Torchlight II is a PC Game That Consoles Can't Match

In a culture of closed consoles, protected APIs and excessive system security, GamePeople writer Chris Jarvis argues that PCs still deliver an important gaming experience which consoles cannot hope to match - the ability to modify and create community content.

[Snookies12]

Torchlight 1 was freaking awesome, can't wait for this one!

[paulgovan]

This single handedly converted me to PC gaming. I actually used to defend the old Xbox as the future.

[holdmykidney]

Either of you ever tried modding? I spent a great deal of time with the Lionhead community around the movie studio game "The Movies". Hugely active community modding the game and using it to make short films. Probably the most satisfying gaming period of my life.

[MySwordIsHeavenly]

Hey! I was a modder for The Movies also. I freaking love that game!

[Snookies12]

holdmykidney - do you mean using the Torchlight Editor? I haven't tried modding, but I'd love to get into it. XD

[JsonHenry]

I can't wait for this game. I loved the first one. And with upgraded gfx, animations, new chars, AND co-op this is gonna be awesome.

[Allowen]

Console users might not get Torchlight 2 but they will get Diablo 3 .

[holdmykidney]

But what can they do with it, other than play what is provided in the box? Does the game offer any experience beyond what the producers create?

[kneon]

Many people don't care about modding. I typically buy 12-15 games a year not including downloaded games. I don't stick with one game long enough to care about modding. If it's a really great game I may replay it on the hardest setting if I didn't the first time through, but then I'm done with it, time to move on.

[NeoTribe]

Diablo doesnt do modding and is ages ahead of torchlight. Doesnt matter.

[JsonHenry]

I'm fairly certain they will get Torchlight 2 as well.

But this shouldn't bother anyone so long as the PC does not miss out on features due to the lowest common denominator- the consoles. (or worse, mobile devices)

[Rupee]

I hate to break it to you but more people own consoles than gaming pc's...

[h311rais3r]

@rupee

Proof? Where is the proof? A pc made in 2007 is stronger than any console. So they can be gamin pcs. Doesn't have to be strong to be a gaming pc

[Rupee]

@hellraiser just look at sales reports for battlefield 3. Sold better on the 360 than any other platform. 2nd place went to ps3. Pc came in third. I'm just saying, financially, console gamers aren't the lowest common denominator. And really that's all these companies care about right?

[fluffydelusions]

@h311rais3r not totally true. A computer from 2007 may be more powerful but without a decent graphics card you can't do much with it in terms of gaming.

[frostypants]

@h3llrais3r
You wrote: "A pc made in 2007 is stronger than any console."

No. SOME PCs made in 2007 are stronger than any console. SOME. Not most. Mainstream PCs absolutely were not.

One of the coolest thing about PCs is how customizable they are and how it's effectively an open, non-defined platform. So why do some people insist on pretending that all PCs are the same?

And you cannot dispute that more people own consoles than gaming PCs. Keyword: GAMING. Game software unit sales prove it. The only way PC comes close is if you cheat by counting garbage F2P and social media games. If you want to hang your hat on Farmville, go right ahead.

I love gaming on my PC. But be honest.

[STONEY4]

About the BF3 PC sales thing, it's basically impossible to count the PC sales of any game anymore due to digital distribution. I personally don't know anyone who still buys PC games at retail, all of my friends use Steam.

I'm pretty sure the actual sales, including DD, are more than twice as much. Companies only report retail sales, and so does the NPD (sp?).

[Jobesy]

@STONEY4, just look at the stats of people playing BF3 online during peak hours. That should give you a clue as to which platform sold most. Most of the time it's about the same.

[Ulf]

The rising number of laptop gamers actually represent the lowest common denominator.

It took until 2009 or so before laptop GPUs and CPUs even compared decently to consoles, and today you still have to spend some serious cash (~$1500) on a "gaming laptop", to get anything substantial.

Take a look at the most common models of laptops from some of the big manufacturers -- Dell, Gateway, Sony, etc. Take the default GPU (often an Intel chip), and default CPU setup (usually a dual core i3, clocked under 2.8 GHz with no "Turbo" option)... there you have it. The actual "lowest common denominator".

Those laptops are still under console-grade performance, I'm sorry to say.

[WolfLeBlack]

Small correction: console users might get Diablo 3. :)

I loved Torchlight so it's a real shame that it's not coming to consoles as well. I need my looting fix, after all :D

[tarbis]

I'm getting TL2. I liked the first one. In the issue with modding. Not everyone knows how to mod.

[frostypants]

"an important gaming experience which consoles cannot hope to match - the ability to modify and create community content"

Untrue.

Example:
Modnation Racers

Sure, it's not as common, and you won't see total conversions, but let's not pretend community content doesn't exist for consoles. Live in the now...

Even the article says this. Not sure why the summary is so misleading.

[kneon]

And don't forget LBP 1 and 2, how many millions of levels are they at now?

[pandehz]

I read the headline and came straight to the comments, highly excited to see all the noobish bashing.

Come on someone flame bait already.

[Canary]

Torchlight was decent, but nowhere near as good as some people make it out to be. Seriously, if you think it's great/revolutionary, play some of the older, classic RPGs--you'll be blown away.

The whole "PC gaming is better than consoles BECAUSE MODS" is as stupid now as it ever was. Yes, tool kits are nice, but they only add to games--they don't make or break the experience. Articles like this feed on the same "PC fanboy" mentality that blinds so many gamers to the fact that the PC is no longer the dominant gaming platform, and hasn't been for a very, VERY long time.

As far as this sequel is concerned, I'm fairly optimistic. Visually, it looks like it may be as impressive a leap aesthetically (and environmentally) as Shadows of Amn was to the original Baldur's Gate. I have no worries about the gameplay, but given the rather lackluster tale told in the first game, I seriously doubt the narrative will be up to par. It will likely be a good game--but, again, not a great one.

[NeoTribe]

It will be a good way to pass the time until diablo makes this game its bottom bitch.