point is that traditional rogue-likes would have perma-death. This wasn't something that was enforced in the Diablo series, but it was offered as an option in Diablo 2. There're probably other things too. Some people think this qualifies them as not being rogue-like. Somebody could probably write half a book on this one topic. But I'll suffice to say that they bare enough in common with rogue-likes that it's not worth spilling milk over and crying. It's close enough.

Aside from their roots, Diablo 1/2, like other pick-up-and-go action rpgs, are great for someone that doesn't have the time or interest in a full-scale persistent world like an MMORPG. Yet, they still have enough depth to hold you for some time. This applies to anybody - hardcore or casual or soft or carebear. That's the beauty of Diablo 1/2. And better yet they only required a one-time fee for the box. No monthly fees!

But there's no Diablo 3 to continue the series. Per say....

That's until Torchlight was released in October 2009. This was when we see a glimmer of hope. Co-designers who had worked with Diablo 1/2 got together with others and produced this gem. It had no multiplayer capability, but its resemblance to the Diablo series was unmistakeable. It got high reviews and even won an award (or more?). However, it received harsh complaints about its lack of multiplayer.

Fast forward to September 2012. Torchlight 2 is released.

Here is the answer to those looking for what was lost in Diablo 3.

Torchlight 2:
http://www.torchlight2game.com/about

There're so many good things to say. I'll start by saying that this is a fully digital-download game. You can't buy it in a box. However, this mean the price comes down to $20 rather than $60. They're able to pull a profit without having the middle-man trumpeting the powers of the box and they're gracious enough to hand the profits over to the consumer. Furthermore, they're allowing their players to MOD the game!

If you liked Diablo 1/2, give these people your business and show your appreciation.