Torchlight 2 Beta: Monsters, Loot, And Sleep Deprivation, Oh My

Belated beta impressions provide a basis for why Torchlight 2 is the dungeon crawler riding in from the horizon, saving those cast out by Diablo 3.

By Michael Shelton /

Oh, why hello there. Has Diablo 3 left you with a bad case of hype disappointment? Are you jaded by the events of a rocky launch, that still managed to sell millions, but in the eyes of many fans it seems that the near 12 year wait for Diablo 3 has only resulted in a massive dropping of the ball by Blizzard. This isn't to say that Diablo 3 fails at being a fun game or even a downright bad game, it's not, but more so that it fails to live up to many fans insanely high expectations. Plagued by networking issues at launch, auction house woes, and now a patch that effectively removes item drops from destructible objects and weapon drops from weapon racks. Destroying all of those barrels will now only give you a chance at looting out a small amount of gold. I wonder why? It's probably the fact that they are almost forcing gamers to use the RMAH, and purchase the items and weapons they need to push farther into the game. Of course, that's only if you don't want to spend several months acquiring the right gear. Surely, there are thousands of gamers who love Diablo 3 for that specific reason. Playing is rewarded by acquiring real money from spending vast amounts of time in the world of Sanctuary. Yet, not all Diablo 3 players have that amount of time, and it knocks Blizzard's "labor of love" off of the gigantic pedestal that many were placing it on before launch. Many gamers are abandoning Diablo 3 all together which leaves them out in the dry desert wastelands where dungeon crawlers are few and far between. Luckily, there's a beacon of hope on the horizon, Torchlight 2.