But there was one thing missing from the first outing that has been a standard feature in Diablo and similar action RPGs; co-operative play. Developer Runic Games has held up its collective hands in admitting that this was a major problem, one that they would be rectifying in the sequel.
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Torchlight II, currently in the closed beta testing stage, allows up to six people to party up online. However, I get the feeling that Runic haven’t yet decided on the maximum amount of players for the final product, as none of their press materials explicitly state what it is. Runic co-founder Max Schaefer did go on record last year stating that the final limit would be between 4-8.
What is certain though is that the finished product will allow friends to play over LAN as well as solo offline, unlike Blizzard's upcoming Diablo III that requires a constant connection to the Battle.net service.
Another prominent change from the original is its setting. Torchlight II no longer takes place in the titular town and the descending dungeon floors beneath it, instead set in an open world featuring large above ground environments that are part of the game’s overall structure. This allows the developers to provide a fresh range of colourful environments, specifically outdoor ones.
Even the Estherian Steppes, the single region that players are limited to in the beta, is pleasantly diverse. There's roughly a dozen distinctly different areas within this mountainous zone, from snowy tundra and haunted wastelands on the surface to dimly lit temples and dusty tombs underground.
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Once again the areas are randomly generated per playthrough. Though the aesthetics, the enemies, entrances and quest critical objects will be the same, the layout can be wildly different. Also, if you're playing with others the world will appear as it was generated for the host of the session.
All in all, the more diverse environments and the ability to play in other players' worlds adds a good amount of variety and makes your journey feel less of a singular slog than the original's descending floors.
The playable characters have also seen a substantial overhaul, having been reworked and expanded from three classes to four. The mage and ranger analogies return, renamed to Embermage and Outlander respectively. The melee class has now been split into two, the heavy weapons technology-based expert called the Engineer and the speedy animalistic Berkserker class.
In the original game there was no customisability to your characters outside of the loot you find and equip. Here, you can now choose the gender, hairstyle, hair colour and face of your avatar. There are also more options when it comes to your pet companion with new animals and various skins available. A panther, bulldog, hawk and papillon dog supplement the wolf, lynx, ferret and chakawary from the first game.
As you probably guessed, the innovative pet system that enabled you to send junk loot back to town to sell without disrupting your progress is back. However, now when you send your pet off you can use the shopping list feature to have them bring back some essential items like health and mana potions. This can be really handy if you're in a pinch, especially if you're out of town portal scrolls and deep within a dungeon.
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All signs from the beta point to Torchlight II being bigger and better than the original. Everything you enjoyed before is present and correct with the additions of multiplayer, greater character customisation and a big new world to explore and loot your way through. It doesn’t seem like Runic is planning on taking any big risks but it's clear that they've listened to the fans' feedback from the first back.
Torchlight II is currently pencilled in for a vague ‘summer 2012’ release window on PC. Given that the beta doesn’t end until June you can expect it land sometime after that. It will be available through Steam for the wallet-friendly price of £14.99 / €19.
Most anticipated feature: Though the ability to team up with friends is the main draw and will likely add tonnes of replay value to the experience, it’s also nice to have the ability to customise your characters’ basic appearances this time around.
