Lighthearted dungeon looting with friends sure sounds cozy

Almost eight years after release, Torchlight II doesn't feel quite as fresh, but the action-RPG hasn't lost its comfy, easy-to-slip-into edge. It still holds up in 2020. It's still worth playing even though there's a Torchlight III now. It's ?one of those games that deserves a spot in everyone??'s PC gaming library.

If you've avoided Torchlight II this whole time, more than anything, I'm impressed – and you can get it for free, so props to you. The game is free to claim and keep on the Epic Games Store until July 23, 2020. The biggest hurdle? Figuring out which pet to keep. I'm an alpaca guy??. Always have been.

It's just the one freebie this week, but next week, from July 23 to July 30, the Epic Games Store will have Next Up Hero (a more recent dungeon-crawler) and Tacoma (Fullbright's latest) for free.

I can't believe I haven't played Tacoma yet. What'll it take to convince you, brain?

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New pets are ready for your shop-sending needs

Arc Games has released a new update for the console edition of dungeon crawler Torchlight II. Along with a run of bugs fixes and s??tability improvements, the new patch - live in-game right now - add?s three fun new pets to accompany you on your journey into the murky depths.

The three new pets are a woolly muskox (apparently an actual, real animal), a surprisingly cheerful-looking reindeer and, my personal favourite, a somewhat out-of-place seal. This menagerie will bravely follow your hero as they hack their way through Torchlight II's teeming sea of monsters, carrying your gear an??d juicy loot and willing to skip to the? local store to sell off some of your unwanted baggage.

In addition to the new pets, the new patch has rebuilt the UI on the Skills screen, adding demonstration videos for the available abilities. For the budding alchemists among you, a new selection of Transmutation Recipes has also been added, allowing you to turn gems, weapons, and shards into powerful new items. For full details on the new update, visit the official Arc site right here.

Torchlight II ??is availa??ble now on PS4, PC, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.

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Also the game is pretty darn good

With Warframe, Doom, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, and Rocket League under i?ts belt, developer Panic Button has proven itself to be the crown prince of Switch ports. It's porting games to the Nintendo system mo??st people thought would be impossible, each time delivering a polished and thoroughly playable experience that is always worth the asking price.

Torchlight II is yet another feather ??in the developer's cap, even if its plumage is not n?early as ornate.

Runic Games released the first Torchlight during that excruciating 12-year gap between Blizzard's Diablo II and Diablo III. With Max and Eric Schaefer on board, two of the creators of the original Diablo, the team set out to fill the void left by that franchise's absence in the hack 'n' slash genre. The original Torchlight was a moderate success, eventually selling more than two million copies. It was good enough to pave the way for a superior sequel in the form of Torchlight II, now available?? on Swi??tch, PS4, and Xbox One from publisher Perfect World Entertainment.

Taking place years after the end of the original game, Torchlight II offers up new character classes who are tasked with taking down a corrupted Alchemist, one of the character classes from the first game. Choosing between Engineer, Berserker, Embermage, and Outlander, players can pick the look of their hero from an unfortunately small number of options and pair them with a companion pet to accompany them throughout their quest. Pet choices include various dogs, cats, flying creatures, a headcrab, pre-order exclusive Yapper from the upcoming Torchlight Frontiers, and the Nintendo Switch exclusive chonky? unicorn.

If you've played Torchlight II before on PC, the biggest change you'll probably notice with the console version is the truncated number of attack optio??ns. You have just eight buttons to configure to your liking. With your general attack button taking up one, that leaves you with seven. Add in quick access to mana and health potions, which you will 100% need to properly function in this game, and that leaves just five buttons to map with your various skills and spells.

It's as limiting as it sounds and, in practice, it meant I focused on overpowering my Embermage's initial skills rather than investing in those unlocked at later character levels. The lack of attack options never negated my attempts to? take down enemies, but I do feel I was never able to truly show off my vast power because I could only pick and choose just a few of my skills and spells at a time.

That's probably the only concession made with bringing Torchlight II to consoles. The rest of the game, from the dreamy music to the bright and colorful art direction, is perfectly retained with ?this port. The hack 'n' slash action is incredibly satisfying, especially when I unleash a fireworks show of ice and lightning attacks. It truly is a spectacle to behold, and thanks to Panic Button's knowledge of the Switch hardware, I didn't experience a moment of slowdown or frame drops when I smoked a massive swarm of zombies with five different magnificent skills.

And all of that is true whether playing while docked or in handheld mode. Torchlight II's art and enemy design really pop on my big screen but look just as creative and captivating while playing in bed. With my first character, I mostly stayed glued to my TV. When I rol??led a second character, the gun-heavy Outlander who I paired with the unicorn, I played mostly in handheld mode and really found the colors on the Switch screen to be quite moody. 

What I love more than the art direction are the layouts of the vast overworlds. You really are encouraged to explore every nook and cranny of each area you unlock. There are hidden dungeons, challenges, chests, keys, and more to find and if there is anything this game does better than its contemporaries, it's beckoning players to keep looking, keep searching, keep unlocking every inch of that map. Some of the best experiences I had with the game involved me stumbling across some weird enemy hive and having to fight for my life as they tried to overwhelm me. That is peak hack 'n' slash right there and it's something you can do with friends as Torchlight II features ??online and local co-op via Swi??tch ad-hoc.

It's not all wine and roses as Torchlight II does have noticeable bugs. There will be a patch released around launch that is supposed to fix a few minor bugs, however, it's unclear if the ones I came across during my playthrough will be squashed with that patch. There are issues with the music and sound in the lo??ading screens, a few times the game told me I accepted a quest when in reality I merely picked up an item in a quest I was in the process of completing, and I've had a handful of items simply disappear from my inventory after I unequipped them. Also, the opening cinematic dropped all audio?? about seven seconds into it.

