Torchlight thoughts

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.

What else?

Other games I've been playing, with some quick thoughts:

Sacred 2: I felt like playing a Diablo clone, so I did. And it is. This is the PC version, by the way. It's a fine game with basically what you'd expect, if you expect an uninspired Diablo clone, but some of the systems are a bit obtuse. Just get Borderlands. (Preloaded on Steam. 4 days...)

Batman Arkham Asylum: ..wow. Definitely the best superhero game I've ever played (and I've played Spiderman), I would strongly recommend this one. Batman is a bad-ass, the story is presented well, the various different aspects of the gameplay are all done very well... Fantastic game, go buy it if you either a) Like Batman, or b) Like games.

Majesty 2: I freaking loved the first Majesty (I was 7, though), and I have to say I'm on a bit of a nostalgia trip with the sequel (finally). It's pretty much the first game, if you've played it, including the same guy doing the voiceover of your royal advisor. It is by no means a fantastic game, but the concept of such a hands-off, simulation style RTS is still interesting enough to kind of carry it, along with some very straightforward charm. Some parts are frustrating, as crazy Russian 1C games often are- the AI is less than great.