Titan Quest
Encyclopedia
Titan Quest is an action RPG developed by Iron Lore Entertainment
. It was released worldwide by THQ
on June 26, 2006. The game was released on Steam, along with the expansion Titan Quest: Immortal Throne
, on July 17, 2007. The game is also available via Impulse, GamersGate
, GameTap
, Direct2Drive
and OnLive
.
A Limited Edition version was also released at roughly the same time as the original and featuring a premium Steelbook tin case. A Deluxe Edition was released containing the original game with all the patches included. Finally a Gold Edition was later published in 2007, containing copies of both Titan Quest and its expansion pack.
/Ancient Greece
, Ancient Egypt
and the Silk Road
/Asia. The game was conceived by Age of Empires co-creator Brian Sullivan
and uses ragdoll physics
, full lighting effects, day-night cycles, accurate ancient world mythology, modern 3D graphics, unique treasures, and rapid gameplay. There is also a sophisticated world editor for players to create their own custom worlds, mods, and quests. The game contains over a thousand pieces of usable equipment, both common and rare, for the player to loot. Titan Quest gets significantly harder throughout the experience, which requires the player to make good skills and attribute point choices even at the beginning of the game.
, or the Internet. The Internet option announces the server to a centralized pairing system run by Gamespy
, which then displays the available servers to other players in a browser-type window, as long as the server and client's game versions are the same.
) that are terrorizing the countryside wrecking harvests, burning temples, invading villages and cemeteries, besieging cities etc. After being sent on a mission to Delphi
by the Sparta
n general Leonidas, the story revolves around the fictional order of Prometheus and their efforts to restore balance to the world. The hero finds centaur
s, harpies, automaton
s, spider
s and scorpion
s, yeti
s, undead
soldiers and other such monsters derived from myth, relentlessly guarding the way and trying to prevent him from reaching the next village or town. The hero must occasionally face stronger 'miniboss' monsters, usually as part of a side quest. Bosses also appear at intervals generally guarding a main quest item, transportation device, quest NPC
etc. The player faces a boss enemy (called telkines) at the end of each 'act' (Greece, Egypt and The Orient) and faces a final boss enemy at Mount Olympus
, the Titan Typhon
.
sends the character to the underworld, where he must battle Hades
, the Greek god of the dead.
Along with the expansion many fans started to create modifications to improve game which are downloaded and installed off websites. They often use basic programs to modify the difficulty or add skills and items.
. The expansion pack Immortal Throne fixed a number of these issues, including performance speed and inventory management. Immortal Throne was well received and praised for its high level of polish - as of July 2010 Immortal Throne has a score of 80 on Metacritic.
Iron Lore Entertainment
Iron Lore Entertainment was a computer game developer that was founded in October 2000 by Brian Sullivan and Paul Chieffo....
. It was released worldwide by THQ
THQ
THQ Inc. is an American developer and publisher of video games. Founded in 1989 in the United States, the company develops products for video game consoles, handheld game systems, as well as for personal computers and wireless devices...
on June 26, 2006. The game was released on Steam, along with the expansion Titan Quest: Immortal Throne
Titan Quest: Immortal Throne
Titan Quest: Immortal Throne is an action RPG developed by Iron Lore Entertainment. It is the first expansion pack to the 2006 RPG hit, Titan Quest...
, on July 17, 2007. The game is also available via Impulse, GamersGate
GamersGate
GamersGate AB is a Sweden-based online video game store offering PC games, Mac games and electronic guides via direct download. It is a competitor to online video game services such as Valve's Steam, Direct2Drive and Impulse....
, GameTap
GameTap
GameTap is an American online video game service established by Turner Broadcasting System . Dubbed by TBS as a "first of its kind broadband gaming network", the service provides users with classic arcade video games and game-related video content...
