What changed
0 fixes3 additions2 changes0 removals
- Gameplay
- Maps
- UI and audio
- Balance
addedWhen I play RPGs, I create one character and I stick with them. I share an office with people who do things differently: whose first dozen hours with a new game are spent cycling through possibilities, repeating opening areas until something clicks or the game dies of inertia. I commit to my characters because what I enjoy about RPGs is advancement, exploration, and momentum. I'd rather make a decision quickly and see where it takes me than agonise over the choice on offer, which is both why I'm capable of buying trousers very quickly and also why I should never do jury duty.
addedI've just finished playing the opening two hours of Torchlight 2 for the fourth time in a row. I've levelled each of the game's classes to the point where I feel I know what their deal is. I've killed the same three bosses in a variety of positions, swapped loot around using the shared stash and created a new set of angles from which to take on the rest of the game. I've put off commitment by around eight hours.
changedAn animated intro sets the stage - the first game's Alchemist character has gone bananas, putting the torch to Torchlight and storming off into the wider world. You're promptly plonked into the middle of a rainswept fen, given a path to storm down and an array of rat-men to batter.
changedPopping shots at my first few rat-men, something immediately felt slightly off. There's a delay between clicking and attacking determined by the speed of your weapon, something that Torchlight 2 shares with other action-RPGs but that grinds against expectation in the world post Diablo 3. Runic's system is mechanically sound but just doesn't have the punch and splatter that Blizzard spent a decade perfecting. There's a night-and-day difference between the relative resources of the two games, and a comparison of the two has to go far deeper than what it feels like to turn a monster into high-velocity meat: but if you spent your summer in Blizzard's company, you'll need to get comfortable with something slower before Torchlight 2 opens up to you.
addedThe same applies to levelling up. Each new level grants you a set of attribute points to invest in one of four stats and a single skill point to spend. As in the original Torchlight, improving stats
Torchlight changes
addedWhen I play RPGs, I create one character and I stick with them. I share an office with people who do things differently: whose first dozen hours with a new game are spent cycling through possibilities, repeating opening areas until something clicks or the game dies of inertia. I commit to my characters because what I enjoy about RPGs is advancement, exploration, and momentum. I'd rather make a decision quickly and see where it takes me than agonise over the choice on offer, which is both why I'm capable of buying trousers very quickly and also why I should never do jury duty.
addedI've just finished playing the opening two hours of Torchlight 2 for the fourth time in a row. I've levelled each of the game's classes to the point where I feel I know what their deal is. I've killed the same three bosses in a variety of positions, swapped loot around using the shared stash and created a new set of angles from which to take on the rest of the game. I've put off commitment by around eight hours.
changedAn animated intro sets the stage - the first game's Alchemist character has gone bananas, putting the torch to Torchlight and storming off into the wider world. You're promptly plonked into the middle of a rainswept fen, given a path to storm down and an array of rat-men to batter.
changedPopping shots at my first few rat-men, something immediately felt slightly off. There's a delay between clicking and attacking determined by the speed of your weapon, something that Torchlight 2 shares with other action-RPGs but that grinds against expectation in the world post Diablo 3. Runic's system is mechanically sound but just doesn't have the punch and splatter that Blizzard spent a decade perfecting. There's a night-and-day difference between the relative resources of the two games, and a comparison of the two has to go far deeper than what it feels like to turn a monster into high-velocity meat: but if you spent your summer in Blizzard's company, you'll need to get comfortable with something slower before Torchlight 2 opens up to you.
addedThe same applies to levelling up. Each new level grants you a set of attribute points to invest in one of four stats and a single skill point to spend. As in the original Torchlight, improving stats
When I play RPGs, I create one character and I stick with them. I share an office with people who do things differently: whose first dozen hours with a new game are spent cycling through possibilities, repeating opening areas until something clicks or the game dies of inertia. I commit to my characters because what I enjoy about RPGs is advancement, exploration, and momentum. I'd rather make a decision quickly and see where it takes me than agonise over the choice on offer, which is both why I'm capable of buying trousers very quickly and also why I should never do jury duty.
I've just finished playing the opening two hours of Torchlight 2 for the fourth time in a row. I've levelled each of the game's classes to the point where I feel I know what their deal is. I've killed the same three bosses in a variety of positions, swapped loot around using the shared stash and created a new set of angles from which to take on the rest of the game. I've put off commitment by around eight hours.
I've done this because, frankly, my first impressions of the game weren't great. I came very close to bouncing off Torchlight 2, and I wouldn't be surprised if players picking up the game tonight experience something similar. My full review will come on Monday, but I wanted to put together some initial impressions to explain how I cracked Torchlight 2's outer layer.
An animated intro sets the stage - the first game's Alchemist character has gone bananas, putting the torch to Torchlight and storming off into the wider world. You're promptly plonked into the middle of a rainswept fen, given a path to storm down and an array of rat-men to batter.
So that's one wrecked village, one renegade former protagonist, and one blasted heath to chase them over. Torchlight 2's setup echoes Diablo 2 in the same way that the original game echoed Diablo 1. It's an odd decision, creatively: it works as an homage, but means that the game has to do that much more to set itself apart from its phenomenal forebear and - by extension - Diablo 3. I'd also like to have a heart to heart with whoever decided that all action RPGs need to begin in a shitty field in the middle of nowhere.
I started with the Outlander, a hybrid mage and ranged DPS class that on the surface closely resembles the Vanquisher I played in the original game.
Popping shots at my first few rat-men, something immediately felt slightly off. There's a delay between clicking and attacking determined by the speed of your weapon, something that Torchlight 2 shares with other action-RPGs but that grinds against expectation in the world post Diablo 3. Runic's system is mechanically sound but just doesn't have the punch and splatter that Blizzard spent a decade perfecting. There's a night-and-day difference between the relative resources of the two games, and a comparison of the two has to go far deeper than what it feels like to turn a monster into high-velocity meat: but if you spent your summer in Blizzard's company, you'll need to get comfortable with something slower before Torchlight 2 opens up to you.
The same applies to levelling up. Each new level grants you a set of attribute points to invest in one of four stats and a single skill point to spend. As in the original Torchlight, improving stats
