Torchlight is a good game, but have some flaws
After some nebulous fight they quit Blizzard North. Then in 2009 the appeared again, this time with a game company from their own. RUNIC games. Torchlight is the first game from this new born company.
Of course when i started playing right from the beggining i noticed some strinking resemblances with Diablo. The music is similar, the allocation stats are there too. Item sets are amazing.
They also blend some elements from wow, like cartoon art, dreanei characters, some kobolds and so on. They modified them a little, but if you played wow for a while you cant deny the similarities. I dont know if the Shaefers got involved with wow vanilla too, but i guess yes.
After quiting D3 in pain and nausea from the mess the game developers did to the game i took refugee in this game. Oh boy, this is the sucessor of Diablo for sure. Unfortunatelly this game does not have the graphic excellence from Blizzard titles, but its very promessing nonetheless. Since Torchlight is coming this 2012 summer, i expect huge implements in multiplayer, game variety and replayability.
Runic Games is a Indie company so far, but i bet they can soon become a major company if they produce their next titles right. And with Schaefer brothers in command i have little doubt that in a few years this company will become BIG.
Like i said, the itemization is great, music is from the same composer from Diablo (so almost identical) replayability is good. The only setback is that it is lacking multiplayer mode. Graphically speaking the game is just ok, but i know that they started this company from the scratch, so i bet they infused every dollar they got in this game and cross fingers. And for a Indie company its more than ok. If it were a major company the graphics would be weak.
I played as a mage and you feel your char becoming stronger every level. All the talent trees from Diablo are there and this is just great. Its Diablo in a new costume.
I enjoyed every moment and this is an entertaining game who i would give a high score if multiplayer were present. The good thing is Torchlight 2 is just around the corner and multiplayer will be present, along wth the possibility of playing the game in open spaces instead just in caverns as in Torchlight.
This game is a very good start for Runic Games and i will be looking forward to new titles from this young and promissing company.