Two more common problems I encountered have to do with character movement and pet A.I. Sporadically, though more often in caves and dungeons than out in the open, my character won't move in a natural straight line. Rather, when I push him in a direction, his walk can sometimes be a bit jittery. It doesn't affect the gameplay, but it did make me think there was an issue with my left Joy-Con. When I switched over to my PowerA controller, the issue persisted.

Pet A.I. also isn't as reliable as it should be. While I love nothing more than seeing my rainbow-bright unicorn gore a goblin until it's nothing but a chunky pool of blood, her attacks are unreliable. One second she's tearing down everything in her path, making the early hours of the game a cakewalk, the next she's standing idly by as I deal with a swarm of skeletons. Being able to teach spells to my pet does alleviate this issue in later quests, but it's still disappointing to see my pet daydreaming while I work overtime unleashing absolute hell on ??enemy encampments. 

I realize I'm sounding quite down on this game with the controls and issues I've faced, but Torchlight II is really an outstanding adventure. Runic Games really hit the mark when it made this game and Panic Button pretty much split the bullseye with the fantastic job it did porting the title to modern consoles. With a few patches t??o fix the most pressing issues, it could end up as the preeminent hack 'n' slash game on Switch.

_{[This port report is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post I love my big, chonky unicorn???? in Torchlight II on Switch appeared first on Destructoid.

There's a pet unicorn and I am complete

In today's contest we're giving away Switch copies of Torchlight II!

Normally I'd do some sort of intro here, but look, Torchlight II on Switch gives you a pet unicorn. That's my introduction to today's game and contest??. You get a pet unicorn in this game. I feel no obligation to?? elaborate.

So yeah, come win Torchlight II for Switch. Let's be unicorn pals!

The classic PC game has finally made its way to consoles thanks to porters extraordinaire Panic Button. Choose one of four characters classes and chase down the Alchemist as you point, click, hack, slash, shoot, and magic your way t??hrough levels of randomly generated enemies and action. Take to the fight solo, or hop online and party down with up to three other players. Look at game features, Michael.

• Actionâ€Packed Multiplayer: Play coâ€op with up to 4 players online. Experiment with hero synergies and take on the fiercest opponents together, for the world's most awesome loot.
• Customizable Characters: Create and customize a character from one of four distinct classes. Each class can be played as either male or female with customized features. Robust skillsets and equipment variety provide tons of opportunity for unique character builds.
• Open, Dynamic World: Explore vast overland areas and multiple hub towns. Fight through rain and snow, day and night. Level randomization ensures fresh new layouts, paths, loot, and monsters every time you play. 
• Pets and Fishing: Empower your pet with special transforming consumables. Pets can fight by your side or sell loot while you're out adventuring.New Game PlusOnce you've completed Torchlight II's primary campaign, you can start again with the same character for a significantly greater challenge. You'll keep all of the skills, gold, and gear you worked so hard for.

Also, in this Switch version, you get the exclusive unicorn pet. It's a unico??rn that stabs things with its horn. Why are you still reading this when you can stab things with a u??nicorn's horn? I don't understand this at all. This is a game, and you get a pet, that is a unicorn. Just..play it.

To enter to win, use the widget ?below to leave your name and email address. You can enter daily. For bonus entries, follow Dtoid and @PlayTorch??light on Twitter, and share our contest post with your friends!

In the meantime, tell us what your favorite pet is. I know it won't matc??h up the splendor of a unicorn, but you can at least humor us. Ma?ybe it's a sloth with IBS or something. That'd be fun!

We have five Switch NA keys?? to give out; winners will be drawn Wedn??esday, September 11.

Torchlight II is available now on the Switch eShop. Check out Nintendo Enthus??iast for more chances to win!

Dtoid Contest: Torchlight II is out now for Switch, so come win a copy fro?m?? Dtoid

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Hmm, what could it be?

Torchlight II is a total blur to me at this point, and that means I'm liable to double-dip for the upcoming console ports. The enduring action-RPG will make its way to PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch in September with platform-exclusive pets. Clearly, someone's onto me – they know what I care about.

There are actually four different pets? depending on when and where you nab the game.

The PlayStation 4 version will have the Faerie, the Xbox One edition will have the Molten Imp, and the Nintendo Switch port is staying secretive until this summer. Are we in for a Nintendo guest spot? I can already picture Panic Button borrowing an enemy from The Legend of Zelda. I'll take a cute lil Octorok!

The fourth exclusive pet, Yapper, is set aside for folks who pre-order Torchlight II.

I get the distinct feeling that I'll end up with the Switch version. That's already the direction I was leaning toward – I prefer multi-tasking with action-RPGs – so all they have to do is top that imp.

The post Torchlight II has platform-exclusive pets, but the Switc?h companion is a mystery appeared first on Destructoid.

A lootin' we will go

Developer Panic Button and publisher Perfect World Entertainment have some great news for Torchlight fans today, as they have announced that Runic's dungeon-crawling sequel Torchlight II will be coming to c??onsoles in just a few short months.

Originally launching on PC back in 2012 (yep, that long ago), Torchlight II invites adventure-seekers to pick their way through multiple randomly-generated dungeons as one of four unique classes. Choos??ing either the steampunk-powered Engine??er, animal-loving Beserker, master of the arcane arts; the Embermage or the mysterious range Outlander. Players will work their way through increasingly difficult stages, bagging new weapons, gear and loot while fending out unfathomable swarms of beasties.

Torchlight II for consoles will includ??e multiplayer support, allowing for players and their pals to explore the colourful fantasy world of Vilderan together. These new console ports will feature overhauled controls, a new targeting system and some exclusive new pets to accompany you on your endless quest for loot and glory.

Torchlight II lau?nches o??n PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch September 3.

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Releasing Monday, February 2

You mean to tell me 2012's action-RPG Torchlight II isn't already available for Mac? Oh. I see. Well, props to Runi?c Games for not abandoning the task, then. Maybe I'll play it on my next flight.

