Sacred 2

[Lerxt]

I'd be interested in impressions. I am hoping that Gamefly sends it to me in the next couple of days... I downloaded the demoe for my pc, but I can barely run it. I was hoping the graphics would be a slight upgrade over my older rig.

[Flawless]

1UP Review - A-

Quote:

Action-role-playing games grew up in corridors. Some have wide corridors, and some have randomized corridors, but they're all corridors that lead from a starting town hub to a final boss fight. Sacred 2 doesn't stand for that. You go where you want, for as long as you want, and even when you want. Do you intend to plow through the storyline? Have at it. It won't hold you back. Digging the swamps? Stick around and farm all the side quests. Curious about those islands up north or that desert in the south? Go have a look. The main quest -- available in good or evil flavors -- serves as a guided tour through every boss and every biome, with dozens of subquests along the way. But the point-- An autoleveling system for monsters paces the action without making it inconsequential. A rat at level 30 is nothing like a werewolf at level 30. And because you probably leveled up at least 28 times before you encounter a level 30 rat or werewolf, you have that many more choices for how to deal with it. If the autoleveled enemies in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion killed that game for you, don't let it dissuade you from Sacred 2 -- it works without undermining the sense of power or progression. Furthermore, it's a vital part of the open world. You won't stumble upon many places where you shouldn't be because you're not a high-enough level. And if you want to grind Kobolds in the starting area, have at it (although you'll hit level caps for weaker creatures, which means-- Your character's development is as wide-open as the world. Sacred 2 encourages different approaches early on, with the choices gradually narrowing as you specialize at higher levels. Improvements come frequently and in small increments, but every point spent is a painfully difficult choice among multiple types of advancement (attributes, combat arts, special abilities, and skills are all separate -- but interrelated -- types of advancement). All the detail has a very German sensibility. Whereas Diablo is elegant, Sacred 2 is fastidious, stuffed with hard numbers and brimming with tool tips. You won't find a single-- The world is mostly typical fantasy fare, but that doesn't preclude a lot of love and variety. Even the stilted voiceovers and off-kilter humor have a distinct charm. You'll find hand-built outposts, villages, castles, ruins, hilltop cities, graveyards, dungeons, and more. It's too bad that the engine (which is built for top-down play) doesn't do drawing distance very well. This artwork and creativity would have supported some grand vistas if-- In case it's annoying to have the paragraphs cut off suddenly, I'm prepping you for the experience of Sacred 2. For the most part, you're playing a slick, streamlined action-RPG that knows how to move as fast or as methodically as you want. But sometimes, it grinds to a halt. Underneath the open-world thrill, the addictive character advancement, and the lovely graphics, something is unstable. Sacred 2 is fussy about graphics settings, prone to crashing, and given to inexplicable slowdown. Usually a quick save and reboot addresses everything nicely, getting you right back to--

Quote:

Holy cats, the console version is better? Sacred 2 turns out to be a great couch game, largely because you can play co-op with a friend at your side. But the real surprise is that the folks at Ascaron managed to create a mostly-great interface for the XB360 and PS3 controller, giving you faster and easier access to more combat abilities than you could use in the PC version. I never thought I'd say this, but I don't think I can go back to playing on the PC. The price paid for more combat abilities is the occasional graphics hiccup and slightly more hassle when it comes to inventory management, but you're going to sell most of that stuff anyway.

[highheatkingsb]

Man, my friend and I picked this up today and it's way too addicting. We spent 6 hours this afternoon fighting, doing side quests, collecting loot, etc.....the spells, weapons, and armor in this game are great. It took me about a 1/2 hour to learn not to tap the A button to fight, rather hold it in and my weapon swings continuously....doh!!! I'm glad I picked it up, it's very addicting. It's even better once you zoom in on your character and get used to the camera angles. I haven't touched the single player yet, but am looking forward to it. My character has died 3 times on the silver level and my friends has died twice. You really get attacked in numbers in some parts and have to watch your health. This is going to get many, many, hours of play time. We made it to level 8 each, only 192 more to go. Haven't found any mounts yet, but my friend did pick up some type of fire-cat as a pet that follows him as a high elf. I'm playing the part of Temple Guardian and the gear is pretty wild thus far. I look like some sort of cyborg. The only bad things I have to say about the game thus far is it's difficult to find one another on the map if you get to far away from one another and occasionally you see your character gliding when you are standing together in a town. We've also had to tele-port a couple times to a certain location to find one another again, but if you look hard enough and pay attention to the direction you are heading, you'll be able to retrace your steps and find one another. Also, if you pre-ordered the game, you get some sort of treasure imp that you can call for and it keeps you from traveling back to town to dump your junk.

[Cyros]

Damnit....I love dungeon crawlers too much.

[Cusefan]

I am so conflicted about this game. I bought it yesterday because my friend said it was going to be the next great game. So far the glaring issues I have with it are The Voice Acting, The Quests( they are hard to find and often requires some backtracking), and The Map, The Main map does not show where you have to go and the minimap only is a little bit of help. There really is not much in the way of a story either, at least from what I have played.

But I gotta say, the online Coop is a absolute blast to play with friends. Sucky part is the story does not carry over from online to single player (unless you are the host). Online Coop saves this game, IGN obviously only played the single player.

Worth a rental if you are a RPG fan, its pretty good.

[Candyman5]

I love dungion Games, But for 60 bucks I will have to wait....Sounds really promising.

[highheatkingsb]

Quote: Originally Posted by Cusefan

I am so conflicted about this game. I bought it yesterday because my friend said it was going to be the next great game. So far the glaring issues I have with it are The Voice Acting, The Quests( they are hard to find and often requires some backtracking), and The Map, The Main map does not show where you have to go and the minimap only is a little bit of help. There really is not much in the way of a story either, at least from what I have played. But I gotta say, the online Coop is a absolute blast to play with friends. Sucky part is the story does not carry over from online to single player (unless you are the host). Online Coop saves this game, IGN obviously only played the single player. Worth a rental if you are a RPG fan, its pretty good.

For the quests, go into the quest log, activate it and follow the gray arrows on the outside of the map on the top left hand corner of the screen, it will guide you to where you need to go.

[Mrcabone]

Quote: Originally Posted by highheatkingsb

Man, my friend and I picked this up today and it's way too addicting. We spent 6 hours this afternoon fighting, doing side quests, collecting loot, etc.....the spells, weapons, and armor in this game are great. It took me about a 1/2 hour to learn not to tap the A button to fight, rather hold it in and my weapon swings continuously....doh!!! I'm glad I picked it up, it's very addicting. It's even better once you zoom in on your character and get used to the camera angles. I haven't touched the single player yet, but am looking forward to it. My character has died 3 times on the silver level and my friends has died twice. You really get attacked in numbers in some parts and have to watch your health. This is going to get many, many, hours of play time. We made it to level 8 each, only 192 more to go. Haven't found any mounts yet, but my friend did pick up some type of fire-cat as a pet that follows him as a high elf. I'm playing the part of Temple Guardian and the gear is pretty wild thus far. I look like some sort of cyborg. The only bad things I have to say about the game thus far is it's difficult to find one another on the map if you get to far away from one another and occasionally you see your character gliding when you are standing together in a town. We've also had to tele-port a couple times to a certain location to find one another again, but if you look hard enough and pay attention to the direction you are heading, you'll be able to retrace your steps and find one another. Also, if you pre-ordered the game, you get some sort of treasure imp that you can call for and it keeps you from traveling back to town to dump your junk.

When playing co-op if you and your friend get seperated , you can pull up the map and put the cursor over your friends name and teleport to where he is.