Published on
Sunday, May 17, 2009 by
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Product DescriptionSacred 2: Fallen Angel is an Action Role-playing Game (RPG) where the paths players choose and the decisions they make along the way, determine not only the destinies of their character, but also that of their chosen race as a whole, members of the other five other in-game races, and perhaps the game world of Ancaria itself. Set 2,000 years prior to the self-titled first game in the Sacred series, Fallen Angel is prequel to the events and quests of earlier RPG hit, that drops players in the midst of an epic struggle for control of elemental power on the grandest of scale.
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The Story
T-Energy has been flowing through Ancaria since time immemorial. This mysterious power forms the beginning of all life, is the source of all magic and the origin of all thought. For eons the angelic Seraphim watched over the T-Energy and therefore over the fate of the entire world. But eventually tiring of their burden, they passed their knowledge on to the High Elves. T-Energy helped the realm of the High Elves to experience an unimaginable boost of prosperity, making it the reigning culture in Ancaria. But a force as powerful as T-Energy carries great dangers. Not taught how to deal with this, no sooner did the Elves take control, then a heated dispute erupted among them as to how and to what purpose the T-Energy was to be used. Dispute morphed into irresolvable conflict, then rift and eventually to a civil war among the High Elves, where all participants were losers. Their realm collapsed and with it the entire power structure of Anacaria. In the turmoil all the peoples of Anacaria coveted the right, either openly or in secret, to wield the power of T-Energy and in the end, unmanaged, the T-Energy raged out of control warping creature and lands alike. Can anyone regain control over the T-Energy. And if so, will he/she strive to prevent the world from lapsing into final chaos, or deepen it?
Gameplay
Gameplay in Sacred 2: Fallen Angel in divided into two campaign paths: Light and Dark. As the game begins players choose and customize their character and choose the path they will follow. This choice determines the ultimate goal and intentions of their character, and as the game progresses through literally hundreds of quests and side quests, the paths of different characters intersect at different junctions. Choose one way and you may be tasked to defend a town and its people, while another path could result in you attacking the same town. The choice is yours and the fate of the world and your well-being are at stake.
Key Game Features:
- A massive, seamless and dynamic world delivering hundreds of hours of freeform exploration.
- Two deep campaigns: play as the ‘Light’ or ‘Shadow’ side, complete with distinct skills, rewards and story-elements tailored to the chosen path.
- Six exceptional, playable characters, each with a distinct look, capabilities and in-game motivation.
- Modifiable combat arts: change, upgrade and link together your alter ego’s combat skills to match your playing style.
- Fight effectively from the back of a number of mounts under your control; equip and upgrade your character’s unlockable special mount.
- Deities offer unique combat disciplines and unlock additional quests.
- Seamless transition between single and multiplayer gaming modes via XBOX LIVE.
- Captivating online modes of play challenge gamers in cooperative, PvP and PvE play.
- Extraordinary, cutting-edge graphics and Dolby 5.1 channel surround sound utilize the latest technologies for a truly immersive experience.
Character Classes
In Sacred 2: Fallen Angel players assume the role of one of six characters — five of which are new to the franchise — and delve into a thrilling story full of side quests and secrets that you will have to unravel. Breathtaking combat arts and sophisticated spells are waiting to be learned. A multitude of weapons and items will be available, and you will choose which of your character’s attributes you will enhance with these items in order to create a unique and distinct hero.
