Torchlight

Movement feels smoother with the analogue stick, and that inevitably helps when you're crawling your way through hordes of skeletons. While PC players might miss the standard hot keys they were used to, Torchlight on XBLA is proof that they're by no means necessary. Ten years on from Diablo and it still has enough influence over modern games to power a generation of clones, but both Torchlight and its developer prove to be one the perfect students of the genre.

After having played the PC version of Runic Games’ 2009 indie success to death, the idea of us tackling it with a controller was a nightmarish proposition. After merely an hour with it, though, we decided we may never go back. Torchlight for XBLA is a tighter, faster combat experience and feels right at home with an analogue stick and bumper buttons. If action/RPGs are your thing, 1200 Microsoft points will be a pretty small price to pay for what you’re getting out of Torchlight.

Look, if you want to grind through a dungeon and you only own an Xbox 360, your options are limited right now. Torchlight was a great game on the PC and it’s still a great game on Xbox Live Arcade. It’s the right size adventure to be snackable or serve as a full gaming meal depending on your time allowance. It’s fun, nice to look at, and will scratch your OCD itch of needing the next level of plate mail to complete your awesome battle attire. You can’t go wrong, go download.

In short, Torchlight for Xbox Live Arcade retains all of the charm of the PC original. Unfortunately, it also retains the PC version's major flaw: a complete lack of multiplayer, an especially important feature in the action RPG genre. Even the simple ability to trade items with other players would have been a very welcome addition. As it stands, multiplayer will have to wait for Torchlight 2.

For all that, it's a better dungeon crawler than most everything else that has been released post-Diablo II. Torchlight is a celebration of the silly fun of building an overpowered hero and tearing through hordes of monsters. We'd all love co-op (which is coming in the sequel, announced last year), but my advice is to appreciate Torchlight for what it is rather than complaining that it's not what you want your perfect dungeon crawler to be. You won't be disappointed.

Reviewing a game like Torchlight is almost unnecessary. Diablo clones are hardly a new concept, and with the rave reviews this particular one received last year, it's kind of a given that its second iteration would be good—you could almost just get away with saying that the transfer from PC to console is smooth and works well. However, if you're a console-owning fan of the genre, this is still great news. Just be wary of loot addiction and you'll be fine.