Game News Sacred 2 eyecandy blow out at 3DGamers

[Saint_Proverbius]

Tags: Sacred 2

<a href="http://www.3dgamers.com/">3DGamers</a> has a bunch of new <a href="http://www.3dgamers.com/news/more/1096484813/">screenshots</a> as well as a <b>25MB</b> <a href="http://www.3dgamers.com/dlselect/games/sacred2/s2-e3_06-trailer-hires.wmv.html">trailer</a> of the sequel to <a href="http://www.sacred-game.com">Sacred</a>. Both show off some new features including the ability to ride more than just horsies, there's mention of parallel good and evil campaigns, and so forth.
<br>
<div align="center"><a href="http://www.3dgamers.com/news/more/1096484813/"><img src="http://www.rpgcodex.com/images/screenshots/sacred2/tiny001.jpg" height="150" width="200"> <img src="http://www.rpgcodex.com/images/screenshots/sacred2/tiny002.jpg" height="150" width="200"></a></div>
<br>
I like the <i>RPG of the Year</i> award that <A href="http://www.pcgamer.com">PCGamer</a> gave the first one. The first kicked heaps of ass for what it was, but I'm sure there had to be better choices that year other than a straight up action CRPG.
<br>
<br>
Spotted at: <A HREF="http://www.bluesnews.com">Blue's News</A>

 

[One Wolf]

The first kicked heaps of ass for what it was

what was it?

somehow i got the idea that you were forced to play as some pussy goody-goody asshole the whole game, but i am realizing i have no info to back that.

 

[dojoteef]

Too much specular with bloom on the armor.

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

somehow i got the idea that you were forced to play as some pussy goody-goody asshole the whole game, but i am realizing i have no info to back that.

The first one pretty much was a good guy quest, though they gave different reasons for why each character class was doing the whole good guy deal. The Daemon was in the main quest for the sake of getting revenge for being cast out of the Underworld. After being cast out, she's told by the shadow of her former demon powers what events are unfolding that she has to be a part of in order to get back to the Underworld. Her random chatter kind of reflected that she wasn't exactly doing anything to make the world a better place.

That said, I'm kind of curious what they mean by "Parallel good and evil campaigns". I don't know if they mean totally different campaigns or choices along the way that eventually get locked in place or even if such choices are allowed by all classes. It'd be hard to picture a Seraphim turning evil considering they're basically "constructed" to be good. A few tomes and scrolls mention that Seraphim are basically genetically created beings and a lot of their weapons and armors are sci-fi type things. Then again, the full name of the game is "Sacred 2: Fallen Angel".

 

[sheek]

Quick download link

20 minutes? 3DGamers you suck.

 

[Naked_Lunch]

The first kicked heaps of ass for what it was, but I'm sure there had to be better choices that year other than a straight up action CRPG.

Indeed, Sacred: Gold was very awesome but in no way deserving an RPG of the year award, especially not over Bloodlines which was its only competition.

Glad to see they kept the isometric view unlike ANOTHER sequel to a very good action RPG.

 

[vazquez595654]

[/img]

Doesn't that look slightly out of place?

 

[aboyd]

Sacred had lots of houses & villages. It looks OK, aside from the drywall. If they made the walls look less modern, it should be OK.

-Tony

 

[DarkUnderlord]

I still haven't finished the first Sacred. It's on my list of things to do though.

 

[Jason]

Same here. Fate has yet to bore me so Sacred will wait a bit.

 

[Naked_Lunch]

We should totally get an online game going like I was supposed to do with Pat and Saint before they both died.

 

[Major_Blackhart]

Looks good sofar. I wonder what new classes will be available for play, maybe new races even, like Orks. That would be fun as hell.

 

[Volourn]

I pulled a EXitium with Sacred I sadly have to admit. I liked it *too* much at the started, and by the time I quit, I hated it. It's combat just became boring and tedious. I do love the horsies though!

 

[Section8]

We should totally get an online game going like I was supposed to do with Pat and Saint before they both died.

Yeah, for sure. Count me in.

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

I'm up for some Sacred multiplayer here in a few weeks. I probably won't have too much time until June, though.

 

[Justin Cray]

I coulnd't get into Sacred. The production value felt too low (maybe Diablo's fault) with outdated graphics and animations. Didn't help that the voices sounded amateurish either.

I kept comparing it to Diablo (I or II), wich may be an error.

Man I just now realized how Blizzard spoiled me in that regard. :/

 

[Markman]

How about they put a decent combat system in the sequel instead of these flashy gfx?
First one bored me to death with its damage numbers...level 3 doing 30 damage with glitchy animations, level 10 doing 300 damage with glitchy animations. Just klick, klick, klick...if there's one game that reminds me of Progress quest, its Sacred.

 

[Astromarine]

I keep trying to finish sacred, but ALWAYS, without fail, I end up getting distracted by some other game or whatever and dropping it. Maybe I just suck, or maybe it's a game I like the idea of but not the game itself. I dunno, but I think it would have been nice to finish it once and for all.

 

[Hazelnut]

I just wrote sacred off as a inferior Diablo 2 clone and have given it not a moments thought since. I enjoyed both Diablo's immensly, especially multiplayer, and couldn't see what was better about sacred at the time.

So, why play it over D2 or something - anyone clue me in?

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

I coulnd't get into Sacred. The production value felt too low (maybe Diablo's fault) with outdated graphics and animations. Didn't help that the voices sounded amateurish either.

So, Sacred's production values were too low in terms of graphics compared to Diablo 2, but Diablo 2 was released with a 256 color, 640x480 display? The frame rates on those sprites weren't exactly inspirational either.

