Sacred Review

Overall Rating

Smooth controls, addictive gameplay, innovative concept, strong replayability, attention to detail, balanced character design, overall "fun"

Weak plot, buggy upon release (though current patches provide fixes), mediocre voice-acting, lack of comprehensive manual.

Judging from the reviews I've read thus far, it seems that Sacred is a game to either love or hate. I fall into the former category myself, and I fail to see the reasoning behind the negative opinions.

Yes, Sacred is superficially much like Diablo, but then again, most games take root in some ground-breaking predecessor. This doesn't necessarily mean they're "unoriginal," and it especially does not imply that the gaming experiences they facilitate are destined to be stale or boring. If you don't believe me, consider as just one example any modern fighting game. Of course, it is fundamentally very similar to any other fighting game, but there are probably important differences that distinguish it from others. For that matter, even sequels that stray very little from their prequels can be just as fun or even more enjoyable than "original" games. That said, Sacred boasts many improvements over Diablo and other games of the action RPG genre. First, it uses horses as mounts which boost speed and protection while providing an exhilirating sense of adventure that is somehow lacking on foot. The fact that certain skills and all combos cannot be utilized on horseback is actually a stipulation that not only makes realistic sense (as in the Battle Mage's Water Form skill, which, when active, would not logically allow him to ride his steed without passing through to the ground, for it makes him permeable to all living things), but also enforces the necessity to make an additional combative decision, which in turn adds ever so slightly to the interest and strategy of the game: horseback or not?

Next, the skill, ability, spell/combat move, and combo system is a deep feature that allows for nearly unlimited possibilities in fine-tuning the characters. Skill and ability points are granted upon levelling up; abilities are traits like strength, endurance, etc., and skills are proficiencies and talents like weapon lore or trading skill. This alone does not seem unusual, but the sheer number of abilities and skills to choose from is impressive. The spells and fighting techniques comprise the greatest substance of the point alottment system. Contrary to what has been said by certain other amateur critics, these powers ARE varied and original. As examples, consider the Battle Mage and Vampiress. The mage has 16 different spells to pursue, from Fire Spiral, which creates a pulsating ring of fire that alternately expands and contracts in the designated area for a considerable duration of time, to Water Form, which turns his body into a watery being that is immune to enemy attack for a short duration. The vampiress has a set of 8 human/vampire powers and 8 vampire-only powers. One of these allows her to transform into a deadly vampiress (or back into a human knight); while in the vampiric form, she is periodically damaged by sunlight during the day, but her abilities are enhanced and her powers extended. Her other powers range from special life-draining attacks to summons of bats and wolves. The combo feature stands out as perhaps the most innovative aspect of the game. A combo is a combination of up to four spells/fighting moves that allows a character to perform these powers consecutively (whereas powers performed alone cause delays which must elapse before the next can be executed). Up to four different combos can be stored at a time, and it is possible to change any one of them at any time for a price. The equipment is also greatly varied and customizable. Sacred borrows Diablo II's socketted items in its blacksmith customization feature, but the possibilities are much more numerous than they were in DII, with the ability to set jewelry (rings or amulets) into armor and weapons. Briefly, further innovations include the ability to lead and protect multiple NPC's who will either fight or flee in combat, a day/night cycle that actually affects gameplay, and several different potion types (from the typical healing potion to a mentor potion that temporarily increases experience gain), all of which are easily activated via accessible keys.

I realize that this review is much longer than most other user reviews, but I have only thus far touched upon what I perceive to be the greatness of this game. I will just summarize its other strong points: the controls are comfortable, intuitive, and smooth; the gameplay is extremely addictive and enjoyable; the replayability is high due to 6 different character classes, at least 2 different difficulty modes (probably 3 or more once the game has been completed), and both cooperative and competitive multiplayer support; a strong attention to detail which shines in environmental objects/animations and humorous "easter eggs," and a balanced character design with many viable possibilities for development directions of each type.

Of course, no game is without a few setbacks. For Sacred, these are a cliche storyline, a less-than-perfect release version (with bugs that have now been fixed), voice-acting that is average at best, and a manual that fails to cover some important aspects of gameplay. Overall, though, the strengths far outweigh the weaknesses in Sacred's case.

Members' Comments onDashel's Review

• lastmohican on 16th Aug 2004

  Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
  
  This was fun!