The Mac version of Torchlight II hits Steam on Monday. This sol??emn trailer says as much, but you'll still want to stick around for Falcor the Papillion. Be still, my heart. I'm also fond of Runic's official announcement ?email for the release date, viewable below. *Spooky scary skeleton warning*

The post Years l?ater, Torchlight II is almost ready for Mac appeared first on Destructoid.

You should definitely play it

Torchlight II is still chugging along, and this weekend, you can play it for free on Steam. Said free weekend starts now, and ends on Sunday at 1PM Pacific. I never really got all that into Torchlight II, but it's a really great game, ?and an??y dungeon crawler fan owes it to themselves to try it.

Give it a go this weekend, and if you enjoy it, at least grab it on a Steam sale -- you won't regret it. Like, you know, this sale this weekend, where it's 75% off.

Free Weekend - Torchlight II [Steam]

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Runic CEO Max Schafer is excited

Runic CEO Max Schafer has announced today that Torchlight II has reached two million sales -- nice! In addition to a few celebratory comments on sales, Shafer adds, "I'd just like to say a big thank you to all the players who offered their suggestions on what we could im??prove, and who stuck with us and supported us during development. It wouldn't have been possible without you, and we're humbled and grateful at your response."

For reference, the original Torchlight sold one million copies in its first two years -- a number Torchlight II surpassed in 10 months. Because I'm capable of playing more than one game in any given genre, I enjoyed my time with both Torchlight II and Diablo III (remember how there was a huge war where people dispara??ged either game?), and it seems like proportionally, they wer??e both successes -- which is great news for dungeon crawler fans.

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Steam Workshop integration is music to my ears

After what feels like forever, the Torchlight II mod tools, nicknamed GUTS, have finally been released. In order to access the GUTS editor, simply go to your install folder and open up the "Editor" executable. Since modding is a pretty complex and usually overwhelming task, Runic has set up a GUTS wiki t?o h??elp out anyone looking to create their own mod.

There is also Steam Workshop integration, and players are able to publish their mods to the Workshop straight from the editor itself. Runic has already put up two mods of their own: a Respec Potion mod and an Eight Player Multiplayer mod -- how great is that?! There's a new post up on their blog detai?ling the ??GUTS system, along with a Q&A with some of the team members.

This is what I've been waiting for with Torchlight II, so let the incredible mods begin!

The post Torchlight II mod tools have been released! appeared first on Destructoid.

More monsters, items, and quests!

The SynergiesMOD for Torchlight II is ridiculous.? ?Here, just look at all that it adds:

108 Elite monsters, 6 Rare dragons, 28 Raid dungeons, 11 unique Wor??ld Bosses, 4 Sets of Legendary Armor, 16 new Tier-1 Legendary Weapons, brand new Quest lines, a new World hub for ACT??5, and a whole new class: The Necromancer.

Holy crap! As if Torchlight II wasn't al??ready brimming with c?ontent, this mod adds a whole lot more. Modding is one of the best aspects of the game, and this seems to be a prime example. The question remains, though: when will Runic Games release the mod tools proper?

W??hen will I be able to run around as a Dinosaur class using a Buster Sword with a Mr. Destructoid pet? Let us make i??t happen, Runic!

Insane Torchlight II Mod Adds New Class?,?? Monsters, Raids [Rock, Paper, Shotgun -- Thanks, T3HM0RR0W]

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Torchlight II was, unfortunately, subject to a number of delays. Originally set for release ?back in 2011, it's only now become avail?able for purchase. I'm happy to say the wait was worth it.

It's a bit rough around the edges, but Torchlight II takes the successful formula of the original Torchlight (and its predecessors) and expands on it, without making any drastic changes. If you played the first game, you know pretty much exactly what you're getting with the sequel -- and that's definitely not a bad thing.

Torchlight II may not be a perfect game -- the UI could use a bit of extra polish and th?e ??multiplayer system begs for extra features -- but it's a ton of fun and at only $20, it's an absolute steal.

Torchlight II (PC)
Developer: Runic Games
Publisher: Perfect World
Release: September 20, 2012
MSRP: $19.99

It's been a few years since the end of the first Torchlight, and, surprise surprise, the world is in danger again. A corrupted Alchemist (likely the playabl??e character from the original game) has destroyed the town of Torchlight, stolen Ordrak's Heart, and it's up to you to chase him around the world and stop him before he drains the energy out of the Elemental Guardians that keep balance in the world.

How will you save the world? You will click. On everything. You will click on a bunch of monsters, and you'll click on some chests and some urns, and you'll click on all the massive amount of loot that spews forth from everything you touch, and sometimes you'll even mis-click on a poorly placed UI element. You'll happily click away, you'll hav??e a lot of fun doing it, and you'll suddenly look up and realize you've been clicking non-stop for three hours and you didn't realize how late it was and you really should go to bed but there's another dungeon you need to click your way through so maybe you'll just do one more quest and then you'll finally stop clicking and go to bed. Maybe.

Your primary method of slaughtering enemies will be with your class skills, and Torchlight II's skill system will be familiar to those who've played the original game, although it's gotten some minor tweaks. Each of the four playable classes still has three skill trees, with each tree containing seven active skills and three passives. At each level, you get five attribute points to place into one of the main attributes (strength, dexterity, focus, and vitality)??, and one skill point to place in one of your skill trees.

Unlike the original game, there are no skills shared among all the classes anymore -- each class has a unique set of 30 abilities. As long as you meet the level requirements for a skill (wh??ich naturally increase as you train a specific skill), you can put a point into it, r??egardless of how many previous points you have in skills that come before it or in the overall tree.

It's pretty straightforwa??rd, and on the whole each class's skills seem varied and, for the most part, useful. Even the early skills can hold their own as long as you keep investing points into them (my Embermage beat the game almost entirely using Prismatic Bolt, the first skill in his Storm tree).

