We, as humans, are a competitive, goal-oriented species.  The category of humans known as gamers are characteristically more so.  So when little goals outside of the main game play were created on platforms this console generation (Achievements on Xbox 360 and Steam, trophies on the PS3), gamers took to them with a ferocity only matched by the public's outrage to the release of Coke 2.  The obsession with achievements has grown to the point that people will go out of their way to grind away for hours, simply to have the tiny extrinsic award. 

As a bit of an afterthought and most likely a reward to the fans, last week Runic Games released over 60 achievements that may be earned on Steam for their critically acclaimed action-RPG Torchlight.  There are a wide range of achievements bridging across many aspects of the game.  From the easily-earned "The Adventure Begins" (find the opening to the mine) and "Fetch a Fair Price" (send your pet back to town to sell items) to more difficult achievements like "Perfect Victory" (defeat the final boss without dying) and "Speed King" (finishing the main storyline in 5 hours or less).  Of course, not to leave out the masochistic completionists, there are achievements like "Line of Kings" (Retire 300 levels worth of characters) and "True Delver" (Reach level 100).

Also included in this update is SteamCloud access, meaning your save games are held in the "cloud" and then you can play on any machine you play on.  Bottom line, it's all good things coming out of Runic Games through Steam.  Now really is the best time to jump in and get one of the best values on Steam today.