With "Torchlight," Runic Games delivered the best "Diablo" clone since "Titan Quest." And we fans were perfectly okay with that. While Blizzard continues to take its sweet time with "Diablo 3," lovers of loot-focused RPG collect-a-thons get to tide themselves over with exceptionally solid gameplay and a beautifully unique art style. The July release -- and sweet, sweet co-op play it will bring -- of "Torchlight 2" is getting pretty close now, and as part of its pre-launch lead-in, Runic has kicked off a series of bi-weekly features "pulling back the curtain" on the world of the sequel.

The first post in the series is titled "Monsters of 'Torchlight 2.'" Predictably, it highlights the monsters of "Torchlight 2" (funny how that works). Six of them are revealed in all, some of them familiar and some of them, not so much.

Our six newly revealed monsters are: Spectral Dragon, Dwarven Automata, The Gargoyle, The Witch, The Manticore and -- my favorite of them all -- The Yakotaur. There's a portrait for each one, rendered in the series' recognizable art style, along with a description of the creature and its origins. You can give the Yakotaur description a read right here, or head over to Runic's website to see them all:

The Estherians tell stories of brutal snow-beasts that ravage the Estherian Steppes, leaving behind little more than the crushed and mangled corpses of those unfortunate enough to encounter one. Part mountain yak, part yeti, the Yakotaur is a towering behemoth with a vicious disposition. The Estherians claim they are fury-filled nature spirits, and that their bellowing challenge is a cry of rage from the very mountains themselves. But those who have survived their savage attacks say that they are all too solid—particularly their ram-like horns.

Mountain yak + yeti = awesome. God I hope there's a way to transform your pet into one of these puppies.