Torchlight is a Diablo clone. You should know this upfront. It's developed by the same guys that made Diablo, the music is written by the same man who wrote the music for Diablo, and the game kind of just is Diablo. That's not a bad thing, however; Diablo is still a great game, aged as it is, and loot-whoring never seems to get old.
The journey starts with a choice of one of three classes(mage, warrior, rogue), and either a cat or dog as a pet. The game opens in the only town you'll see, Torchlight(don't know what the name has to do with the title, but whatever). From there you progress through the paper-thin story and into the game's one and only dungeon. 1 dungeon may sound like you'll not be seeing much change in scenery, but the weirdly changing mine actually has a fair bit of variety; lava, jungle(complete with rain), and more.
The game's mechanics involve a lot of left clicking, but there's been a fair bit of streamlining from the Diablo of old. You can bind any skill to your right mouse, remove gems from gear to reuse the gear or gem (but not both), receive set bonuses from armour and weapons, and more. A big part of this streamlining is your pet, which is the only real innovation in the game; your little guy has an inventory, and will run back to the town to sell all the stuff you put in it, if you want him too.
He's also a fighter, though, and can be equipped with loot of his own. Spells are where it's at when it comes to your pet, for example giving him a buff, or a summon, which he will cast completely autonomously. When your pet is giving you rock armour and summoning skeletons, you're set.
Apart from that, there's not much more to say about Torchlight. It's a cheap ($20), purchase off Steam that I highly recommend if you're into loot, and don't find Borderlands appealing enough.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
MW2- Another perspective
Considering Dennis openly admitted that he hasn't really even played the first COD4, I thought it would be prudent to tell you what I thought of the game, seeing as I recently racked up 1000 hours of COD4 MP on Xfire, and have played the first game singleplayer so much that it hurts.
The singleplayer experience is similar in length to the first game and essentially continues where the last singleplayer left off. Unfortunately, if you've played COD4, you're going to be finding a lot of stuff in here repetitive. Things that were fun to do or watch the first time round don't bring that much enthusiasm and you only really start to get interested in the second half of the campaign. This could be put down to a lack of innovation on IW's part. Sure, you get to fire some predator missiles now and then, but for the rest of the time you will be seeing things that have already been tried and tested in COD4. By far the most interesting new part of the singleplayer are the all too brief vehicle scenes where you can control a snow mobile for example.
Dennis said the game is well written and I suppose this is true, however it is not very well explained in parts. Relationships between members of your squad are not fully understandable if you haven't played COD4 and there are some major plot points where there is a lack of explanation to the player as to what has just happened. This is still a fun singleplayer game, but it doesn't feel like a proper sequel as much as episode two of the same game.
I'm going to skip to graphics in general now, and simply say that the graphics have been tweaked. They haven't developed a new engine or anything, but that doesn't bother me because they still look good. Just don't expect to be blown away by new graphics or anything.
Multiplayer is an interesting mixture of good things and bad things. The maps and gameplay are new, plus new weapons and killstreak unlocks mean you will never want to stop playing. The problem is, it's likely you'll be forced to stop playing all the time. If you and a bunch of friends want to play together you'll have to make a party and try and join up with another bunch of people wanting to play. Private matches are also at the moment completely obsolete, because you can only get points through matchmaking.
Also, if one of your friends is disconnected from the server you're playing on, the matchmaker will sometimes find a replacement and you'll all have to leave to get back into a game together. On top of this, these "lobbies" have only ever lasted 6 maps at MOST for me. It is very irritating having to spend so much time on menus instead of transitioning smoothly between each map and staying with the same player group. The only problems in terms of gameplay is that fact that there is no lean button on PC anymore, which doesn't seem that irritating until you try it.
If you can get into a game, you'll enjoy it immensely and I would still recommend buying the game, I simply couldn't resist adding a dolop of negativity to Dennis' cake of awesome.
The singleplayer experience is similar in length to the first game and essentially continues where the last singleplayer left off. Unfortunately, if you've played COD4, you're going to be finding a lot of stuff in here repetitive. Things that were fun to do or watch the first time round don't bring that much enthusiasm and you only really start to get interested in the second half of the campaign. This could be put down to a lack of innovation on IW's part. Sure, you get to fire some predator missiles now and then, but for the rest of the time you will be seeing things that have already been tried and tested in COD4. By far the most interesting new part of the singleplayer are the all too brief vehicle scenes where you can control a snow mobile for example.
Dennis said the game is well written and I suppose this is true, however it is not very well explained in parts. Relationships between members of your squad are not fully understandable if you haven't played COD4 and there are some major plot points where there is a lack of explanation to the player as to what has just happened. This is still a fun singleplayer game, but it doesn't feel like a proper sequel as much as episode two of the same game.
I'm going to skip to graphics in general now, and simply say that the graphics have been tweaked. They haven't developed a new engine or anything, but that doesn't bother me because they still look good. Just don't expect to be blown away by new graphics or anything.
