A polished Diablo clone but lacks the addiction factor. Worth the $20 entrance fee. Bullet point review inside...

User Rating: 7 | Torchlight PC
Torchlight is a perfect clone of Diablo II – same interface, same controls, same everything; except for the graphics and the fun factor. However, this is not a bad thing at first.

I still can't decide if I like this game or not. I admit this was an "impulse" buy from Steam for me. Since it's only 20 bucks, it's a risk worth taking. The game is fun at first, but gets really boring quickly. I'm only at level 8 with my current character (got there in only 2 hours), and I'm already bored. For some reason, it lacks the addiction factor which DI and DII had. Perhaps I just can't get into the "cartoon" world. The dark and evil world of Diablo was very immersive; can't say the same for this game. I might give it another shot tonight with a different character and see how it feels.

Here's a bullet point review:

Pros:

- Very stable game; loads fast and have zero technical problems.
- Graphics are not my taste (too cute and cartoony), but looks ok and polished
- Smooth animation and effects
- Crazy fast and smooth FPS. My game averages at 120fps at 1920x1200 with everything on max
- Easy interface and controls (exactly the same as Diablo)
- Some of the skills are pretty cool
- Lots of loot to find and buy
- Use of the pet is creative. Sending your pet off to sell items is pretty neat
- Maps are simple so you can't get lost
- Nothing really annoying. Just a simple click-fest game

Cons:

- I don't like the way the characters look. But this is just a personal opinion
- World doesn't feel grand. Even though Diablo was tile based and you never saw the horizon, it had a sense of scale. This game feels tiny
- Loot feels repetitive. I don't feel the difference after an equipment upgrade so I stopped using new stuff. I'm still wearing low level stuff (such as 2) even though lv 15+ stuff are littered all over the place. However, my character is doing just fine.
- No strategy what so ever. You can just close your eyes and click away. Press your hotkeys for Mana/Health once in a while and you're good to go. I've killed a few bosses now without ever moving….just stood there and took it (way too many health/mana bottles around)
- Because of the above, the game gets boring very quickly. Every level started to feel the same
- I actually didn't know that there wasn't multiplayer when I bought it (just assumed a game like this HAD to have multiplayer). Checked around the menus and thought "this can't be right???" Well, the game has no multiplayer mode…so there goes any chance of replay.

Overall

Not a bad game for $20. It'll bring more entertainment than the cost of your lunch. Give it a shot but don't expect too much. The quick load times and mindless clicking is a good distraction from the more serious and mature games. I think Torchlight is aimed at a much younger audience who are making their transition from Consoles to PC gaming.