(R) Torchlight (PC)

PC gaming has always been a niche format. Every gamer has known the quirks and downfalls of gaming on a platform which is highly dependent on how much time and money you spend yearly to keep your system looking shiny. For those facts many gamers choose to never really do much but dabble here and there with breakout titles that usually don't require much in terms of system requirements. Torchlight is one of those games.

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The premise is simple: take what you loved about Diablo, subtract all the hacking and multiplayer but add the most gorgeous art style you have ever seen and you have Torchlight. After playing the TWO HOUR demo in what seemed like three minutes, I started wondering how this game was made without some sort of addictive ingredient warning label plastered on the side by the surgeon general. It is that good.

I will start with the obvious cons to this game. Yes it is a game made by the same team that created Diablo I. Yes it does take a lot of similar gameplay elements, sounds, perspectives and overall feel from Diablo. I only say this as a con because some people do not love the formula like I do. The only other con that I came across which is understandable is the lack of multiplayer. It is understandable to anyone who has ever tried playing a game of diablo online. Hackers have made what was for a brief moment a great experience into something entirely different from what I would call a game. So no multiplayer yet.

This game is full of so much win that just thinking about it makes me start shaking. The improvements are so subtle but so extraordinary I wonder why it is only at a twenty dollar price point. The art style of a chunky Pixar movie mixed with "SUPER TIME CONSUMING" gameplay make for one of the best gaming experiences I have ever had on a PC and definitely in my top five for gaming.

Like I said, a two hour demo available and a price point of twenty dollars. There really isn't a reason to not check this out. With a free to play MMO version in the next two years and an unlocked dev-kit available to basically make the game however you want it to be, this x-mas is looking very cheap and wonderful if you can convince your friends or family to spend money on the internet instead of getting you another gift card for the sausage store.

If you couldn't tell my vote... BUY IT!

...or go try it for a free two hours then let your brain tell you to buy it instead of me.