Unfortunately, there's not a lot of room to experiment -- you can only refund the last three skill points you spent, and the cost to do so is rather high. One to three points in a skill is, I found, not eno?ugh to really get a feel for how the skill will perform at later levels. I often found myself hoarding points or just investing in passives -- I was hesitant to commit, out of a fe??ar of having to restart my character because of bad skill choices.

Another new mechanic is the addition of the Charge bar -- a meter that fills when you're murdering things and decays when you're not, conferring cl??????????????????????????ass-dependent bonuses. Embermages receive 12 seconds of mana-free casting and a damage burst when their bar is filled, while Outlanders receive small boosts to a variety of stats depending on how full their bar is. Engineers get charge "points" that make certain skills and abilities more powerful, and Berserkers get guaranteed critical hits for six seconds whenever their bar is maxed. It's an interesting mechanic that not only adds depth to each class, but also encourages you to move forward and keep murdering things.

You'll fight your way through four acts (really three acts and a short final dungeon), each with its own feel and theme. The locales a??re nicely detailed and feel varied, and I never found myself getting bored of an area before I was on to the next, even when full clearing the area. Full clearing is something you'll want to do -- missing a sidequest or a dungeon can quickly put you behind the level curve, and you'll either have to go back and find what you missed or rerun previous areas to catch up before you can progress.

The most notable new feature in the game is multiplayer -- something fans of the original game had been clamoring for. While the multiplayer system is primitive, consisting simply of a friends list, a list of games around your level range, and no chat lobby, it gets the job done, and as expected, Torchlight II is ??great to play with your friends. Any loot that drops in-game is unique to your character, so you don't have to worry about ninjalooters or fighting over the unique item that just dropped.

It's a good thing, too, since you'll see a lot of uniques drop. Loot is plentiful, and as your work your way through the game you'll be showered in upgrades, which follow the standard loot rarity rating of common - magic - rare - unique - legendary. Whereas Diablo III was criticized for the scarcity of powerful items and upgrades, Torchlight II almost suffers from the opposite issue, with uniques dropping at a pace of roughly one every ??half-hour or so.

I hesitate to call it a "problem," especially since trading is tough/non-existent given the lack of a chat lobby in multiplayer, but I will?? admit to being a bit annoyed after getting three of the exact same unique helmets in the span of thirty minutes. I've yet to find a legendary though -- the most powerful, rarest items that only show up starting at level 50 -- so even though I ended my first playthrough with something like 35 unique items, there's still better, more exclusive loot to aim for.

And it's easy to want to aim for better loot after completing the game, since Torchlight II gives you a few options to keep things fresh. There's a standard New Game+ mode, allowing you to begin again with everything starting at Level 50, and there's also the Mapworks, which enables you to spend gold to purchase maps that allow you to enter various random dungeons, each with their own l?evel range and special modifiers that mix things up.

These complaints are relatively minor, though, especially in light of the game as a whole. It's addictive, it's got character, and it's really, really cheap for the ??product you're getting. I can guarantee you'll notice some problems as you play through it, and you'll probably wish the UI had a bit more polish and that the multiplayer system was a bit more robust, but you'll find these issues don't detract much from the overall experience. When you consider that the mod tools are already available, and what we saw with the first game, it's likely many of these issues will be modded out somewhere down the line.

If you're a fan of hack 'n slashes, loot fests, or dungeon crawlers, definitely pick up Torchlight II. It's absolutely worth your time and money, and should hold your attention for quite a while. There are portions of the game that could certainly use a little ??bit of polish, but it's unlikely these problems will?? turn you off from the game entirely. Grab the game, grab some friends, and get to clicking.

Did I mention it's only $20?

The post Review: Torchlight II appeared first on Destructoid.

Looking forward to Torchlight II's release in a couple of days? How about the game's soundtrack, composed by Matt Uelmen of Diablo and Diablo II fame? Originally, the OST was released back in June in limited quantities, as Jayson Napolitano previously noted. The good news is that it's now available for the public and for the wonderful, wonderful price of NOTHING!

That's right! You can swing on by the Torchlight II soundtrack page and download the 28-track album right this second. No mus??s, no fuss. It's a beautiful t?hing.

I love this recent trend of game composers' giving away their soundtracks. It'??s such a generous gesture that only gets you more excited to check the full game out. Who among you is going to capitalize on Mr. Uelmen's generosity?

The Torchlight II Soundtrack [Torchlight II]

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Torchlight II's release is right around the corner, and after hearing how well it's coming together from our hands-on at PAX last week, I've been anxiously waiting to hear composer Matt Uelmen's music in-game. We already reviewed the promotional soundtrack release that has been distributed in limited quantities, but we now have exclusive mixes created just for Destructoid wit??h Matt Uelmen walking us through his thought process for each piece.

Are you looking forward to Torchlight II, and doe?s the soundtrack do anything for you? Would you like to see it released in a more substantial way?

"Enclave Night"

This is the "night" theme from the opening town in Torchlight II. This particular mix (which is unique, but close to ?the in-game mix) starts with the classical guitar placed in a way that should be familiar to adventurers who have faced the curse of ember at least once before.

As I listen to this now, I ?realize how much of an impression the early-nineties ambient movement made on me. Those whispering synth textures (mostly courtesy of Spectrasonics' spectacular Omnisphere, featured on hundreds of soundtracks in the past year or two) remind me more than a little of albums like "U. F. Orb" from that era, and other similar works. It seems to fit the mood of the Estherians - despite being enslaved by rifle-toting bandits, sta?lked by armored ten-foot bears and rumors of some turning into something resembling calamari, they seem to have a genuinely placid and even condescending demeanor.

"Wasteland"

Here's a unique teaser mix of a few tracks from the deserts and salty barrens of Act 2. I couldn't resist being somewhat literal minded and using shakers, maracas, and the suc?h, along with a few of the usual suspects in terms of near-asian instruments. But the real influence in the left-hand piano stabs is obviously the action soundtrack king of the era I was born into, Lalo Schifrin. His background in Latin instrumental music was the perfect means to redefine action music, and I'd like to think I subconsciously absorbed a little of it.