I just wrote sacred off as a inferior Diablo 2 clone and have given it not a moments thought since. I enjoyed both Diablo's immensly, especially multiplayer, and couldn't see what was better about sacred at the time.

So, why play it over D2 or something - anyone clue me in?

Sacred 1.5, which is the release version, was pretty crappy. It took a few patches for Sacred to actually be polished up enough for it to be worth playing.

What did Sacred have over Diablo 2? For one, it had a much larger world with gobs of nooks and crannies to find and play around in. There were side quests sprinkled all over the landscape - as opposed to Diablo 2 which just had 21 quests in all of four acts. There's also a bunch of lore books and scrolls scattered randomly all over the game. The more books you found, the more complete your collection of the backstory of the setting.

Sacred also had better monsters, including monsters that could actually use the spell system of the game. Diablo 2's monsters typically only had a melee attack or a ranged attack. The only exceptions in Diablo 2 I can remember were Baal and Diablo who just used multiple spells. Sacred spell casters can summon, cast curses, heal, and so forth.

Oh, and Sacred multiplayer didn't have that whole "BAAL RUN" nonsense with the fixed drop types and such, which ultimate ruins it. Drops in Sacred are determined by a much broader method including the level of the quest versus the player level, the difficulty setting, and so forth. Most good drops are found by doing the quests in both single player and multiplayer. You can't keep harvesting the same sidequests over and over again, though, like you can do with Baal running.

The character classes are different enough to make them interesting. Seraphims, for example, really need to be hybrids in order to excel in combat. They also require a hell of a lot of management during combat. Of the five possible special attack slots you get, you'll probably be using six of them. No, that's not a typo, I found myself not only using all five but occationally swapping one out in the middle of a battle because I needed another spell for something.

Vampiress is probably the most powerful class given the right items and the class's build is way too easy to power game. Pump up Vampirism, and you'll find that you're fairly adept during the day but an unholy terror at night time. All you really need is the Attack Combat Art, and you'll be doing very rapid attacks with criticals all over the place.

Wood Elves are fairly straight up ranged fighters, but also have a great deal of magic as well. They can also get good with a spear/staff, but most of their combat arts revolve around bows. With a good crossbow, a lot regeneration time, multiple shot, and attack, you'll be launching 30+ arrows at any given time. Moon magic is also pretty potent which has summoning aspects as well as cursing aspects. Just for kicks, there's also a combat art called "Spider Arrow", which does a hell of a job of distracting enemies by producing a bunch of little spiders to attack them.

Dwarves are pretty cool, though I think the muskets and pistols are a little weak due to the fall off of damage over ranged. They're much more potent with their cannon attacks. I've seen dwarf builds that could haul ass and Cannon Blast fairly quickly. Basically, runners and gunners. They can also forge items, which amounts to socketting things for players. For group fighting, they can use their cannon as a flame thrower, which is pretty nifty.

 

[Hazelnut]

Oh, and Sacred multiplayer didn't have that whole "BAAL RUN" nonsense with the fixed drop types and such, which ultimate ruins it. Drops in Sacred are determined by a much broader method including the level of the quest versus the player level, the difficulty setting, and so forth. Most good drops are found by doing the quests in both single player and multiplayer. You can't keep harvesting the same sidequests over and over again, though, like you can do with Baal running.

Yeah, that was when it got boring and I stopped. Well, after soloing uber-diablo a couple of times. Christ, the riches that I let expire after getting bored...

Sacred sound interesting, and I might well pick it up cheap and be up for some multiplayer if you're gonna start from scratch and not play looney hours. I do miss getting a good party that play well together on D2, it was like a well oiled machine. Saving other people's asses and having your own ass saved was fun.

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

Be sure you get Sacred Gold, which is Sacred, Sacred Plus, and Sacred Underworld all in one package for $20.

Oh yeah, and the story in Sacred is much, much better than in Diablo 2. It's loaded with high fantasy cliches, but it's fairly lengthy with a lot of interesting stuff along the way.

 

[Elwro]

I keep trying to finish sacred, but ALWAYS, without fail, I end up getting distracted by some other game or whatever and dropping it.

That's exactly my expeirence with Divine Divinity. I still think the game is very good, I love the music, like exploring new areas... but somehow always another game comes in or I go for a long trip.
Anyway, Sacred Gold will be out in Poland in June, so I'll try to start again with a dwarf character (I play dwarves very often in games that provide that possibility :D ). I remember that when I played the original Sacred (before the Plus patch) I got bored to tears with my Gladiator character, but to rationalize buying a new shiny box I'm now trying to convinve myself that it was due to using a poor build and playing an old, buggy version of the game because new versions are bound to be so much better.

 

[Naked_Lunch]

I'm up for some Sacred multiplayer here in a few weeks. I probably won't have too much time until June, though.

Alright, cool. I'll actually be able to play this time now that I actually have Sacred Gold and all.

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

I remember that when I played the original Sacred (before the Plus patch) I got bored to tears with my Gladiator character, but to rationalize buying a new shiny box I'm now trying to convinve myself that it was due to using a poor build and playing an old, buggy version of the game because new versions are bound to be so much better.

Yeah, that was most likely 1.5 or 1.6. 1.5 sucked, 1.6 wasn't much better. Hell, it wasn't until 1.7 that they finally fixed the issue with skulls being socket items as opposed to unarmed. Though, it was kind of cool socking someone with a skull over your fist. :D

Gladiators were pretty gimped before 1.7 too. In fact, all classes were because the drops sucked and that was before they added the Regenerate Special Move modifier to items. Once they fixed the drop system and added a few modifiers to items, the game got a hell of a lot better pretty quickly. Of course, they also tweaked a bunch of the Combat Arts, skills, etc. which helped, but the most notable improvement IMHO came from the items.