14 DAY TRIAL // Runic Games has announced Torchlight II, the follow-up to one of the most popular action role playing games of last year. The new title will include cooperative multiplayer and a free matchmaking service as well. It will launch in the spring of 2011 on the PC, initially as a digital download, and on the Mac at an unannounced date.
Max Schaefer, the chief executive officer of Runic Games, said in a press release that, “We’re so proud of everything Torchlight accomplished, and we feel that Torchlight II will not only give the fans everything they’ve asked for, but far surpass its predecessor in terms of fun, balance, customization, story, and just being a great game to play with your friends. We still are going to make the MMO, but it became apparent that Torchlight II was the logical next step for us given the phenomenal enthusiasm of gamers petitioning us for multiplayer.”
The cooperative multiplayer will not only be limited to online interaction, but will also be available through a local area network. There will be four character classes with various skill trees and the animal companion will, of course, make a return. One of the most important features of the first installment in the series was the extended support for modding. This to will be enhanced in the sequel, with a new version of TorchEd being promised as part of the package.
Torchlight II will also have more open areas and they will also be randomly generated, like the dungeons. There will be a day/night cycle, various types of weather and other random events to spice things up for the title's fans. A new retirement system will be implemented that allows players to retire high level characters to give bonuses for new ones. In addition to all of these, the ability to fish will also be back in the sequel, providing much needed rest for players that are tired after long hours of adventuring. Torchlight II debuts at Gamescom 2010 in Köln, Germany between the 18th and the 22nd of August and at PAX Prime in Seattle, WA, between the 3rd and the 5th of September 2010.