Diablo III has been riddled with problems, so I have avoided it. Instead I have been playing Path of Exile and Torchlight 2, games that take the Diablo formula and improve upon it.
Path of Exile
Path of Exile is soon going to be a free to play all-online action RPG. In a lot of ways it is a lot like Diablo II, but it does distinguish itself. The one big problem I had was the inventory for the characters is just like in Diablo II. Having to try to fit everything I want to pick up into that grid isn’t fun. The stash back in town is quite large though.
One positive of this game is the skill tree which is more of a large web. There are lots of choices for the player to make about what they want to do with their character and it is very flexible. If the player doesn’t pay attention though they might miss something they need to get armor or weapons appropriate to their level.
Just a small portion of the skills web.
Another thing I like about this game is the way they handle health and mana potions. The potions have multiple uses and refill in town or when the characters kills enemies. Since the inventory isn’t big it is nice to not have to carry around a ton of potions.
The gems to embed in weapons and armor are handled in a different way than usual. The gems can come out easily and be moved around. Each gem provides a skill to the character, so as long as you have the gem and your character can use it you can put whatever skills you want on your character. As the game progresses the gems level up making the skills better. Between the gems and the skill web there are tons of options to explore with each character.
Instead of in game money Path of Exile uses barter. The lowest barter item is the Scroll of Wisdom then Town Portal and on to more items. The item is given in pieces if you don’t give enough to earn a whole item.
Path of Exile is in closed beta right now which means that things mentioned are subject to change. People are still able to join though so check out the site if you are interested. Also open beta is supposed to be coming up soon.
Torchlight 2
Torchlight 2 has gotten rid of the major problem they had in the first game which was no co-op and that isn’t the only thing they have done.
Pets at first it doesn’t sound like much, but they are really useful. I really like to pick up everything I come across which can be a real pain when you have to travel back to town in the middle of a dungeon. Luckily the new pets can take all the items you want to sell back and bring you money for them. Also they can buy certain items at the store and bring them back as well. Just for the ability to do that I find my pet useful, but it can also fight with you and there are fish that can enhance your pet’s abilities. This makes the pet very useful on solo runs when you might need a bit more help.
The color scheme of Torchlight 2 is a nice contrast from the others. Instead of being serious and dark looking it is brighter and colorful.
There are more reasons than this to play Torchlight 2, but we have covered it here before. Torchlight 2 has recently left beta and is making the final push to release.
So if you are looking for something else to play since Diablo III has mostly been a bust or are looking for even more Diablo like fun check out Path of Exile and Torchlight 2 coming very soon.