"Dungeons"

And, one last unique mix, including a couple of minutes from some of the very last interiors in the game in the last half which didn't make it onto ??the promotional soundtrack CD. The medley begins with some live string glissandi effects from my session in Bratislava, which made for a good fit in a mysterious level involving a journal and infected dog somewhere in the frigid snows of Act 1. The track transitions through material from the corrupted temples also featured in that act, and ends with some of the noisier and more pounding music I made from dungeons near the climax of the game. The usual suspects - drums, screams and heavily distorted instruments - make their customary appearance. Does the sad fate of the pooch in the Ice Cavern portend some truly monstrous, Lovecra??ftian horror awaiting?

The post ?E?xclusive: Torchlight II OST highlights with Matt Uelmen appeared first on Destructoid.

One last look at the action-RPG before launch

Confession: I never did finish the original Torchlight. For whatever reason, the game failed to grab me -- maybe it was the pacing, the lack of co-op support, or something else entirely. Whatever the case might be, I'll finish Torchlight II. It's come together nicely and feels like a true sequel, to the point where I had completely forgotten ??that Runic Games is only asking for $19.99 come September 20, 2012.

While getting some hands-on time at PAX, Runic president Travis Baldree recapped many of the changes and additions that went into Torchlight II, both big and small, from the reworked impact of animations to the varying amounts of splash damage associated with attacks. Long story short, the end result is a game which just feels right -- an absolute must for click-heavy titles like action-RPGs. This is not merely more Torchlight, it's better Torchlight.

What stood out to me the most was the combat. Not only did it seem more fluid, but the actual number of creatures -- which have some ridiculous, awesome designs -- seems to ??be noticeably up. I wouldn't say my Engineer was overwhelmed, but it came close a few times, seemingly right at the sweet spot between gameplay that is either unexciting or overly difficult.

What's happening after the September release? Runic will focus on getting the mod tools out in the coming weeks, and there's also the Mac port to look forward to. While not necessarily a huge deal, Baldree did mention that Steam Workshop will be supported as well. With Diablo III disappointing some players, there's been a lot of pressure placed on Torchlight II. The wait looks to have been worth it.

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Diablo III launched a few scant months ago, but its PR snafus and controversial business decisions have soured a fair few players. Meanwhile, Runic Games has sat back and capitalized, as jilted dungeon crawlers look toward Torchlight II and hail it as th??e answer to their prayers. 

Sadly, however, these poor misguided fools are as misguided as they are poor. They are also foolish. They are poor, misguided, and foolish because only a poor misguided fool who is foolishly misguided would be poor enough to consider Torchlight II anywhere near Diablo III in terms of asskickingness. I swear by the blank check in my shirt pocket that I will defend Activision's beautifully made game against all criticism, because there is one simple truth that you need to unders??tand. 

Diablo III is blatantly better than Torchlight II.

A Better Breed of Player

Recently, Activision installed a new system where those buying the game digitally would be forced to enter a "review process" for up to 72 hours, during which time they can only play a restricted version of the game and interact only with other restri?cted players. This vetting process may have been considered controversial by some, but I consider it a wonderful new addition to the game that will weed out wrongdoers.

Consider Activision your friendly neighborhood bouncer, turning away the underdressed and underfunded while allowing only the cream of society to cross the velvet rope. By making players wait in a glorified paddock for three days, the impatient and angry will also ??go away to play something else, meaning that potential troublemakers effectively remove themselves from the equation. This leads to a better gaming atmosphere, free from ne'er-do-wells and rich in intelligent, committed players.

Compare this to Torchlight II, where basically anybody will be allowed to play. Who knows what kind of riff raff will stroll through the door while Runic sleeps at its post? Drug addicts? Coldblooded killers such as Toby Soprano from television's Dexter? Illegal immigrants? I'm sorry, but there's a reason why ?airports have metal detectors and a man paid to stick his hand up the anus of foreign-looking people. It's called FREEDOM FRIES, guys. Ever heard of it? 

Always Online DRM (Digital Rights Merriment) 

Some people would consider Diablo III's always-online DRM requirements to be a negative thing, but those people are lying to themselves just like my mother did when she looked at herself in the mirror every single morning and told herself she had to drown him. Fact of the matter is, it isn't 1933 anymore -- criminals are a very real part of society these days, and businesses need to protect themselves. It is the only way they can continue to serve you the kind of great quality products we know and love, such as Band Hero and games similar to Band Hero. 

Diablo III uses the real-money auction house, a hot new feature that finally turns everybody's favorite hack n' slash RPG into an authentic eBay simulator. Just like the real eBay, Activision needs to shield itself and its consumers from fraud and cheaters. If the game allowed players to play offline, they could hack the game, duplicate items, and ruin the carefully crafted economy that players have been demanding since Battle Chess. Thanks to the always-on DRM, nobody has been able to ever cheat in Diablo III, making the auction h??ouse 100% trustworthy. 

So ask yourself, how on EARTH is Torchlight II planning to protect its own real-money auction house from cheaters? Huh? Huh? I guarantee that Torchlight II's economy is going to tank just like the A?merican one did thanks to Mitt Romney's social ectoplasmic pol??????????????????????????icies. Call me a stickler for security, but I won't be using Runic's virtual eBay anytime soon!

Yes, sometimes the entire game goes down for maintenance and you can't play it offline, but let me present you with this little morsel of a concept -- you can't use a toilet when a janitor is fixing it, can you? No, didn't think so. Let the janitors fix your toilets, and let Blizzard fix your Diablo III. LOGIC!

General Chat

When playing computer games, I like to feel that I am connected to a vast world of fellow players who are arranging keyboard symbols in such a way that they vaguely resembles penises. Sometimes games can be dark and morbid, and who doesn't like to have their mood lightened? Thanks to Diablo III, I never feel like I am alone because I have a chatroom constantly flickering in the side of the screen and distracting me from the game's super serious world of darkness. It gives me that spoonfu??l of smiles I need to keep on clicking!

