Dave's Place The internet home of David Hinkle, a guy who plays way too many video games

Torchlight: Like Diablo II’s smarter, sexier baby

True story: I dropped out of college because of Diablo II -- seriously. The allure of doing Meph runs and Baal runs, of stacking loot and power-leveling MF (magic find, in D-speak) characters was too much for my weak-willed 19 year-old self to handle. I remember I wouldn't sleep for days on end, stopped showing up for my lucrative part-time position at Pep Boys and basically forgot what haircuts, shaves and -- more than I care to admit -- showers were. Enter: Torchlight, spiritual successor to Diablo II and Lord of Destruction, a title so finely crafted and adept at providing engaging dungeon crawling experiences and loot hoarding that I initially feared for my future. When I tried the demo, I kinda got worried that some of that old obsession might come crawling back, but the one thing that has kept it at bay has been the lack of multiplayer.