Developer – Iron LorePC
Titan Quest is a standard Diablo 2 clone, and that usually leads to a checklist of expectations: Dungeon crawl style gameplay – check. Character advancement and leveling – check. Myriads of monsters running around gorgeous locales – check. More loot than you could possibly know what to do with – quadruple check. That’s right, quadruple check.
When I say Titan Quest has more items in it than any other RPG I can summon to mind, I need you to know how serious I am – and for people that play and enjoy RPG’s, the loot system is one of the most important factors in a game. It brings replay value. It brings a sense of accomplishment. It gives you a tangible reward – evidence of your character’s growth and rise in power. It brings a carrot on a stick to motivate you through the occasional droll level, or to get that past that exceedingly annoying boss encounter, you know, the kind that makes you want to hunt down and kill every last developer on staff at the company, with your bare hands.
Players like loot, there is really nothing like wading into a room full of baddies, and when all the smoke clears, seeing a screen literally FILLED with various weapons, armor, scrolls, trinkets, recipes and potions. It’s a good feeling. Of course, a game can’t get by on loot alone, regardless of the quantity.
Lucky for us, the game is more than just a large list of gear, there is actually some substance here. The game has you playing the role of a random, run of the mill Greek/Roman style adventurer (male or female). The world is in shambles, with monsters that have emerged from ancient myth to destroy/conquer the world, yadda yadda yadda. Strangely enough, the story soon picks up, and gets quite enjoyable, despite the cliché nature of it. Nothing that is going to win awards mind you, but it ain’t no slouch either.
You pretty much hit the ground running in this one – the first area you see is on fire and under attack, and after about 30 seconds of conversation with an NPC or two, you are right in the thick of it, slicing and dicing (or shooting arrows or fireballs, if you’re one of THOSE people). Those first few minutes really set the speed for much of the game. The game does a great job of pacing – making you feel rushed and frantic when it needs you to, but letting you relax and breathe for a moment when the situation can benefit from the calm, all the while being directed by a top notch soundtrack.
The gameplay itself is very VERY simple, with 90% of the game being played with the mouse alone. This is not to say that it is shallow, it just has a very intuitive feel to it, and within the first 15 minutes, you will have forgotten you are even holding a mouse. Once you begin building your character, you will begin utilizing the clickable buttons on the bottom of the screen, these are where you activate abilities, and use items. They can also be mapped to different keys, so for you ASDW guys, you can have quicker access to your favorite abilities, without having to bring the mouse down.
The game doesn’t have a class system per say, instead they have specialized schools that you can opt into (think of them like classes), but you can only choose 2 and you can never go back once you have decided. I think I played 75% through the game before I was bold enough to pick my second school. The schools themselves bring access to special moves, spells, and my all time favorite – passive abilities. Once you begin delving into your respective school(s), you will really start to see a character emerge, having been given style and form from the abilities granted in the schools.
The expansion, The Immortal Throne, is really just more of the same (which is good), with a few little extras. For one, you have access to caravan drivers – NPC’s that will store your extra stuff for you. I played the game for the first time with the expansion already installed, and I can tell you that I cannot even imagine the horror of attempting this game without the storage. If you are thinking of picking up the game, my advice is to get the expansion too – for the caravans alone it is worth the money.
There is an extra slot on your paper doll too (character equipment screen), one for extremely powerful trinkets that are exclusive to the expansion, and well worth your time. You have to build them too, which brings a slight “collector” aspect to the game, without the ingredients being annoyingly difficult to attain. There is also another school to choose from – The Dream Master, who is a blast to play.
All things considered, this game is well worth the money and the time, if you are interested in the genre. It isn’t pushing the envelope of hack and slash by innovating on the genre, but then again, it isn’t trying to. It is trying to bring you a fun romp through an ancient Greek style world as a mythical hero in the making – and it succeeds on all counts. If you enjoy this type of game, you will love this one. If you are new to the genre, or thinking of experimenting with it, then this is a great chance to be inducted into the club with style.
Grade = 94%
Subjective Grade = 94%
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