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Penny Arcade has posted a hands-on preview or Torchlight, Runic Games' single player action RPG with colorful carton graphics and Diablo inspired gameplay. Torchlight will feature an easy to use interface for players of all skill levels and a level randomizer to ensure each adventure has its own unique blend of monsters, traps, and puzzles.

Initially, you enter dungeons near the town of Torchlight and quickly pick up different quests. We were set off in search of someone who had wandered into the dungeons -- how foolish! Controls are simple to grasp, making it easy to engage foes, blast off spells, gather loot and explore the dungeon. What makes it so much fun is the whimsical design. The cartoon style really doesn't seem like an art direction you'd choose for a hack 'n' slash RPG, but the entire world has a fantastic look and feel. At one point, our Alchemist went to open a chest, and it tried to bite him. It then sprouted legs and ran around before we finally took it out with a spell. Apparently, those are called "Mimics" and will appear throughout the game.

Aside from those flourishes, Torchlight feels like RPG comfort food. Speaking of which: You can fish for items to feed to your pet, and some of the fish will mutate your pet into different creatures, including an enormous, acid-spitting spider. Some of those mutations may or may not be permanent, but regardless of the animal, it'll always be your pet. The skill tree in-game is extremely similar to Diablo, and there's a level cap of 100 in the game. Travis cheated us up to a high level, and one of the new Alchemist skills involved summoning awesome steampunk robots that would fight for us.

Torchlight is being published by Perfect World, who will also be publishing a Torchlight MMO, which Baldree says is at 18 months away. The goal is for the look and feel of the MMO to be the same as this title, and to have this be a lead-in.

Joystiq: Torchlight Preview

Runic Games

Torchlight

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