Sticking with the fantasy theme but transporting gamers into the world of Greek, Egyptian and Chinese mythology is the first of the masterstrokes employed in Titan Quest. These settings have given the developers fertile ground on which to develop a rich storyline and some real meat around the many quests on which you will embark.

The game initially starts with the Titans having escaped from bondage and evil being let loose on the lands of Greece. With the gods strangely silent, it is the time of the mortals. These are the demi-god heroes who will go forth and rid the lands of the vile creatures of legend.

The start of the game has you playing as a human hero, with the initial two decisions you have to make being whether you are male or female, and the colour of your tabard. This is the second master stroke: there are no predetermined sets of character types. Simply put, you choose your own path.

As you progress in the game you accumulate various skill points that can then be spent on a range of skills across different elemental spheres. You can choose two of these spheres to pursue, and within each of these you have various skills and attributes you can enhance. There is a phenomenal amount of combinations you can explore, and each dictates a different style of play.

Combine mêlée offensive skills with earth magic and you can develop a battle mage, and within this pursue fire spells and dual wielding of weapons to develop a close-range killing machine that will deal death to the many evil minions inhabiting the world. This is a brilliant system which encourages you to replay the game again and again, exploring different character combinations. If you don't quite get the build you want there are places in the game where you can buy back spent skill points. Just as well, too, as it will take you a few attempts to get the combination that best suits your style.

The developers have not made any changes to the classic style of gameplay. Movement is all point-and-click and the combat mechanics stick to the standard formula. This makes picking up and playing Titan Quest a breeze. What's new is that there's a lot more to explore and see.

There is an overall world map that shows you the main areas, and within each of these lie multiple areas that seamlessly blend together as you travel through them. The next masterstroke and the real the killing blow is the scenery and terrain. It is alive and detailed to a whole new level. The leaves in the trees rustle, the grass moves as you pass through it, the water ripples, and the land rises and falls. You explore temples, beaches and highland forests. Dark caves and dark crypts are dotted about, tempting you to go that extra step.

The towns are filled with a high degree of detail and colour as well. Quest givers, merchants, etc. - all have an appropriate icon above their heads so they are easy to identify. Other citizens are also identified as being people to talk to, to garner more information of the locale and local gossip. Each town and village is different; some are sweeping cities while others are small fishing villages tacked onto a cliffside.

Titan Quest features an excellent map system which displays a small mini map in the top right hand corner as well as the ability to pull up a bigger map that shows more of the terrain you have explored. Points of interest are shown with different coloured icons to ensure you don't miss dungeons or quest givers. The game is broadly linear in how it channels you through the quests, however teleport points exist in most towns, allowing you to return to previously explored areas. Also dotted about the terrain are 'rebirth' wells, where you will restart from if you are killed. These are reasonably frequent and make a pleasant change from the sometimes long trek back from town whenever you are killed.

Get used to being killed, by the way; there are heaps of monsters. The various mythologies have allowed the developers to call on a rich selection of creepy crawlies and horrors. They hunt in packs as well, with a liberal amount of boss creatures to contend with. Mosters are very well animated and some have some quite nasty surprises in store for you.

Loot plays a major role in any adventure, and in this department the developers have been very generous. Virtually every creature drops something, and pretty soon you will find your bag is bulging with a collection of weapons and armour. We were surprised at the frequency of magic item drops, however as these are carefully graded and varied to suit different skill/class combinations you can understand why it was developed this way. An interesting feature is the relic pieces that you can pick up fairly regularly. They can be used to upgrade the statistics of items, and when you obtain all the pieces of a particular relic it gains additional bonuses as well.