Titan Quest Preview

Mixed mythology on an intercontinental scale? Of course, but hey, this is the video game industry and the guiding rule is there are no rules. Just make it fun.

Titan Quest, from THQ and Iron Lore Entertainment, is simply that – fun. Sure, the quest system seems a bit linear, and yes, this is (more or less) Diablo 2 done with better graphics and interesting plot points.

THQ sent along a limited preview version of the game, featuring the first two levels, to enable a more thorough look at the intricacies of the game.

While not all elements of the game were accessible, the game does allow players to create custom quests and there are three difficulty levels (normal, epic and legendary). There is also the ability to play the single-player progressive campaign, or to join or host a multiplayer game. After picking from a male or female character, with few customization options, you are whisked away to the Village of Helos to begin the journey. After clearing out a few troublemakers (which look surprisingly like satyrs gone bad), you head down the road to Sparta with a plea to a general to send troops to help the beleaguered village you were just in.

Of course, you can’t just waltz down the road and you will battle monsters, take side quests, pick up loot to upgrade and begin the customized look of your character. You will also enter into the skills system. There are several skill trees you can select from and as you level, you will determine just what kind of character you have in how you pick the trees you will begin to learn to master. For example, if you tend toward the ranger type of character, with strong ranged bow-based attacks, you may choose the hunting tree. There are three entry skills to the tree – ensnare, take down (brutal spear thrust) and wood lore (which adds defensive skills and attack speed). Now as you level, you are given a choice of where to invest points in the skills or save them to unlock better skills up the tree. The tree itself has 32 points and skills unlock at certain levels. If you save your points and unlock to level four, three more skills become available. The skill tree increments are 1, 4, 10, 16, 24 and 32.

You also get attribute points. Some armor and weapons will require a certain proficiency in certain areas.

In addition to armor and weapon (and potion and coin) drops, some monsters will drop relics and charms, which can then be applied to equipped items for a bonus to stats.

Players can hotslot potions in the hotbar, and there are two slots for weapons, which can be interchanged with the touch of the W key.

Those who did play Diablo 2 may recognize some of the hotkeys – like holding down Alt to see what all the drops are. While there are some strong similarities, Titan Quest succeeds on its own as an involving and evolving experience.

Graphically, the world is lush and richly textured. This is a wonderfully visual game, only dampened by a camera that is locked into a fixed viewpoint. The problem this creates is when you are being ranged attacked from off the screen. You have to move to be able to click on the target to attack back. User interface elements can also get in the way. But dynamic shadows and lighting, and a day-night cycle, help breathe life into this world.

The camera does, though, allow players to zoom in tight on the action or pull back to an isometric perspective. The sound is also quite solid, with decent voice-overs and theme music.

Titan Quest does seem a lot like an update version of Diablo 2, but that is not a bad thing. The latter was a thoroughly enjoyable hack ‘n slash, and Titan Quest provides that aspect in large does, but with the skill-leveling system, it also tempers all that with intelligent leveling considerations.

Slated for release later this month, Titan Quest is definitely a game worth watching for.