Torchlight is top pedigree, being raised by crafters with a grand history of victories and only one minor defeat. If you were to sit down and plan the creation of a new classically-styled action RPG, one couldnt ask for a better core staff of developers. The legendary creative visionaries of Blizzard North, brothers Max and Erich Schaefer, godfathers of Diablo I and II, and Travis Baldree, the acclaimed author of Fate, have surfaced from the shuttering of Flagship Seattle with another old school isometric lootfest. Now under the mantle of Runic Games, the trios latest endeavor arrives in the wake of Mythos, their near-complete action RPG--a late beta termination that thousands of testers and fans wont forget. I was one of those testers, and my mourning has been replaced by great hope for Runics Torchlight.
A dual-layer project, one part single-player action RPG (late 2009), and another part MMORPG (2010-11), Torchlight will enjoy the rock solid security of Perfect World Entertainments considerable publishing might. This ones going all the way. The single-player Torchlight well be playing this fall is in many ways the foundation for the larger MMO Torchlight coming a year or two later, however each title will play to the strengths of its model. Both games will employ the Ogre3D engine, an extremely versatile development suite perfectly suited to this brand of classic isometric fantasy click em up action. Both games will build on the lore of the town of Torchlight, where bands of adventurers have gathered to plunder the surrounding mines and catacombs for the re-discovered magical substance known as Ember. In previous generations, brave explorers had successfully extracted Ember from the depths, only to go stark raving mad weeks later, cursing entire civilizations to artifact-crazed lunacy.
I think were all crazy about loot in action RPGs, and Torchlight will have satchel-loads for everyone to collect. To defeat the guardians of said treasure, Runic is preparing three player classes for the SP game, two of which have been revealed thus far. The Destroyer is your weapon specialist melee master, given a unique twist in the Ancestral spirits he may call upon for protection and destruction. These ghostly warrior entities hover around the Destroyer, bestowing bonuses and clawing at nearby foes. The Destroyer loves to wade through oppressive crowds of undead and beastmen, surrounding himself with a thick stew of monsters before releasing devastating area-of-effect rage. The second class detailed to date is the Alchemist, a ranged magic user. He funnels his arcane incantations through a focus glove on his left hand, channeling magical force and fire into missiles and waves of destructive energies--keeping the slavering savages of the depths at bay, lest they tear his weaker frame to shreds. That third class is destined to be a hybrid of warrior and mage...
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