Torchlight - Xbox 360 Live Arcade

    Torchlight is an Action Role Playing Game developed by Runic Games. The game was originally released on the PC in 2009, but was later ported to the Xbox 360 Live Arcade in 2011. In developing their game, Runic clearly was channeling the earlier top-down viewpoint Action RPGS such as Diablo II. It almost feels as though Runic Games couldn't wait for a sequel and decided to create their own!

    Torchlight takes place in the city of, well, Torchlight. The city is a mining hub and has seen a boom in the mining of ember, a magical ore found to be plentiful underneath the town. On assignment from whatever foundation the players' chosen character comes from, players enter the town in response to a flood of monsters coming into the city from the mine. Upon reaching Torchlight, the player meets Syl, a mage who explains that her master, Alric, has gone missing inside the mine. After fighting through a few levels of the mine, players learn that the very same ember that is so greedily sought by miners has the power to corrupt people and animals into evil beings. Not only is Alric found to be infected by this corruption, but the player is also affected by the consuming evil. In an attempt to clean yourself of the evil, Syl convinces the player to delve to the deepest depths of the mine in search of the Ember Forge, an ancient device capable of removing the evil effects brought on by the ember. This quest sends the player deep into the earth's crust, and into layer after layer of the town's dark history. As the mine goes deeper, the mysteries under Torchlight grow bigger, and the monsters grow stronger.

When are people going to learn not to build cities over ancient evil temples?

    At the onset of the game, players are given the choice between three characters. There is the Destroyer, a brutish warrior with the added ability to channel ember for increased strengths; the Vanquisher, a roguish huntress skilled in traps and poisons; and the Alchemist, a magician with destructive powers and the ability to call upon summoned creatures for help. Each class has three skill trees that each have their own theme. Players can pick and choose from these skills to build whatever type of character he or she wishes as the skills are only limited by character level.

    Players also get to choose a pet to travel with. Pets not only attack enemies, but can also be used to hold excess loot once the character's backpack becomes full. Players can even send their pets to town to sell their items while the adventurer remains in the dungeon. Only three different pets are available at the beginning, but by feeding your pet fish (found throughout the game), you can change your pet into other species with differing powers.

Umm you just fight the troll there, boy, I'll...be over here...

    In typical RPG fashion, defeating monsters yields experience and loot, tons and tons of loot. Just like the Diablo series, loot is the main draw in Torchlight. Each character has multiple weapons and parts of armor available, again, making characters customizable to their player's wishes.

    As experience is gained and characters level up, new skills become available. Up to four of these skills can be equipped at one time. Players also receive stat points with levels, allowing increases to a character's strength, dexterity, magic, and defense.

This monster wishes he had stayed at home...

    Sadly, with all the loot, monsters, and skill effects on screen, the game's framerate can get a bit choppy. Slowdowns are common in the game as the Xbox tries to catch up with everything going on at once on the screen.

    Story is obviously not a priority in this type of game, but there is enough there to make it feel as though your character has a reason to keep delving into the depths beneath Torchlight. Honestly, I didn't care too much about why I was crawling through floor after floor of dungeon, I just wanted to push forward, see new monsters, and, most of all, find new equipment!

Ok, which one of you is Charlotte?

    Torchlight offers 35 floors of story for you to clear. The game takes around 10-15 hours to complete the story dungeon, but offers a second, endless dungeon to explore after completion of the main game. This endless dungeon contains enemies that are originally scaled to your level, but get stronger with each floor you descend. With three characters, endless combinations of weapon types and skills, and enough loot to fill a castle, Torchlight could last players as long as they wanted.

    I had a lot of fun with Torchlight. Admittedly I only played through the story once and some of the endless dungeon, but I had the urge to start a new character right away once I was finished with that playthrough. I would definitely recommend the game to any fan of the top-down, lootfest, dungeon crawling genre, though just about anyone could enjoy the game as well!

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