Torchlight puts you in the shoes of one of three classes. The Destroyer is a melee focused adventurer akin to a barbarian, while the Vanquisher is ranger of sorts, preferring to lay traps or engage her enemies from a distance. Finally, the Alchemist wields magic to destroy his foes or summon minions to fight on his behalf. You also get to select one of three pets (a wolf, a lynx or a bipedal lizard called a Chakawary). While adventuring, your pet fights alongside you. It can be taught spells and fitted with accessories and can even run into town to sell your excess gear while you continue exploring.

Whichever class and pet you choose, you will spend most of your time (button) mashing the denizens of the tunnels beneath the small mining town of Torchlight. Though each adventurer has a slightly different set of reasons for being there, this doesn’t really affect the storyline, which revolves around the search for a magical ore known as ember. Characters lust after it and you can use it to provide additional enchantment to some of your weapons.

Torchlight provides for a decent amount of customisation. Four main attributes define your character’s physical abilities. Each time you level up, you receive a few points to distribute as you wish. Boosting Dexterity, for instance, enhances your ranged attacks. You also earn points to invest in your skill tree, which consists of passive (always-on) skills, magical attacks and buffs. There are number of skills shared by the classes, but each one also offers unique abilities. In addition, your character may learn up to four spells from the Offensive, Defensive and Charm schools of magic.

You can look forward to using a huge range of weapons, armour, rings, and amulets to further personalise your alter ego. Better yet, all of your equipment is reflected in-game, not just in the character screen. Items can boast enchantments which improve stats, add elemental damage or heal your character as you cause damage. The customisation options really allow you to play the game your way. Prefer running and sniping? Then equip a bow or a gun, and perhaps some long range spells. If you prefer no-nonsense melee, how about a giant axe or dual swords? If you’re anything like me, you’ll really enjoy adjusting your play style as you progress through the game.

Torchlight was originally a PC game, but the controls implemented for the console version work quite well. One face button is used for your standard attack, while another activates environmental objects, picks up items or allows you to interact with NPCs. The left and right bumpers consume health and magic restoration potions respectively. You’re then able to map four of your skills or spells to other buttons.

The world itself is realised with beautiful, cartoony graphics. All of the areas contain a lot of detail and the design of the levels gives them a depth and richness that makes them really agreeable to run around in. There a number of different tile-sets, including the mines, a necropolis, ruins, caverns, a fortress, a prison and the Black Palace, which is as eerie as it sounds. All of these environments feel distinct, however since the levels are randomly generated, you will find that you start encountering the same areas which leads some déjà vu. The enemy sounds and ambient music are good and fit well into the whole package. Some of the pet noises can get a bit monotonous and annoying, but it’s a minor complaint.

As you play, you can accept quests to retrieve items or kill dark champions, though the bulk of the gameplay will have you facing hordes of enemies in battle. Although a lot of the combat is repetitive, certain opponents will challenge you to move around and vary your tactics. The list of adversaries is rich and varied and many have special abilities and some wield powerful spells. Some will rush you en-mass and others may hold back and use ranged weapons. At times it can be a little difficult to see what’s going on when the screen fills with colourful explosions and your character is swamped by enemies. The auto aim feature is decent most of the time, though you may occasionally find it a bit fiddly to attack the enemy you intend to target. The boss battles, though enjoyable, tend to involve a lot running around while chipping away at a massive health bar. During these battles, you don’t have direct control over your pet, but rather set its AI to aggressive, defensive or passive, and it does a good job of acting accordingly.

In your downtime, you can buy or sell equipment, attempt to improve your item enchantments or squeeze in a spot of fishing via a simple mini game. Among other things, fish can be used to transform your pet into creatures with useful abilities.

The story element to Torchlight is brief, but gives you a basic reason to head into the mines. Each section of the campaign is preceded by a voiced journal entry from Master Alric, the story’s antagonist. Alric has been corrupted by the power of the dark ember, and it is up to you to save him, or destroy him. Once you complete the main campaign, you continue questing in the Shadow Vault, essentially an infinite dungeon.

Torchlight is excellent value for XBLA game. Its addictive gameplay is so enticing, that you may feel compelled to continue adventuring even after the dungeons and enemies start to feel stale. After consuming this tasty treat I have little doubt you’ll be waiting to see what is served up for the main course (AKA Diablo 3). I, for one, already have my bib on.