Title: Sacred 2 Platform: PC (also on 360/PS3) Developer: Ascaron Publisher: CDV Site:Sacred2.com MSRP: $49.99 Editor: Nicholas 'bapenguin' Puleo
Having never played the original Sacred from developer Ascaron, I didn't know what to expect when I fired up Sacred 2. After creating a Seraphim, a female angel like character, from the list of six characters and choosing one of the two paths, it was off to the world of Sacred 2: Fallen Angel. The world of Ancaria is filled with grassy fields, lush forrests, sandy deserts, as well as plenty of towns. The best part about all of it? It's completely seamless as their is no loading between any areas, indoor and outdoor.
The gameplay is pretty standard in terms of traditional click and attack RPGs. What's unique about Sacred 2 is the really deep skill tree. Your character will start out with a full set of skills, but each skill has it's own sub-skill tree that can be upgraded through levels and experience. Whether your skill is how you swing your sword, or how you cast a meteor down from the heavens, they are all upgradable to multiple levels. On top of this there are temporary and permanent buffs your character can earn. Of course in a game like this, it's all about item collecting, and there's plenty of loot to be found. It's found everywhere; in barrels, crates, thieves, and of course rats. For my Seraphim I absolutely loved the fact that I could pick up different sets of angel wing armor.
Like I said previously, Sacred 2 is an incredibly gorgeous game. Immediately upon firing it up I was greeted with one of the most gorgeous looking environments I've seen since first firing up Guild Wars. With bright colors, sharp textures, and plenty of life to the gameworld this is a game you won't get tired of looking at. The weather effects are particularly impressive, especially as they change over between the rain and sun. I know I'm gushing, but honestly it's been a while since I've been so generally impressed with the look, feel and sound of a game. Yes, the full Dolby Digital 5.1 sounds really great with some deep atmospheric and ambient effects.
While what drew me to the game was the promised 16 player co-op mode, we were unable to get it working in the preview build. Honestly, 16 players sounds a bit over the top, I can't imagine things going smoothly and/or being organized. I guess it works in a lot of MMORPGs, so theoretically it could work in this. Aside from the co-op mode, there's a few online vs. modes available, again these were not available in our preview build.
The PC version of Sacred 2 should be available in about 2 weeks, with an Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 version later in November. While the latter two versions don't support 16 player co-op (they support 4), it'll be interesting to see how they play on a console.
Last edited by bapenguin; 09-23-2008 at 11:08 AM..
BaP, I've not had much of a chance to look at this game, though I enjoyed what little I got to play of the first one. What were the other classes available besides the Seraphim? I haven't seen anything that says what all the classes available are.
Hmm...I was debating getting Titan Quest to quench the click/kill urge, but I think I may hold off and wait for this game. Pretty graphics do tug at my heartstrings...
Hmm...I was debating getting Titan Quest to quench the click/kill urge, but I think I may hold off and wait for this game. Pretty graphics do tug at my heartstrings...
Hold off from getting Titan Quest, it's too damn linear.
And Bap,
My biggest question, of course, is this: Subtitles???
Titan Quest (and Immortal Throne expansion) are one of the best games in this field. If you enjoy them and have not played it, I highly recommend it.
I enjoyed the first sacred and it's huge world. It had an excelled leveling mechanic where on bronze monster levels were fixed, and on silver, gold, and platinum? they increased with you -- forcing you to level your skills ahead of the curve. This is a day one buy for me.
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I also highly recommend Titan Quest and the expansion pack. Next best thing to Diablo on the market! A real great game with many many hours of replayability(sp). You'll probably find it on the cheap by now as well.. 5 out of 5.
What's the monster spawning like in this? It was ridiculous in the first game (which I still enjoyed quite a bit, regardless).
One thing I read that was kind of stupid is that you if want the high-resolution textures in the PC version, you have to buy the more expensive Collector's Edition.
I recently bought the first Sacred on Steam. I also bought it retail when it first came out and really didn't like it.
I bought it on Steam because of people on here raving about it. I thought I must have missed something, or maybe they'd patched it up to a good level. They haven't.
The game in general isn't terrible, but the control scheme is one of the worst I've ever seen. There are control schemes that take a bit of adapting to in order to overcome, and then there are control schemes that sap my will to persevere with the game. Sacred's was the latter.
With that said, the potential was there, and that's enough to make me pick up Sacred 2. Let's see what they've done with all those years.
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Last edited by SilentScreams; 09-24-2008 at 02:18 AM..
(...)I thought I must have missed something, or maybe they'd patched it up to a good level. They haven't.(...)
That's what I am always raving about! Is everyone blind or what? Did the show-stopping bugs only occur to me and a few friends?
Sigh... a year after release Sacred 1 was still having critical issues in lan coop. Since Ascaron is known for not-the-best quality regarding bugs, I can only warn on picking Sacred 2 up too soon.
Also Titan Quest might be linear, but I agree it's the best we currently have, and quite good.
Really, REALLY stupid question here. In the screens above, the character is standing next to, respectively, a hill and then a steep hill edge leading down, and another leading up. Can the character travel over these, or do they just slide down uncontrollably...? I'm curious how linear they've made the outside world.
Also, how much is randomly generated? Just dungeons? Outside world too? Towns/NPC havens?
I barely played the first Sacred- there were a few other games out at the time, and it just didn't snag me. I dimly remember either getting way too many or way too few quests, not being sure where to go... Maybe the haze of passed time has distorted my memories, though. Honestly, I can't even remember what the big bad was supposed to be, or any sort of plot.
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