Titan Quest

Rating ESRB: Teen Genre role-playing Publisher THQ External Links Official Titan Quest Website

There are some prisons that are meant to stay closed. However, that doesn't stop them from opening. The prisons fashioned by the many gods of Earth, made to contain the Titans, have been opened. The gods search far and wide, seeking the heroes that will stand up for their kind and sway the evil forces from their tyranny...hopefully by force.

Fans of Diablo II will undoubtedly love Titan Quest mainly because of the similarities in gameplay and mechanics. Nevermind the fact that this is one of the most graphically detailed and musically resonant games on the market to date. The interface is easy-to-use and anyone can just hop right in and start playing. Eight playable character classes with various skill trees allows for a high degree of character customization. After the first few levels, players are allowed to choose a second class if they wish. Later on in the game, players will be allowed to remove and reassign skill points in exchange for monetary cost, which allows players to try out all aspects of their class choices so long as they have enough money.

Thousands of pieces of equipment allow for further personal customization. No character is cubby holed into using specific types of weapons or armor once they start out, with the exception of meeting the statistical requirements necessary to use each piece of equipment if there are any. Equipment is further enhanced with the addition of various Relic Shards and Monster Charms. Finding the pieces to complete each charm permits greater bonuses bestowed upon the equipment it is attached to.

Titan Quest really shines in its multiplayer capability, but much more so in it's Custom Maps feature using the TQ editor. Any levels created can be played in both single player and multiplayer settings.

This is the kind of game that hardcore gamers have been waiting for. Every single aspect of gaming is pushed to its allowable limits while still making the game marketable for a wide variety of gamers. The only downside to this game would be the minimum requirements necessary to run it, most notably the need for a DVD-ROM drive. Not all gamers are lucky enough to own this much power. Granted, the high quality of the game requires such major hardware, it's just a shame that the game may not be available to every person who owns a PC and is interested in trying out the game. In no way does this detract from the games performance; it's just an inconvenience if the hardware is not up to specs.