Developer: Iron Lore Entertainment / THQ Nordic
RRP: £17.99
I remember years ago seeing an advert for Titan Quest in a gaming magazine (I think it might have been PC Zone) and thinking ‘Ooh that game looks cool. It looks like Diablo but with Greek and Roman mythology.’ Little did I know that I was exactly on the money there, well I was about it being a Diablo clone with a Mediterranean spin. However what I wasn’t right about was it being ‘cool’, actually this game is more along the lines of ‘meh’ than ‘cool’.
I’ll say it now, Titan Quest is a bad Diablo clone, if you want to play something like Diablo but not Diablo itself you’ve got far better choices in Torchlight, Dungeon Siege and Victor Vran. All of those games are superior to Titan Quest. Yes, most of those games are newer than Titan Quest, but that isn’t what makes them better. What makes them better is their combat, all of those games (and their sequels) have much better feeling combat. Titan Quests combat feels flat and lifeless, I attribute this lifelessness to two things; the sound, and the visuals. This isn’t to say the animation is bad, they’re not great but certainly aren’t awful, however when you hit an enemy there is not real demarcation to see it other than their life metre being lower, no blood effect on or around them. I know it sounds petty but little things like that can make all the difference. The sound design is lacklustre, the creatures make no real noises when they attack other than the sound of metal ‘tinging’ off metal. That’s it. It’s all just a bit… dull.
I think I said it best above, just skip it. Play Victor Vran or Torchlight instead if you want a good ARPG fix.