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Seraphim
Often referred to as ‘Fallen Angels,’ these mystical and angelic creatures are the oldest inhabitants of Ancaria. Fast, elegant and acrobatic warriors from a technological future they fight with light to medium weapons and, if required, with massive technological support. Players can assume the role of a Seraphim and protect the world from chaos. |
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Shadow Warrior
Shadow Warriors were originally humans trained as elite soldiers in service to the High Elves. Upon their death their souls were stolen by an Elven general, bound to lifeless bodies and imbued with T-Energy. Now free, they travel between this world and the next as undead beings with only the desire to return to the peace of the golden halls of Elysium. |
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High Elf
The best student at the ancient academy of magic in Thylysium, the High Elf character lives and breathes magic. Her hunger for adventure and her insatiable desire to increase her personal knowledge and the influence of her once-powerful house are the driving forces as she sets off into an Ancaria boiling over with turmoil. |
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Dryad
Masters of the hunt and akin to the Elves, The Dryad are in tune with nature and are equipped with the strength of the forests. The most powerful and the strongest among them are knowledgeable of the dark art of voodoo and were chosen in order to save their peoples from extinction. All are expert with the bow, traps, poisons and lore of the forest. |
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Inquisitor
The Inquisitors are the High Priests of the High Elves. Arrogant and deadly, they are only committed to themselves and their ultimate goal of assume control over the T-Energy. Proficient in close combat and able to gain increasing power as damage is taken, their manipulative spells make them powerful fighters from the shadows. |
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Temple Guardian
Since the beginning of time the purpose of Temple Guardians were to maintain and protect the Great Machine, so that it could keep the world in balance. Neither fully flesh or mechanical, they are half human and half machine. Propelled by T-Energy and devoted to protecting it, they are part of the Great Machine and so able to use the T-Energy for their purposes. |
A Wide Variety of Mounts
Across Ancaria you will find many horse dealers. They offer all kinds of animals, from the simple nag up to a real war horse. You can equip a war horse with bridle, saddle and even special armor. These special items can be found in the game just like player items, ranging in quality from regular to rare and even unique items. In addition, every character also has a unique mount created specifically for their character class. This mount not only fits the personality of the character, but also complements the various aspects of the character’s playing style perfectly. All character classes can fight from a mounted position using a variety of tactics that the player chooses depending on the terrain and battle conditions.
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Bloom
Finally a great console Action RPG!
Sacred 2 is a very solid console Action Role Playing Game (ARPG) filled with quests, dungeons and more loot then you can imagine. Yes this game does have its share of flaws but those of us that are addicted to these types of games (aka Diablo clones) are likely to be more then satisfied. The port over to the console has been so good that many reviews – even “professional” reviewers say this is better then the PC counterpart.
I’ve been craving a good console hack-n-slash ARPG ever since the days of Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance and Champions of Norrath that came out last gen. The market for these games is so small that they very rarely come out. Sure there are great RPGS currently – Oblivion, Mass Effect, Fallout 3 and other come to mind but we haven’t seen a real solid ARPG ‘Diablo clone’ come out in a long time. Finally Sacred 2 fills that gap – does it do a good job? Absolutely!
Let’s go ahead and get the flaws out of the way. A lot of what you may have already read is true to some degree. Yes the frame rate does stutter slightly in larger open areas. The character development does seem daunting at first. The screen does tear a bit, enemies do get stuck every once in awhile, you get stuck every once in awhile, the voice acting is pretty bad, and sometimes navigation is a pain because on your way to a quest you will suddenly hit a dead end that isn’t really that visible on your mini-map. The default camera is bad (luckily you can change it to a static camera which is much much better – makes the game play very much like BG:DA).
All of these flaws are present in some degree. It may sound like I’m bashing the game but really I’m not – I’m just telling you the truth. Also, the truth is that these issues are very nit-picky and in the grand scheme of things, well, they’re irrelevant. It seems as though a lot of people are exaggerating these issues. The frame rate stutter is very slight and I noticed it smoothed out a bit when I installed the game on my hard drive. The character development is daunting at first but you get used to it and it’s certainly better then having shallow character development. Enemies get stuck but it’s rare and doesn’t really affect the gameplay. People bash the voice acting and yes it is goofy and over the top – but this game doesn’t take itself too seriously, which is evident right away when you read some of the gravestones and the text for the quests. The whole game is a little bit goofy – in a good way. The only significant complaint I have is that there is a complete lack of a pause feature, which is odd. Even if you hit the guide button on your controller the game will still go on in the background. I’ve read that they may fix this and I hope they do.
Some people complain about the interface but I think it’s done very well. There is only so much you can do with a controller and I think they did a very good job porting over the interface – once you learn the ins and outs of it you will be flying through it in no time. Some people complain about the graphics saying they are outdated. I don’t understand this at all, sure they aren’t perfect but the world is vast and beautiful. On the PC this game is a complete system hog and they were able to port it well to the current gen consoles which are now becoming dinosaurs in computer years.
