Tyler Posted February 9, 2009 Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 Sacred 2: Fallen Angel Developer: Ascaron Publisher: CDV Software, Deep Silver Genre: Action Role-playing Platform: PC, Xbox 360, PS3 Release Date: Nov 11, 2008 (PC), TBA 2009 (consoles) Overview Sacred 2: Fallen Angel is the second full game in the Sacred series. It is a prequel which takes place 2,000 years before the events of Sacred. Like its predecessor, the game takes place in a fantasy setting. A new game engine means that the game is rendered in perspective correct 3D, whilst retaining the viewpoint found in older isometric games. Video game designer Bob Bates has been involved in its production. The game also includes a video sequence with the power metal band Blind Guardian, who also made a theme song for the game. Sacred 2 is available for Microsoft Windows, as well as the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. All versions will contain the same content, the main difference is in the user interface, which has been designed in attempt to allow optimal control for the hardware differences of each platform. Campaigns There are two campaign path choices: Light and Shadow. The player will select the path they want to follow at the beginning of the game, and this choice determines the ultimate goal of their character. Throughout the game, the paths intersect at different points. In one path you may be asked to help defend a town, while in the other you may be the person attacking the town. World Sacred 2: Fallen Angel features a very large and open world, with seamless transitions from region to region so you don't have to wait for new regions to load when you switch between them. The surface map is 22 square miles. The world also contains dungeons and caves going as far as 2 levels deep, and surface dwellings of up to four stories. Most of the action takes place in the open world above ground. There is a wide variety of different regions, running the spectrum from arid desert to tropical rain forest. Every region differs in its climate, terrain, architecture, inhabitants, flora, fauna and lighting. In addition to playable characters and enemies, there are different neutral creatures who inhabit the various regions, as well as enemies and NPCs (non-player characters). NPCs are constructed to behave realistically within the Day/Night cycle. This means that you might not be able to find an open merchant in the middle of the night because he's at home, in which case he must be sought there. Classes There are 6 playable fixed-gender classes, each of which has different class-specific equipment and animations that are dependent on the weapons being wielded. Maximum character level will be at least 200. Seraphim: The Seraphim is the only class from Sacred that appears in Sacred 2: Fallen Angel. She embodies all that is good, therefore she can only play the Light path. Shadow Warrior: An elite warrior, returned to life against his will after his death on the battlefield. High Elf: A student of magic, freshly emerged from the academy ready to explore the world and expand her knowledge. Dryad: Adept at ranged combat, nature magic and voodoo. Temple Guardian: Cyborg canine creature - adept at the mechanical and technological arts. Inquisitor: He embodies all that is evil, therefore can only play the Shadow path. Mounts Players are able to use horses as they could in Sacred 1, for transportation as well as in combat. Each class also has access to a special unique mount type via a quest. Though players can engage in combat whilst mounted, they cannot execute combos, Sacred's version of special moves. Mounts do, however, add to character stats acting as an additional equipment slot. Multiplayer Multiplayer mode features "hot-swapping" capabilities, which allows players to leave their single player campaign, join a friend's game in multiplayer, then return to their single player campaign at the point they left off while retaining any levels and items that they received while in their friend's multiplayer game. All platforms will allow a variety of game modes, with five distinct multiplayer modes, with the maximum number of players varying based on the platform and game type: Microsoft Windows: Maximum of 16 players per game for PvP or free play, and 5 players (PvE - Players Versus Environment) for the Campaign Co-Op Mode. Xbox 360: Maximum of 4 players via Xbox Live, or 2 offline. PlayStation 3: Maximum of 4 players via PSN, or 2 offline. Screenshots Click Here Links Official Site Sacred Wiki Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aftrunner Posted February 9, 2009 Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 Sounds interesting. Anyone tried it yet? Worth getting into? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ne0 Posted February 9, 2009 Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 Sounds interesting. Anyone tried it yet? Worth getting into? OP. He's a lootwhore.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyler Posted February 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 @aft: Yup! Impressions... Bought this game off Steam for $49.99 (yeah, I know... pretty steep). After the massive 15 gig download I finally got down to playing it this weekend and so far it has been worth the time and the money. The game is very old school and fans of current gen RPGs will definitely take time to get used to it. Fans of Neverwinter Nights, Diablo and the original Sacred however will have a blast! I've played it for about 6-8 hours and reached level 15. The Good: The game features an extremely large open world to explore filled with many dungeons, small settlements as well as large cities. It looks very pretty not necessarily from a technical standpoint (since I've seen better graphics in other games) but considering the size of the map and how well it runs. The graphics look a lot like TitanQuest. There are virtually no load times while moving from one area to another making the entire game world appear seamless. The user interface is also designed very well. A lot of thought has gone into making the various screens and menus accessible as well as look good. The gameplay is classic hack and slash material. Kill HORDES of enemies, collect loot, keep the good stuff and sell the unwanted crap. Yes, it's done to death but hey, that's why we love Diablo, don't we? There are literally hundreds of quests to perform, some of them are simple while others require more strategy. Still if like me, you love doing those little errands for NPCS with question marks on their heads you can actually play this game for an endless number of hours. There is a main quest, but like most western RPGs (save for some like Planescape, Mass Effect, The Witcher etc) is rather uninteresting and bland. The character classes are pretty distinct (from their descriptions at least). I chose to play as a High Elf who is good at magic and has decent close combat skills, but lacks on the defense side. The character classes are of fixed genders and there are more females than males... obviously all of them are scantily clad. In Ancaria, less clothing means better protection... What really sets this game apart from most Diablo clones is the levelling up system and character customization. The game does not have any kind of MP meter or mana for using special abilities and magic, instead each of them take some time to regenerate. Equipping heavier/better armour will increase this time and you will constantly have to find a fine balance between keeping the time to a minimum as well as staying well protected. The regen time is also affected by other skills and you can specialize in skills