First Impressions: Torchlight 2

Hi guys! A couple hours ago, Torchlight 2 was released on steam, and I've been playing it for a little bit. Of course, it might take a bit for me to complete, since I'm working on Borderlands 2 at the same time. Luckily, I can give you my first impression of this quirky RPG.

Much like B2, the classes within Torchlight 2 have been improved. Whereas there were only 3 classes in the original game, the player now has 4 classes to choose from. We have the Berserker (Melee), Embermage (Spellcasting), Engineer (Melee & Spellcasting, and the first class I chose), and the Outlander (Ranged & Spellcasting). The classes also have more depth to them, also like B2: where as the 3 original classes only had 11 skills per skill tree (each class has 3 trees), the new classes have 7 active skills, and 3 passive skills (a new addition to Torchlight 2). Both the active & passive skills can have multiple points put into them (like Torchlight 1), making them stronger, and giving newer benefits when a certain amount of points are put in. The new classes feel like they have more weight to them, and act like they're more capable to take on the dangers of the world.

The world is something that's been heavily improved in Torchlight 2. While the original game was well sized, a player could go through it rather quickly if he or she knew what they were doing. On top of that, there wasn't much variety in terms of environments (You had the town, and the various dungeons). With this game, the gaming world has been greatly expanded, giving the player more areas to explore, and more variety in terms of environment. If you don't believe me, consider this fact: the first act will be completed in the same amount of time it took for you to beat the first game. If you don't believe me, go check out some of the interviews with the Torchlight developers.

Graphics are an interesting thing in Torchlight 2. The game uses the same engine from the original game, but it seems to me that everything looks a little smoother this time around. Luckily, it feels similar to the first game, and everything moves around just as fast (maybe a little faster). Speaking of interesting...

The story of Torchlight 2 is rather...there. Much like the first game, you're told that there's a big evil out there in the world, and that only you can stop it. Sadly, the story takes a backseat to the game, kinda like in the original Torchlight. I say kinda, because T2's story introduced you to the main villain right at the beginning, and without revealing anything, the main villain will be very familiar to those that played the original game. I'm also willing to be that there's some more twists & turns as the player advances in the game. Only time will tell.

See you all next week. Until then, stay Otaku!