Torchlight was first released back in 2009 on the PC and is to be launched soon on the Xbox Live Arcade.The port to the Xbox 360 version includes extra armour sets and an additional pet for you to choose from. The developers involved in the creation of Torchlight are the same creative masterminds that introduced Diablo I & II to the world, this insight in to how to make a fun meat grinding, troll slaying, ogre killing, monster bashing game can be seen here.
The transfer to the console is seamless. Personally I have never played this game on the PC and after playing the game for just a few minutes, I would never have expected the game to have come from the PC everything is where it should be. Not once during my play time did I ever expect that this game would have been available on the PC.
The graphics of the game are not the best in the world that said from what I have seen on the Xbox Live Arcade they are one of the best. This is not saying much compared to your standard over the counter £40 game, but after the title screen you will not really notice the difference. In fact they are very well done. The creatures you will encounter move and act extremely well with a variety of looks and designs from the “OMG that is huge and awesome” to the “awww look at him aint he cute”. This said the graphics throughout the game are very enjoyable, brightly coloured and cartoony.
At the start of the game you will find yourself selecting what character you want to play from the three predefined classes. The destroyer who is a melee combatant uses the powers of his ancestors to smite his foes. The Alchemist uses the power of Ember to attack and summons minions to fight at his side. Finally the Vanquisher is an expert marksman who with the use of traps can confuse her foes. After selecting your class you now select what companion will follow you in to the depths of hell. This companion will aid you throughout the game by assisting in combat and collecting your loot; even running back to town to sell everything you have placed in its bags.
Once this is done you are thrown in to the village of Torchlight. Here you will talk to a few people and accept some quests, which will send you on your way into your first dungeon.
The game play of Torchlight is very much a hack’n’slack button mash. All the hacking and slashing through huge crowds of enemies, while shooting green magic missiles at them, is only really broken up with the occasional meeting of a character or going back to the town to sell all the gear you have gathered. For many players this is a marmite thing, you will either love it or hate it.
The loot in the game is bountiful, you will have weapons and armour coming out of your ears. During the game you will constantly be looting gear of different levels of rarity, after a good one hour of play time you will be ignoring the green items (first level of rare gear) and focus on gathering the rarer items.
As you go through the dungeons your chosen character will gain skill points, these can be used in your trees to define your characters style of play. You can even give your pet spells that it will automatically use during the fight.
Disclaimer:All scores given within our reviews are based on the artist’s personal opinion; this should in no way impede your decision to purchase the game.
