Here’s a forum post I made on the Diablo III forums. I figured I did put a lot of thought into this (about 10mins worth! *shock*) so I figured (twice now…) I’d share it here!
I like Diablo, Diablo II, Diablo III, and Torchlight 2. I didn’t like Torchlight 1 because it was too easy, I made a mod to make it actually fun and challenging however now that Torchlight 2 is out, it might be a while until I explore the depth of how fun my mod has actually made the game.
That said. A few (regardless of how small) key points in how TL2 has taken me in more than Diablo III initially did (not saying TL2 is better or worse), are the following:
- You feel a greater impact upon using different elements (other than their pretty effects)
- Early game on Veteran difficulty is a little challenging, it took a very long time for Diablo III to feel even remotely challenging
- Actually recieving Legendary (Epic) and Set items early game is fun and something you could also do in the other Diablos (150 hours, no set items atm)
- Dungeons are more randomized and feel less “cookie cutter”
- More full-fledged side-quests
- The fame mechanic (each fame level gives you a skill point)
- You can actually rush through areas without exploring everything (kind of like D2 where things are just more “epic” or “vast” you can “go the wrong way” (god forbid they let you do that in D3)) so you can actually accidentily get to a level 16 area and be level 13 and choose to go back and grind or accept that challenge and continue
- Childish graphics but gameplay feels less childish and mechanics feel less fed to you (dps number does not change based on item stats, you need to figure it out). Also more variables are given to you so it feels less like “I hope this works …”
- No RMAH, giving you a bit more modivation
- No AH at all giving things a bit more of a sense of mystery on what other players are finding
- The pet system is nice
- More monsters, harder uniques/champions without them feeling “broken” (More monsters are also featured in Diablo II and Diablo …)
- Modability
These are just my initial impressions. Late-game Diablo III feels too easy now, I wanted to feel like I was progressing by getting better gear, not 100 Paragon levels, though the update was a huge improvement. I feel like the Paragon system took too long to get (I moved on …). All that aside, no LAN or (offline) single-player. TL2’s login servers went down, played single-player. Controls on TL2 are a little clunky, not overly-so though, you’re just too picky, when you get used to it, they seem fluid (weird! …). I don’t find the interface clunky once you get used to it at all, I rather like the interface (Thought I wish there were varying item sizes in your inventory like the Diablos).
Overall a wonderful game. I like it how Diablo III looks more professional, dark, and epic but feels simple and childish where as Torchlight II looks childish but feels more intricate and in-depth (the mechanics in skills and elements greatly surprised me, in terms of elements mechanics, Diablo III feels greatly unfinished).
A noticiable downside to TL2 (and the only thing to bother me yet, but significant enough to mention) is that although bosses do seem cool and generally well-designed (they feel like a mix between D2, D3, and TL bosses IMO), they’re not actually challenging, they just take a very long time to kill in some scenarios. That said, I’m still early-game, only 17 hours played.
