Torchlight 1 was fantastic game. I guess 2 will better than it.

Skippable in singleplayer
Act 1: Den of Evil, Sister's Burial Grounds, The Search for Cain, The Forgotten Tower, Tools of the Trade (5/6)
Act 2: Radament's Lair (1/6)
Act 3: The Golden Bird, Blade of the Old Religion, Lam Esen's Tome, (3/6)
Act 4: The Fallen Angel, Hell's Forge (2/3)
Act 5: Siege on Harrogath, Rescue on Mount Arreat, Prison of Ice, Betrayal of Harrogath (4/6)
So 15 out of 27 quests are skippable. More in multiplayer :p

In multi you just needed to kill the bosses to proceed, as long as you played with somebody ho have access to the bosses and makes a portal for you :P

I honestly cant stand torchlight 1 it was the more boring experience I have ever had in a Diablo clone.. the only thing I liked was the Music which was amazing... So after the three hours i played of Torchlight I went back to Diablo 2 and played the shit out of it for a month. Diablo 3 already has my money.. I cant spare $20 for torchlight 2.. too many Kickstarter games for me :)

True the story itself remains fixed and, to be honest, I kind of prefer that over simplistic choice games (which are normally ultra good - ultra evil - meh guy in the middle - kinds of choices either through the game or at the start/finish (with the one at the start normally defining the rest of the choices through the game).

The location randomizing helped because it meant that each map (every time you started a new character) would never quite be the same. Exploration was more required - as opposed to Sacred where the map remained fixed each game. After you know where most of the quests are you just have to follow through the motions (although they did make some efforts to randomise/throw in events).


I agree the random effect could be built upon and I somewhat hope that either Torchlight or D3 will follow that patten - however I get the feeling that looks might have held back game development in D3 esp when combined with a change of audience from old fans to the casual market.
Torchlight 2 meanwhile, I get the impression isn't trying to beat D3 at its own game - its just trying to be Diablo 2 with its own quirks.

Well, damn... Thanks :-)

I just wish the more mainstream clones would look to Soldak Entertainment for inspiration a bit more; the utter randomness and dynamic situations resulting in Din's Curse (for example) are wonderful. That willingness to not just clone, but push the game mechanics a little with a lot more fleshed out world, better production values and at least some sort of storyline to tie things together a bit more - things big studios can offer easier - and I'd actually be interested to see what these games are like.

I think one of the greatest thing about the original Diablo that is often overlooked is its awesome atmosphere. I don't think any Diablo clone has managed be as atmospheric as the original Diablo, except maybe Divine Divinity (though referring to this as a Diablo clone is not entirely accurate). PSO had a really cool atmosphere as well.

This!

But i'll definitely get Torch2 for full price. I have fun for so much hours with T1 and i got it at sale.

This is very true indeed - capturing the right artistic direction and presentation (visual, audio, story) to the player really helps with a game. Many can have pretty solid mechanics behind them, but if they fail to create that right blend of atmosphere they can fall flat very quickly (or at least become unmemorable).

True, none of the Diablo sequels has managed to be as atmospheric as the original Diablo as well :)

I think Titan Quest Immortal Throne (the expansion act) made a good effort, but still fell short.

Pre order is up for Steam and also through Perfect World.Question is, is there a DRM free version through Runic or not?. I cant seem to find the answer in the FAQ or search in there forum despite the usual 'search the forum' 'DRM' comes up with nothing. Anyone enlightened?. Gog not getting it?

I hadn't bought the original yet on Steam, and since the one is only $5 more than the other, it's practically a BOGO deal.

There is no DRM-free version of Torchlight 1 (not anymore at least IRC the very first version was), the one you buy through their website has a custom online activation.