This is what we in the business call "immersion."

I think it's great that Activision patched it so that the chat would be forced upon players the moment they start the game. That way players would have penises and insults greeting them the moment they start their latest session, which in turn is guaranteed to make them grin and therefore have a better time. It's simple psychology, which is why Diablo III is going to have lots of happy players while Torchlight II, which makes you play with people in order to see their comedy penise???s, is likely going to have a high suicide rate among users. 

Diablo III Does Choice Correctly 

With Diablo III, you don't have to worry about allocating skill points, creating your own characte??rs, or tailoring a play style to suit your talents. All of that has been taken care of for you, allowing you more time to actually play the game rather than slave over talent trees and menus. 

It's a streamlined and elegant approach to gaming. First of all, leveling up works out all those fiddly stats for you, upgrading your character as it sees fit. Secondly, you only ever need to find loot with your character's primary stat and/or Vitality, allowing you to quickly select the right tools for th?e job and play eBay with the rest of it. Thirdly, the game's higher difficulty levels bottleneck you into one particular playstyle so you eventually stop wasting time experimenting with garbage. The game even hides the option to fully customize your character's abilities in a sub-menu, removing the easy temptation to do any??thing other than just have fun!

Runic Games isn't about fun. Runic Games would rather force you to agonize over skill point allocation and make tough choices about how you want to play. It takes its overwhelmingly exhausting choices so far that you even have to choose a hair color for your character! Hair colors! Sorry, but in the real world, we're stuck with the hair color we're born with and we have to all live with it! We neither get to, nor want to, start m?essing around with what The Lord Jesus Christ in Heaven gave ?us at birth. 

I hate choice. I still remember when I was asked if I wanted to terminate life support for father and I just couldn't decide whether it would be more fun to get rid of him or keep him in a state of permanent vegetation. From that day forth I vowed never to be forced to make a decision ever again, and I'll be damned if Torchlight II is the one to see me break my oath. 

Oh, and i??n case you're wondering, I eventually opted to have the doctors turn the switch halfw?ay and just keep it hovering there. I assume it kept him in some state of spooky undeath. 

No LAN Play

Why the Hell are people bitching about there being no LAN play in Diablo III? Do you know when people played games via LAN? 1963, probably! Diablo III doesn't need LAN play because it is on the cutting edge of the technological wave, surfing into tomorrow on a board made of science and wearing the Bermuda shorts of discovery. Diablo III doesn't support LAN because it doesn't need to support LAN. 

What the Hell are you thinking, Torchlight II? Yeah, sure, yeah, let's all play Torchlight II locally like a couple of geekatrons from the History Channel. While we're at it, why not play on our zoetropes and spin a hula hoop across the street with a fucking stick? Oh hey, Runic Games, do you guys need your pills and your wheelchairs, you bunch of stupid granddads? 

Face facts, readers. Nobody plays LAN anymore. No games have supported LAN since about 1992. Torchlight II is a crusty old fart compared to the sleek and polished Diablo III, which? uses real Internet like a real game. 

Torchlight II Has Too Many Colors 

Seriously, have you seen screenshots of Torchlight II? It's like the Teletubbies shat all over a box of Candy Corn and shoved it up a Care Bear's ass. In any given screenshot I've counted no less than twenty-nine colors, which is about seven colors too many for a game like this. Compare it to the refined color scheme of Diablo III, as grim an?d dark as it has always been, with no complaints ever had a??bout its art style. The difference is clear. 

Let's get this straight -- videogames should never look like cartoons, unless they're the Skeleton Warriors game for Sony PlayStation which was, admittedly, based on a cartoon. Outside of that one exception, however, I want my games looking serious, gothic, and as close to colorless as you can get without being a 1920s public safety announcement. At times, Diablo III is so dark that it sucks all the natural sunlight out of my room and plunges the entire street into perpetual night. Going from that to the Lucky Charms horseshit that is Torchlight II makes me vomit blood. Black blood. Because I'm a real hardcore gamer. 

Ultimately, only real hardcore gamers play Diablo III, vetted as they are, dedicated as they will be, and grateful as they remain. Torchlight II, with its childish visuals, dated mechanics, impregnable interface and frankly shameless willingness to let anybody play the game is due to fail. Hard and fast. If you're some sort of idiotic chicken-baby, then perhaps you might have fun playing that ridiculous nonsense, but us mature adults who actually want to play the straight dope will stick with Diablo III, thanks! 

It is just blatantly better, and you don't ??even?? know.

The post Diablo III is blatantly better than Torchlight II appeared first on Destructoid.

When I received an invite to the Torchlight II beta, I let out a noise that can only be described as a "yelp." It was a happy noise, one that I wasn't quite sure I was capable of making. "This will be a great time killer until Diablo III comes out," I thought. Well, now that Diablo III is out, I still find myself booting up the Torchlight II client quite often.

What was it that pulled me away from a game I had been anticipating for the better part of a decade? Well, quite a few things, really. It's not that I think Diablo III is inherently a bad game, it's just that Torchlight II does a fe??w things better, some of which are pretty crucial to my enjoyment of the game.

Offline/LAN play 

I'm not sure if you knew this, but you can't play Diablo III without an Internet connection. Crazy, right? Normally, this isn't an issue for me, but when Blizzard's servers go down it doesn't matter how great my Internet connection is. I almost exclusively play Diablo III multiplayer, but the fact that the game's playability relies entirely on a connection to their servers is an awful idea. There's no playing Diablo III on a plane or a long car ride, ever. I understand why they did it, but I still don't agree with it.

Torchlight II, however, is a saving grace for those long trips. Not only can you play offline, but you can also play over a LAN connection! It feels a bit bizarre to be toting thi??s as such a great feature in the year 2012, yet ??here we are. Now that that's out of the way, let's move on.