Multiplayer is an interesting mixture of good things and bad things. The maps and gameplay are new, plus new weapons and killstreak unlocks mean you will never want to stop playing. The problem is, it's likely you'll be forced to stop playing all the time. If you and a bunch of friends want to play together you'll have to make a party and try and join up with another bunch of people wanting to play. Private matches are also at the moment completely obsolete, because you can only get points through matchmaking.
Also, if one of your friends is disconnected from the server you're playing on, the matchmaker will sometimes find a replacement and you'll all have to leave to get back into a game together. On top of this, these "lobbies" have only ever lasted 6 maps at MOST for me. It is very irritating having to spend so much time on menus instead of transitioning smoothly between each map and staying with the same player group. The only problems in terms of gameplay is that fact that there is no lean button on PC anymore, which doesn't seem that irritating until you try it.
If you can get into a game, you'll enjoy it immensely and I would still recommend buying the game, I simply couldn't resist adding a dolop of negativity to Dennis' cake of awesome.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
I am an idiot.
I got Modern Warfare 2 today, at 10.00am. It cost me 100 dollars. I then came back home, and sat down to play "just a little" of the singleplayer. Problem is, I didn't stop.
The game is amazing. I have played the entirety of the singeplayer campaign, which just goes from one crazy set-piece to another. It doesn't stop, it doesn't slow down, and it's a hell of a lot of fun. The story is over the top too, but very well written, and there were plot twists I actually didn't expect. Despite what the title of this post reads, I am not an idiot(in this respect), and almost always guess what's going to happen. As should you.
The shooting itself feels very similar to the first Modern Warfare, from what I've played(I never actually owned the game), and there's a large variety in guns that means everyone should find something they like killing dudes with. The graphics are better, but certainly not on par with some games of this generation(and before you ask, everything was on highest). On the whole the singleplayer is one of the best experiences I've had all year, while remaining similar to the first game in the series.
The multiplayer is similar to the CoD4 as well, with some tweaks and improvements that, well, improve it. Deathstreaks are fun, especially for me, and according to GiantBomb, shooting down UAV's is awesome. I wouldn't know, but Mark and Michael certainly will. I have yet to try out the spec ops mode, though judging from the rest of the game so far, it will be awesome. Despite my deep hatred of Activision, I've got to admit that they've published a damn fine game.
So why am I an idiot?
I have two exams tommorow.
The game is amazing. I have played the entirety of the singeplayer campaign, which just goes from one crazy set-piece to another. It doesn't stop, it doesn't slow down, and it's a hell of a lot of fun. The story is over the top too, but very well written, and there were plot twists I actually didn't expect. Despite what the title of this post reads, I am not an idiot(in this respect), and almost always guess what's going to happen. As should you.
The shooting itself feels very similar to the first Modern Warfare, from what I've played(I never actually owned the game), and there's a large variety in guns that means everyone should find something they like killing dudes with. The graphics are better, but certainly not on par with some games of this generation(and before you ask, everything was on highest). On the whole the singleplayer is one of the best experiences I've had all year, while remaining similar to the first game in the series.
The multiplayer is similar to the CoD4 as well, with some tweaks and improvements that, well, improve it. Deathstreaks are fun, especially for me, and according to GiantBomb, shooting down UAV's is awesome. I wouldn't know, but Mark and Michael certainly will. I have yet to try out the spec ops mode, though judging from the rest of the game so far, it will be awesome. Despite my deep hatred of Activision, I've got to admit that they've published a damn fine game.
So why am I an idiot?
I have two exams tommorow.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Modern Warfare 2 Inbound!
This time tomorrow those of us in Australia will have our hands on Modern Warfare 2, one of the most anticipated and controversial games of the decade. Our dedicated team will disregard their real lives and impending exams to bring you updates to the minute on how the game is, if it's enjoyable and if it is worth your hard earned cash (let's be honest, you didn't do any hard work for it all, did you?). Stay tuned to ze blog for updates!
Sunday, November 8, 2009
PodTurtles Ep3 - Dragon Age, and nothing else.
PodTurtles Episode 3 arrives! Filled with family fun, for the whole family, and a chance to win a trip to Hawaii!
Nah I'm just fucking with y'all. We talk Dragon Age: Origins, a little bit of Borderlands, Battlefield Bad Company 2 and Australia's lack of an 18+ rating.
Or Download it all here.
FYI podcast is actually 52 minutes and 48 seconds long, the embedded player lies.
Additional pwning by Michael. (Editor's note: Michael added the embedded player)
High General Exalted Chancelleor Editor Mark's Note: Nobody cares about the editor's note.
Battlefield: Bad Company 2: The Beta Annoucement Trailer
As mentioned in the forthcoming Podcast, here is a trailer about the Bad Company 2 Beta!
Looks epic, just like the good old BF2 days.
Looks epic, just like the good old BF2 days.
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