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Titan Quest

Score: 82%
ESRB: Teen
Publisher: THQ
Developer: Iron Lore
Media: DVD/1
Players: 1 - 6 (Online)
Genre: Action/ RPG

Graphics & Sound:

It is impossible to talk about Titan Quest without mentioning the king of the hack n’ slash RPGs -- Diablo. And, while Titan Quest shares enough in common with that title to be labeled just another “Diablo Clone” it also manages to provide an entertaining experience.

Visually, Titan Quest looks good, although I actually found it to be more visually appealing on the lower graphical settings. With all the graphical bells and whistles running, the game looks great. Everything you see is detailed and looks really, really nice. At the same time, the game lacks any visual “draw” or style. Sure you have the cool environments and structures, yet at the same time there’s nothing here that really made me stop and take notice. Once I dropped a few settings, the game took on an odd, almost surreal look that reminded me of an oil painting. I’m fairly certain this wasn’t the developers' original intent, but in some way I liked what I was seeing more through this blurry, artistic view. While this probably doesn’t mean much to most of you, its still a nice, unintentional bonus – especially if your machine isn’t quite up to the game’s performance specs.

Sound bounces between likeable and drone. During most of your adventure, you probably won’t hear much music, or at least aren’t likely to notice it. There are times where music will begin to play, but for the most part, you’re serenaded by the sounds of nature. Birds chirp, waterfalls make waterfall sounds and enemies roar as they barrel towards you… except for the whole monster roar part, its actually quite peaceful. Once the action does pick up, music pipes to help build up tension.

Nearly all NPCs are fully voiced and sound good. I did, however, notice that the sound would sometimes cut out only to pop back in a few words later. I originally thought it was my sound card, but after running tests with other games, Titan Quest was the only one to give me any problems.


Gameplay:

Titan Quest ditches the Medieval fantasy found in other hack n’ slash RPGs for the world of Greek Mythology where the Titans have found a way out of their prison and are seeking vengeance against Zeus. Of course, this means tormenting the general populace.

Gameplay doesn’t stray too far from the standard formula. You begin as a blank slate of a character and travel from town to town completing missions for townsfolk. Where Titan Quest differs from the rest is in its job system. When you begin, you are limited to choosing your character’s sex and tunic color. It is not until you reach level 2 that the job system opens up, allowing you to take on a range of jobs. There’s enough variety that you should be able to find something that suits your needs, though neither the game nor the instructions offer that much information on each. A chart is included that offers a breakdown of each job’s various skill sets, but it was still a bit confusing, so I ended up simply going with my gut reactions.

As you level your character, you’ll earn points to spend on your job’s available skills. Points can either be assigned to a general skill pool or to unlocked skills. In order to unlock skills, you must reach a certain tier on the general pool meter. Once a tier is unlocked, you can begin training in available arts, some of which require that you first gain knowledge in other skills.

Once I got the hang of it, I really liked the skill system. It offers enough diversity that you can actually feel like you have a “unique” character while never making you think that you’ve wasted points. There’s enough leeway that you can experiment and see how things work.

Leveling also earns attribute points that go into increasing your character’s base skills like strength and intelligence. Upping these skills will give you more health and mana points as well as allowing you to use better equipment – which leads us to one of Titan Quest’s weaker aspects.

Titan Quest is no slouch when it comes to loot drops, though there is a lack of useful loot. There isn’t much consistency in regards to when you find pieces of loot. Your chances of finding a great item are just as good early on as they are late in the game. While finding an awesome sword might sound cool, most of the really good stuff is level restricted, turning what was once an uber item into uber dead weight.

Having to hold on to certain items wouldn’t be that big a deal if the inventory system wasn’t clunky. The actual amount of space you’re given to hold items isn’t much; you can easily spend 5 – 10 minutes just nudging items around your inventory grid. In addition, some items take up way more room then they should. Both problems lead to tough decisions and headaches. Since good items fall rather easily, it is rare that you’ll have to actually buy something from merchants. In fact, the only times I actually felt the need to pay them a visit was to dump off loot and increase my bankroll.

Level designs also pose a bit of a problem. Unlike other hack n’ slash games, levels aren’t randomly generated. True, this allows for some nice artistry in level design, it takes away from the fun and replay. Levels are very linear and never give you the feeling that you’re in a bigger place. Everything is very has a very confined feel; as if the ancient world was nothing but one long path.


Difficulty:

Titan Quest is only as hard as you make it. In other words, as long as you have enough potions and enough sense to know when to retreat, you’ll do fine.

Enemies, even bosses, aren’t all that bright. Normal enemies tend to attack in packs while bosses usually have small armies to back them up. Most come down rather easily, regardless of your chosen job. Potions are easy to come by and can either be purchased off merchants (you have to spend your gold on something, right?), or found in the wild. Potions drop with the same frequency as good items, meaning they’re everywhere. It is rare that you’ll need to stock up, though it is always good to have some in supply just in case. Playing as a magic-user requires that you also keep a stock of mana potions handy, though you can eventually work your mana regeneration rate up to where you’ll only need them in emergencies.


Game Mechanics:

Titan Quest doesn’t break any new ground as far as control; but really, the system works so well that any changes might only muck it up. All actions are mapped to the mouse. Click on an area and your character runs there. Click on an enemy and you’ll attack. Click on loot… I’m sure you get the picture. Skills and items can be assigned to the Function keys (F1, F2,…), making for easy access – especially of potions.

Also included is a Creator mode that allows you to make your own mini-adventures that you can upload and share with friends. The creation tools are easy to use and there’s a lot you can do with them – making it a fun tool for would-be game designers.

Although the tone of the review probably doesn’t make Titan Quest sound great, it is still a good game. While it isn’t a must play, it is still a solid experience, especially if you’re a fan of Diablo.


-Starscream, GameVortex Communications
AKA Ricky Tucker

Minimum System Requirements:



Windows 2000/XP; 1.8 GHz Intel Pentium IV or equivalent; 512 MB RAM; 64 MB VRAM; 5000 MB free HDD Space; DirectX Version 9.0c; Internet Connection
 

Test System:



Windows XP; Pentium 4 1.8 GHz; Radeon 9250 256 MB; 640 MB RAM; DirectX 9.0c; Cable Internet Connection

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