Pets are better than mercenaries 

My absolute favorite feature of Torchlight II may be the pet that accompanies your hero. You can now choose from eight different pets, each of them COMPLETELY ADORABLE. Naming your pet is one of the toughest decisions you'll make when playing Torchlight II?. It has to be something that reflects the animal and the p??ersonality you give it in your brain.

They're obviously better than the mercenaries in Diablo III, but if you don't believe me I'll get more specific. Mercenaries often talk to your character in Diablo III, and while these are pretty enjoyable to listen to, they can repeat and instantly soil the experience. Pets are silent warriors, removing that issue altogether. Mercenaries can hold some of your inventory for you, but pets can take that inventory and go sell it back at town, allowing you to continue adventuring. Oh, and while they are there, they can also pick up some scrolls or potions for you if you need them. This allows you to pick up each and every item, unlike Diablo III which gives absol?utely no reason for picking up an item tha??t isn't magical or unique.

There's a special connection that humans have with animals, something that cannot be matched by other humans. This was evidently clear when I was constantly monitoring Slobbers' (my bulldog's name in Torchlight II) health, while I never once glanced at what's-his-name's health in Diablo III. When it?? comes d??own to it, pets are just better than mercenaries.

Matt Uelmen

Matt Uelmen may not be a common name to you, but if you played Diablo II for all of middle school like I did, you know of his work as a composer. He was one of the geniuses behind the music of Diablo II and its expansion, Lord of Destruction. The music in Diablo II is perfect for adventuring and meandering around the m??any large a?reas. You might not immediately notice it, but after playing for a while you start to notice just how fitting the music is.

Well, guess who's over at Runic Games making the music for the Torchlight series? That's right, Mr. Uelmen is! In fact, I'd say that the music of Torchlight II definitely has a similar vibe to Diablo II at times. It's great music to have in the background as you walk across the vast landscapes. Diablo III's music isn't bad by comparison, but the game and the music have a different tone when compared to Torchlight II.

Skills! Attributes! Points!

Before I begin: I don't particularly mind the skill system that Diablo III has put in place. It definitely allows for way more experimentation; at least once you turn on Elective Mode. However, there's just some sort of magic that's taken away once leveling up is done automatically for you. Your freedom of choice is gone. Leveling up in Diablo III is much more hands-off than its predecessor, since you don't actually do anything as you gain experience.

Torchlight II satiates that need to drop points into skills and attributes. This offers way more specialization and fine tuning of your character as you progress, something that you just can't do in Blizzard's latest hellish jaunt. Oh, and no worries -- Torchlight II has a respec option, allowing you to undo all of your points and redistribute them how you like. (EDIT: This has been changed since the beta -- you can now only respec the last three points. Sort of a "try before you buy" mentality)

For example, in Diablo II, I created a throwing Barbarian. I absolutely love trying to make "gimped" character builds work out. Diablo III has a throwing skill for the Barbarian, but it's hard to specialize in it. I can use it ??more often (albeit limited by my Frenzy meter), but other than that I'm just like every??one else.

The single-player experience

As mentioned before, I primarily have multiplayer experiences while playing Diablo games. Playing Diablo III alone feels like you're missing out. Playing with others is Blizzard's clear intention, with single-player feeling more like an obligation on their part. Of course there's? always the possibi??lity that you can't play single-player at all because the servers are down or you're not connected to the Internet.

Torchlight II's single-player just feels more refined. Perhaps the pet adds more to the solo experience than I thought, or maybe the game's structure is simple better laid out for a lone rider. You also don't need to play through the entire game once to unlock a harder difficulty. If you want a real challenge, you can start on the hardest difficulty with a level-one character. All that I can say for certain is that I never got the feeling like I was missing out while playing Torchlight II alone like I do when I play Diablo III. If you're going it alone, your choice of RPG should always be Torchlight II.

Mods!

Mods are what make the PC world go 'round. Half-Life mods have spawned entire series of world-class games; DayZ has recently re-invigorated ArmA II sales exponentially; Minecraft mods have shaped the game as we know it ??today. Putting a game's tools in the hands of the creative masses will almost always result in great things. Even the terrible mods are often entertaining for at least a little while.

It's impossible to tell what kind of mods will come out of the Torchlight II community, but I have some pretty high hopes. Hell, even if it merely ends up spawning more well-crafted dungeons I'd be completely content. The possibility of mods will always keep me interested in a game well past its campaign mode. The fact that Torchlight II will allow for mods goes to show just h??ow much of a "love letter" this game is to its fans. Allowing for mods allows players to change certain aspects of the game they may not like, and the developers realize that not every decision they make will please everyone.

There's absolutely no reason why you can't play and enjoy both Diablo III and Torchlight II. Each of them excel in different areas unmatched by the other. If your loot lust is as strong as mine, you'll take?? any opportunity you can to kill things and watch precious items spew out of their corpses like a beautiful fountain of rare and unique items.

Torchlight II has a cheaper price, wonderful art, and a splendid sense of humor. Will Torchlight II be better than Diablo III when it comes down to brass tacks? Maybe, but only time will tell. Whether you're disappointed with what Diablo III brought to the table or you just loved the first Torchlight, Torchlight II will not disappoint.

The post Six things Torchlight II does better than Diablo I?II appeared first on Destructoid.

It turns out Ordrak is still a problem in Torchlight II even after he'??s dead. Like most fantasy&nb??sp;villains, death is not really an issue for him.

This trailer shows three heroes trying to kill him yet again, after the events in Torchlight. It doesn't show off any new gameplay, and the story is not necessarily that important in a game like this, but it's still a really fun trailer. I wanted to play Torchlight II before I saw this, and I want to play it even more now??.

The post Torchlight II’s intro cinematic links story to Torchlight appeared first on Destructoid.