that reduce this time. The customization is several layers deep and you will only begin to see this depth the more you play and level up. There are a lot of other smaller features such as passive abilities, being able to create uber-powerful spells by making combos out of existing spells, using mounts to travel etc... There's also a handy auto-collect button for looting. pressing Q will automatically collect everything in a fixed radius. This is very handy. The inventory itself is very old school (grid based) but features some handy features such being able to sort items as well as sell them directly from the inventory screen itself albeit for a lower price. So far I'm finding the game almost as addictive as Diablo 2 and the customization options keep it from getting boring. It does have the "just one more level before I quit" quality to it. However it falls way short of Diablo 2's greatness in some areas... The Bad The map is HUGE alright... good... BUT, there is very limited "fast travelling". You will spend most of your time running between towns and quest areas than you really should. You can only teleport between some of the larger towns. What's worse is that the routes between towns are packed with enemies... makes you wonder how people travel in these lands without getting killed anyway. The fights can be difficult at times especially if you get overwhelmed and dying means teleporting back to the nearest town. Travelling is by far the most annoying thing about the game. You can use mounts to travel faster but fighting while on mounts isn't as effective as fighting on foot. The game also takes it's "breaking the fourth wall" element too seriously. Your character is aware that he/she is in a game all the while, often saying stuff like "did you enjoy that user?", "I think you're having fun user!"... It's ok for a while but gets rather annoying later on. Also, there isn't a single NPC who doesn't like to crack a joke. Some of these are admittedly funny but it happens far too often. Technically the game fares well for the most part but there are slight pauses in animation while in combat. It doesn't happen too often but when it does it's a little frustrating. A minor nitpick at best. I've also heard that the launch version of the game had innumerable bugs which were later patched. So if you decide to get it make sure you get all the patches and updates. It seems like a good title to kill time between now and Diablo III. It's probably the best Diablo clone since TitanQuest. EDIT: Forgot to mention, the music is absolutely amazing! And it features Blind Guardian... Tolkien Power Metal FTW!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulovski Posted February 9, 2009 Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 Sounds VERY similar to TQ actually down to the choppy frame rate at places. I remember Sacred was well received but got pwned because of bugs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ne0 Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 Nice impressions there Tyler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyler Posted February 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 ^^ Thanks All diablo-holics with decent PCs should really consider getting this game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sumanth_Champion Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 ^^ Thanks All diablo-holics with decent PCs should really consider getting this game. That line is what i need, no more Have to check the specs. I just have a lappy wid me and it has some junk built in graphics card in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sumanth_Champion Posted February 10, 2009 Report Share Posted February 10, 2009 That line is what i need, no more Have to check the specs. I just have a lappy wid me and it has some junk built in graphics card in it. min Graphics card 256 MB, from nVidia® GeForce 6800 or ATI® Radeon Recommended Graphics card 512 MB, ab nVidia GeForce 8800 GTS oder ATI Radeon HD 3870 I dont meet the min req itself hve to wait for the console version Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyborg Posted February 16, 2009 Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 Great round-up of the game there Tyler. Being an RPG fan myself, I will surely give it a try. Hope, its really as good as you have described it to be. : ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffMonkey Posted February 16, 2009 Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 Dammit..another reason to build my PC now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyler Posted February 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 ^^ I won't really say the game is "must buy" material, it has it's flaws... but it's a damn good way to keep yourself busy until Diablo 3 comes out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffMonkey Posted February 16, 2009 Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 yea tyler... but it still looks good. i was following it on ign, was just waiting for someone elses thoughts on the game. besides i need to make a new pc anyways, so i can play L4d d3 sc2 and red alert3 lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liquid ocelot Posted February 20, 2009 Report Share Posted February 20, 2009 Quick question:I didnt like titan quest....will I like this? I do like action rpg's..I just didnt like titan quest.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyler Posted February 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2009 ^^ It's a lot deeper than Titan Quest and is a lot more freeform. The character customization options are also better. Graphically it looks a LOT like TQ though... I still think TQ is overall a better game that this (at least so far... I'm only Lvl 18 in Sacred 2). It had a better sense of progression. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackheart2925 Posted April 18, 2009 Report Share Posted April 18, 2009 Console version (X360 and PS3) of Sacred 2: Fallen Angel being released on May 12th/ June 05th . Gamespot gives the date as May 12th (probably for the NA version) http://www.gamespot.com/news/6208168.html?...adlines;title;1 PSU gives the date as June 05th (probably the UK version) http://www.psu.com/Sacred-2--Fallen-Angel-...-a006979-p0.php 360 version all ready to be released, PS3 also nearly there...however same release date for both! YAYYYYYY! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackheart2925 Posted April 18, 2009 Report Share Posted April 18, 2009 sorry for bumping the thread...but mods any idea if this game will be released in India? pleae help would love to know Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulovski Posted April 19, 2009 Report Share Posted April 19, 2009 Sacred 2 coming to consoles on 5th June but no demo - not sure if I want to pick it up without demo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackheart2925 Posted April 19, 2009 Report Share Posted April 19, 2009 hmmm...tyler gave it a good rating...kinda have faith in his taste! but will wait for review and then make up my mind...but i have pretty much made up mind to get this from Shopto...am starved of good bread-and-butter RPG's... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyler Posted April 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2009 My feedback was based on the PC version of the game. I'm not sure how it will play on the consoles. It's a click-heavy game with lots of tiny menus and icons and I'm really interested to see how Ascaron translates it for the consoles... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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