Diablo III isn't going to be released in 2010, and odds are it'll be deep into 2011 before Blizzard pushes their RPG onto store shelves. This poses a bit of a problem for many gamers, who expected the developer to have the product finished much earlier, and built a PC the moment the game was announced. Luckily, there's another option: Runic Games' recently released RPG, Torchlight. Taking elements from just about every game in the genre, Torchlight doesn't look to push any boundaries or innovate the action RPG genre, but it absolutely does look to fill the gap left by Diablo III's absence. It actually manages to go a good way beyond that, and ends up being one of the best, most addictive dungeon crawlers in recent memory.

The basic design elements popularized with the original Diablo, continued through the sequel, and brought into other RPGs such as Titan's Quest and Fate, are intact in Torchlight. The camera sits at in an isometric position and almost everything is mapped to the left and right mouse buttons, meaning the gameplay is click, click, loot. It should all be fairly standard for anyone who has ever touched the genre. In fact, the similarities go further than that, with the inventory, skill, and item drop system looking and feeling reminiscent of Diablo's. The first time a player holds down the ALT button and sees all of the items on the floor light up, names floating above, it's going to be hard not to crack a nostalgic smile. It's almost instinctive, something that I'm sure Runic games takes pride in.

It might be tempting to call it "ripping off," but "paying homage" makes more sense with most of the minds behind Torchlight team being made up of ex-Blizzard employees. In actuality, it's possible to trace Torchlight's lineage as you would a typical family tree. After working on Diablo II, many of the people who made Blizzard's hit went on to make Fate at Wildtangent, which also followed many of the same guidelines. Certain elements, such as the fishing and pet system of Fate, come over in full form. After creating a character, a dog or cat can be selected, and aid the player in combat. Ponds scattered in the world can be fished in, and the various catches can be fed to the pet to temporarily transform it into different animals. The animal’s usefulness, however, extends well past that. Being able to equip a cohort and, more importantly, teach it spells, makes the furry friend much more important, and an added bonus of sending it back to town to sell goods means the animal is more than a wandering turret. The loose plot and lack of interactions between the owner and animal means there’s little chance of becoming too attached, but the function is still served, and it’s served well.