, Direct2Drive
Direct2Drive
Direct2Drive is an online game store offering PC videogames via direct download. On May 25, 2011, Gamefly acquired Direct2Drive from IGN Entertainment Group .- Competition with Steam :...
and OnLive
OnLive
OnLive is a cloud gaming platform: the games are synchronized, rendered, and stored on remote servers and delivered via the Internet.The service is available using the OnLive Game System, PCs running Microsoft Windows and Intel-based Macs with OS X 10.5.8 or later...
.
A Limited Edition version was also released at roughly the same time as the original and featuring a premium Steelbook tin case. A Deluxe Edition was released containing the original game with all the patches included. Finally a Gold Edition was later published in 2007, containing copies of both Titan Quest and its expansion pack.
Gameplay
Players take the role of a hero, fighting monsters in three ancient, classical world settings including SpartaSparta
Sparta or Lacedaemon, was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the banks of the River Eurotas in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. It emerged as a political entity around the 10th century BC, when the invading Dorians subjugated the local, non-Dorian population. From c...
/Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
, Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
and the Silk Road
Silk Road
The Silk Road or Silk Route refers to a historical network of interlinking trade routes across the Afro-Eurasian landmass that connected East, South, and Western Asia with the Mediterranean and European world, as well as parts of North and East Africa...
/Asia. The game was conceived by Age of Empires co-creator Brian Sullivan
Brian Sullivan (game designer)
Brian Sullivan is a computer game designer and entrepreneur known for developing Titan Quest and the Age of Empires series of games. He is also the co-founder of Iron Lore Entertainment and Ensemble Studios...
and uses ragdoll physics
Ragdoll physics
In computer physics engines, ragdoll physics is a type of procedural animation that is often used as a replacement for traditional static death animations.-Introduction:Early video games used manually-created animations for characters' death sequences...
, full lighting effects, day-night cycles, accurate ancient world mythology, modern 3D graphics, unique treasures, and rapid gameplay. There is also a sophisticated world editor for players to create their own custom worlds, mods, and quests. The game contains over a thousand pieces of usable equipment, both common and rare, for the player to loot. Titan Quest gets significantly harder throughout the experience, which requires the player to make good skills and attribute point choices even at the beginning of the game.
Multiplayer
Titan Quest's multiplayer feature allows 2-6 players to play on the same server. To connect to a server, one can create a server on a LANLän
Län and lääni refer to the administrative divisions used in Sweden and previously in Finland. The provinces of Finland were abolished on January 1, 2010....
, or the Internet. The Internet option announces the server to a centralized pairing system run by Gamespy
GameSpy
GameSpy Industries, Inc., known simply as GameSpy, is a division of IGN Entertainment, which operates a network of game websites and provides online video game-related services and software. GameSpy dates back to the 1996 release of an internet Quake server search program named QSpy. The current...
, which then displays the available servers to other players in a browser-type window, as long as the server and client's game versions are the same.
Plot
Titan Quest is based on the end of communication between the gods and humanity. The main character (whose name and sex can be chosen by the player) begins the quest on a dirt road near a small village named Helos. The world has been overrun by beasts and creatures (drawn largely from mythologyMythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
) that are terrorizing the countryside wrecking harvests, burning temples, invading villages and cemeteries, besieging cities etc. After being sent on a mission to Delphi
Delphi
Delphi is both an archaeological site and a modern town in Greece on the south-western spur of Mount Parnassus in the valley of Phocis.In Greek mythology, Delphi was the site of the Delphic oracle, the most important oracle in the classical Greek world, and a major site for the worship of the god...
by the Sparta
Sparta
Sparta or Lacedaemon, was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the banks of the River Eurotas in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. It emerged as a political entity around the 10th century BC, when the invading Dorians subjugated the local, non-Dorian population. From c...
n general Leonidas, the story revolves around the fictional order of Prometheus and their efforts to restore balance to the world. The hero finds centaur
Centaur
In Greek mythology, a centaur or hippocentaur is a member of a composite race of creatures, part human and part horse...