The original Torchlight is an awesome game and there isn't much to complain about. It's fun to look at and incredibly addicting. Torchlight II thankfully doesn't stray too far away from the ??classic gameplay, but it does feel noticeably m??ore streamlined.

It's also bigger -- three times the size of the first game, in fact -- so you'll get to enjoy many ?dozens o?f hours happily gathering loot.

Torchlight II (PC, Mac)
Developer: Runic Games
Publisher: Runic Games
Release: Summer 2012

Pets are much better this time around. You can pick between owning a ferret, a chakawary (a little dragonlike guy), a cat, a bulldog, a panther, and a wolf. They are all adorable and I could just stare at their cute little animations all day. They still serve as your combat partners and can go back to town to sell loot. Now, you can also give them a shopping list to bring things back with them. That's right, your pet can bring back health and mana potions, town porta??l scrolls, and identification scrolls.

There are a lot of very nice little changes to the interfac??e that help to make the overall game experience better. Unidentified items can be identified by simply right-clicking them, meaning you don't have to click on a scroll and then click on the item. Loot names c??an also be toggled on and off instead of having to hold down ALT when you want to see things. There are more tweaks like this that don't really bring any drastic changes to the gameplay, but they do eliminate extra clicks and make information easier to access, which is always a good thing to see.

All of the maps are randomly generated in Torchlight II. The overworld areas and dungeons are always different, so the replay factor is almost infinite. There are even random quests scattered around, such as soldiers who need help fighting back wolves. If you save him, you'll gain experience, a few coins, and he'll give you some loot. Even though it's all random, it doesn't feel like it; if you told me that someone designed these levels, I would believe you. The camp area I started in reminded me of one of Titan Quest's zones. Wha?tever magic Runic is crafting behind the scenes works well.

The newest feature that Runic has revealed about Torchlight II is the charge bar. This bar fills up during combat, and it drains when you're not fighting. Upon filling it up, you can use a special ability that is unique to every class. Engineers have more powerful attacks,?? Berserkers have every attack become? a critical hit, Outlanders can move faster, and the Embermage is able to cast spells without draining mana. 

I saved the best for last; the multiplayer. It's good. Unlike Dungeon Siege III, players will gain full rewards no matter what. You can be playing alone, host a game, or join someone else's game with the same character and earn just as much XP and loot all the time. You can start a quest in your game and finish it in your friend's. You can even help your friends complete quests you don't have. You'll still get XP, gold, and ??some loot, but you won't get any unique quest-related drops from bosses unless you also have that quest.

Joining another person's game doesn't mean that you really ha??ve to play with that person. Players can run off wherever they want to. Playing together is much more fun, of course, but the game doesn't force you to do that. In the time I?? spent with the game, I played a ranged Outlander while another player joined me as a melee Berserker. He could get up close while I stood back and shot from a distance. The game scales how tough the monsters are according to how many players are there and what levels everyone is at.

Torchlight II is shaping up to be one of the better games of 2012. It will face some tough competition from Diablo III, but don't skip over it or think of it as "the cheap Diablo." From what I've seen, Torchlight II is a very good game and it's just as polished and enjoyable as Diablo III. The random content will actually give it more replayability, and its lower price makes it easier to fit the game into your budget. I won't tell you to pick this over Diablo III, but don't ignore it, either. If you like action RPGs, you need to get Torchlight II.

The post PAX: Torchlight II is like Torchlight, but better appeared first on Destructoid.

Those of you in search of legendary loot will have to continue waiting patiently. Though Torchlight II was promised as coming out by the end of this year, Runic Games has confirmed this is no longer the case.

Company co-fou??nder Travis Baldree says that "getting a game of this scope up to the quality and polish level we want to achieve is going to take a little longer; especially since we want to run a small beta before release to ensure that our launch is smooth."

"The amount of time we need to take it the rest of the way is relatively small. We feel pretty safe in saying that if you enjoyed Torchlight at all,? this sequel is superior in every respect. Right now our job is to?? ensure that the quality level is consistent all the way to the end."

Baldree then proceeded to list a bunch of recent games you'?re all probably obsessed with right now anyway. Fair enough!

The post Torchlight II has a good excuse for slipping? into 2??012 appeared first on Destructoid.

I had the opportunity to sit down with Travis Baldree, President of Runic Games, for some hands-on quality time with their upcoming sequel to the wildly successful Torchlight. Luckily, I was able to check out what is perhaps the greatest (and most requested) feature of Torchlight II, the inclusion of multiplayer! While currently capped? out at eight players, this number is subject to change as the game is still being tweaked to find the perfect balance between chaos and fun.

The multiplayer wil??l be available via Internet and LAN play modes, allowing players to use the same character between both. Runic doesn't want to put up any unnecessary barriers that would prevent players from simply jumping in and enjoying the game, nor do they want to penalize players who choose to alternate between the single- and multiplayer modes while progressing through the game.

Torchlight II is going to be huge, the sheer amount of content will practically dwarf the original Torchlight. Runic boasts that the first act already contains more unique assets than the entire first game combined. Players should find things much less linear this time around as well, as it is no longer a straight up top to bottom dungeon crawl. The game will contain three primary acts and a final "endgame" a??ct with numerous outdoor areas and dungeons to explore.

To ensure that Torchlight II is not simply just a larger version of their first game, Runic has promised a variety of other improvements as well. In addition to a ton of under-the-hood optimization to the engine and combat mechanics, Torchlight II has also received a much needed ?upgrade to the wardrobe system and character customization features as well. Even loot has gotten an overhaul, with tons of new items being added, including unique equipment and armor sets.

Although I didn't personally have any major issues with the user interface, I've been promised that practically everything shown right now is being thrown out and rebuilt from s?cratch. Runic feels that the UI needs to be far less obtrusive and more user-friendly.

Torchlight II will definitely be a solid title?? to?? look forward to this year, especially as new content and improvements are unveiled leading up to the launch.

The post E3: Hands-on with Torchlight II appeared first on Destructoid.