Ive played the Torchlight demo and i really like the artstyle and light rpg to it. Feels like a solid game that's both casual and challenging. In the other corner i have Anno 1404, which i've watched some gameplay videos of and the graphics, the challenge to it and how amazing it looks really sparked my interest for the game. Its been a while since i enjoyed a solid strategy/sim game.

Anyone played either one? Are they worth spending money on?

Torchlight is cool but once you get over the initial shock of something so cheap being so good it actually just gets incredibly boring and meh.

Don't get me wrong, for $5 it aint bad but it's nothing amazing.

As for Anno 1404, I don't even know what that is.

Yeah thats what i was thinking.. that it might just get repetitive. Ive tried all three characters in the demo but its basicly the same thing. They claim that the maps and missions are random, so that you never play the same area twice. But it "feels the same" much of the time. Still.. $5.. thats nothing.

Edit; And thanks for your input.

I would say that I got my $5 worth out of Torchlight. Once you have run through once, you have seen all the mob styles and tilesets. The tilesets change every 5 levels or so. Still, that one run though is fun.

I own both.

Torchlight is a good game, but I'd agree with twesterm.
I was bored quickly.

Anno 1404 on the other hand is VERY addictive. Easily one of the best PC games of last year.

Anno 1404 is a city/economy building game. There are AI competitors (there is no multiplayer .. yet - afaik the devs said they wanted to add multiplayer in an expension), but the biggest "enemy" you face are the demands of your people, which you are trying to satisfy. 

Personally I love the Anno series and 1404 imo is the best entry in the franchise yet.

That expansion was released yesterday !

And I agree it's the best in the series.

Torchlight is great, but yeah, the maps are random but there aren't many "sections" so it doesn't really LOOK random like, say, Diablo. at least that's the feeling I have. there are a few mods too here: http://www.runicgamesfansite.com/torchlightmods/ and here: http://www.torchlightinsider.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=14 just a few are new maps or quests though, many of them are new classes, potions, etc.

na klasse.. dann muss ich ja noch mehr Spiele kaufen dieses Frühjahr *seufz* so langsam wirds knapp mit dem Geld und die Zeit ist eh schon drei mal verplant ..

hehe hab grade Abitur gemacht. Somit hab ich momentan ne ganze Menge Zeit :)