Torchlight was a gem of an Action RPG for PC. It came out of nowhere, it had a lot of options and a lot of character. The gameplay was rather tame and predictable, certainly taking many cues from the Diablo series, but combat in combination with the rest of the game's feature it made for an enjoyable experience at a low price. Torchlight II is on the way now, still being made by Runic Games and  looking to release after Diablo III in late May or early June. It still delivers a hell of a lot of character, a ton of customization and just about everything looks to be improved. Diablo III may be the big Action RPG coming out this year, certainly one of the most hyped and anticipated games that is likely to come in 2012, but Torchlight II may steal some of it's thunder with it's impressive list of features, similar yet unique play style and a price that is 1/3rd the price of Diablo III, if you cannot do math that is $20. Read on for a quick overview and  to see 17 minutes of new gameplay from PAX East.



Torchlight 2 is a game where you pick a class, set out on adventure, level up, gather loot and do it all with a pet by your side. The combat is very typical to the genre, you have a hotbar, you have a ranged or melee weapons, you click your mouse a lot to kill things, you use special abilities, but to make the experience a ton more enjoyable they have increased the game's difficulty, apparently most fans of the game found the first game too easy, and they have added co-op multiplayer. Multiplayer is the game's biggest new feature. Now you can play with your friends, for free, and your character will be persistent between singleplayer and multiplayer, meaning you can jump back and forth without any problems. The setback to playing multiplayer is that the more players you have the harder the enemies will be, a pretty standard system these days for mp, but still impressive for a smaller game like this.



The world of Torchlight 2 is a vast improvement upon the first game. No longer are you going through caves, ruins and dungeons in continuous succession, now there is a open world that has plenty of outdoor areas. Also, no longer does the game just have the city of Torchlight, now there are multiple hub cities. Each level has a level of randomization as well, some paths will change, loot will change and monsters will change every time you go through an area again. They have also added a new game plus to the game, in which you keep the same character, but you will be presented with new enemies, new loot and new challenges. If that wasn't enough, they also added modding tools to help support the community.

Overall it is a really impressive package for a smaller game like this, especially since Runic Games claims that the first Act of the game will be longer than the entirety of Torchlight 1. It is still coming out for PC at first, but they will be working on a Mac port soon after release. You can find out more information about it on the website, but instead of doing that just watch this video from PAX East. It is a Gamespot video and they go over the game quite well, covering many issues and new features. Take a look and thanks for reading.
Main Website: http://www.torchlight2game.com/