s, harpies, automaton
Automaton
An automaton is a self-operating machine. The word is sometimes used to describe a robot, more specifically an autonomous robot. An alternative spelling, now obsolete, is automation.-Etymology:...
s, spider
Spider
Spiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms...
s and scorpion
Scorpion
Scorpions are predatory arthropod animals of the order Scorpiones within the class Arachnida. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by the pair of grasping claws and the narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back, ending with a venomous stinger...
s, yeti
Yeti
The Yeti or Abominable Snowman is an ape-like cryptid said to inhabit the Himalayan region of Nepal, and Tibet. The names Yeti and Meh-Teh are commonly used by the people indigenous to the region, and are part of their history and mythology...
s, undead
Undead
Undead is a collective name for fictional, mythological, or legendary beings that are deceased and yet behave as if alive. Undead may be incorporeal, such as ghosts, or corporeal, such as vampires and zombies...
soldiers and other such monsters derived from myth, relentlessly guarding the way and trying to prevent him from reaching the next village or town. The hero must occasionally face stronger 'miniboss' monsters, usually as part of a side quest. Bosses also appear at intervals generally guarding a main quest item, transportation device, quest NPC
Non-player character
A non-player character , sometimes known as a non-person character or non-playable character, in a game is any fictional character not controlled by a player. In electronic games, this usually means a character controlled by the computer through artificial intelligence...
etc. The player faces a boss enemy (called telkines) at the end of each 'act' (Greece, Egypt and The Orient) and faces a final boss enemy at Mount Olympus
Mount Olympus
Mount Olympus is the highest mountain in Greece, located on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia, about 100 kilometres away from Thessaloniki, Greece's second largest city. Mount Olympus has 52 peaks. The highest peak Mytikas, meaning "nose", rises to 2,917 metres...
, the Titan Typhon
Typhon
Typhon , also Typhoeus , Typhaon or Typhos was the last son of Gaia, fathered by Tartarus, and the most deadly monster of Greek mythology. He was known as the "Father of all monsters"; his wife Echidna was likewise the "Mother of All Monsters."Typhon was described in pseudo-Apollodorus,...
.
Immortal Throne expansion
THQ released Titan Quest: Immortal Throne as an expansion pack in March 2007. It features the continuation of the story. ZeusZeus
In the ancient Greek religion, Zeus was the "Father of Gods and men" who ruled the Olympians of Mount Olympus as a father ruled the family. He was the god of sky and thunder in Greek mythology. His Roman counterpart is Jupiter and his Etruscan counterpart is Tinia.Zeus was the child of Cronus...
sends the character to the underworld, where he must battle Hades
Hades
Hades , Hadēs, originally , Haidēs or , Aidēs , meaning "the unseen") was the ancient Greek god of the underworld. The genitive , Haidou, was an elision to denote locality: "[the house/dominion] of Hades". Eventually, the nominative came to designate the abode of the dead.In Greek mythology, Hades...
, the Greek god of the dead.
Along with the expansion many fans started to create modifications to improve game which are downloaded and installed off websites. They often use basic programs to modify the difficulty or add skills and items.
Reception
As of July 2010 the initial release of the game scores "77" on Metacritic. The primary criticisms in the initial reviews were of the inventory system, sluggish performance on some types of systems, and the game was sometimes deemed to be too much like Diablo IIDiablo II
Diablo II is a dark fantasy/horror-themed hack and slash, with elements of the role playing game and dungeon crawl genres. It was released for Windows and Mac OS in 2000 by Blizzard Entertainment, and was developed by Blizzard North. It is a direct sequel to the 1996 hit PC game, Diablo.Diablo II...
. The expansion pack Immortal Throne fixed a number of these issues, including performance speed and inventory management. Immortal Throne was well received and praised for its high level of polish - as of July 2010 Immortal Throne has a score of 80 on Metacritic.