Titan Quest [Budget]

Personally, I'm a big fan of budget games. They represent a second chance to buy a best-selling game at a fraction of the original price. Two years, however, is a long time in gaming, and recently re-released Titan Quest faces tough competition.

Titan Quest is a hack-and-slash RPG from the co-creator of Age of Empires, Brian Sullivan. The game was originally released back in June 2006 to an audience eager for more Diablo-esque shenanigans, a game to which Titan Quest was immediately compared (Ed - More Dungeon Siege than Diablo, I feel).

Set in the ancient world of mythical Greece and Egypt, the evil Titans have escaped from their eternal prison. As mankind's only hope, the player must quest through the ancient land, uncovering the secrets needed to once again imprison the ancient gods.

Journeying through Greece, Egypt and the Orient, you’ll have to battle against mythological beasts, including harpies, centaurs and minotaurs. The focus is primarily on action and the monsters are satisfyingly varied enough to keep you hacking away.

The ancient world setting keeps the player engaged through a variety of impressive backdrops, ranging from temples and labyrinths, to pyramids and even the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

The gameplay is very simple (possibly too simple for some), a click of the mouse being all that is required to attack an enemy. Where the fun really lies is in developing your character's skills, enabling you to defeat bigger and badder enemies.

So far, so Dungeon Siege (Ed - I knew you'd get it in the end). Titan Quest does, however, have a unique method of side-stepping the usual character class system. Rather than select a warrior, wizard or whatever, you choose two skill "masteries" from a selection of eight. Each pair combines to form a class, ultimately giving the player a substantial choice.

The detailed graphics were a major selling point on the game's original release almost two years ago, with the developers raving about the "near-photo realistic detail". The game still looks good, but it has clearly dated when compared to today’s releases. However, the sound does not quite deliver, with a generic adventure score and voices that can only be described as whingey.

A warning to PC gamers running older machines: I initially installed this game on my aging PC which met the "minimum requirements", but the game refused to work, prompting me to upgrade my PC. If you want to get the best from this game, make sure your machine has a bit more oomph to it than the box recommends.

All in all, Titan Quest is a simple yet imaginative action role playing game that will appeal to new-comers to the genre as well as to fans of Dungeon Siege. This budget re-release represents decent value for money and its addictive gameplay will keep you entertained for many hours.

7/10

Dan McDonald