Look, it boils down to this. Do you like games like Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance and Diablo? Are you a fan of hack-n-slash, looting, dungeon crawling, character buffing games with massive worlds and hundreds of quests? If this is your idea of a fun game then certainly you will be able to look past the technical nit-picky issues listed above. Sacred 2 offers a massive world capable of eating up hundreds of hours, there is no reason you shouldn’t explore it. I am very satisfied with this game – it scratches that console ARPG itch I’ve had for quite some time now.
Sacred 2 is PERFECT… for me
This game may or may not be right for you but it’s PERFECT for me, and here’s why: Local Co-op. I’m fortunate to have a wife who loves gaming almost as much as me. This means that a game without local co-op only gets played when my wife is napping. Sacred 2 doesn’t have intense non-stop in your face action, which is perfect for me. I like a slower paced game that allows me to relax while playing. The ambient sound is very relaxing too. The sound of waterfalls, waves on the beach, wind blowing through the trees and birds chirping has lulled our baby to sleep on numerous occasions. (Ok twice, the game’s only been out 2 days
In all of the Lego games we enjoyed smashing stuff and collecting coins. In Resident Evil 5 we really enjoyed looting crates and upgrading our weapons. Sacred 2 is all about killing, looting and upgrading. A perfect combination that we can’t get enough of!
While Sacred 2 may be perfect for me, it’s not a perfect game. I had to knock off 1 star for all of the minor “nitpicky” flaws. I was unpleasantly surprised when I first popped the game in, that it was a top down third person perspective. I was put off by this at first but I’ve grown used to it and being surrounded by enemies it’s best to be zoomed out so you can see everything. There are minor frame rate drops and occasional pop-in and screen tearing, but for me it’s not enough to take away from the enjoyment of the game. There are other glitches where an enemy will be stuck in the ground, or won’t take any damage. Reloading the area (by entering and exiting a cave) always solves this problem. Plus with a game this time consuming it’s much more likely to come across glitches here and there.
My only other complaint with this game is that you cannot pause the action. I can understand this when you’re playing online co-op, but when playing offline, there should be a pause feature. The only thing you can do when you need to pause is save and hope you don’t die, or run to the nearest town (where you’re usually safe) and set the controller down. (side note: if anyone has found a way to pause this game please post in the comments section)
If you read any of the scathing professional reviews it’s important to understand the terminology:
1) Breaking the fourth wall: This is when a character acknowledges the audience. It comes from theater where a set on the stage will have 3 walls and there’s an invisible 4th wall between the cast and the audience. One memorable quote from Sacred 2 is when a bad guy dies and says, “I knew I was just an extra.”
2) Loot Grind: This is a descriptor for this type of game. You basically hunt down loot from bad guys and dungeons, while you grind through leveling up.
3) Diablo Clone: Apparently Diablo was the first to perfect the “loot grind” (never played it myself) and many games including Sacred 2 have tried to mimic this formula.
Another thing to note when reading professional reviews is that the PC released several months before the console versions, and was quite buggy. The Xbox 360 version has fixed all of these bugs (as far as I know) and yet still gets worse reviews than the PC.
So if you know nothing else about the game, you start off with a choice of 6 character classes. You then have a choice of light or dark campaign and a choice of which god to worship (this essentially gives you a really powerful “divine gift” or magic spell). You have character specific missions, main quest missions and side quests.
On your face buttons you can equip magic and weapons, and can bring up a second and third set by pulling the left and right triggers. Your divine gift is permanently assigned to up on the d-pad and you can assign potions to the other 3 directions on your d-pad.
In combat it seems you hold down the button to repeat the same move on an enemy. You can switch enemies with the left analog stick. You can assign your combat arts (magic) to combos so you can use 2 spells at once.
In local and online co-op you can bring YOUR character with all of YOUR armor, weapons and skills to a friend’s game. (Unlike Fable 2 where you were just a henchman) When you join someone else’s game you take all of your experience and loot back to your personal game, but the completed quests do not carry over.
Bottom line: if you’re able to get past this game’s quirks it’s a very enjoyable co-op, action, adventure, rpg, Diablo clone, loot grind that breaks the fourth wall.
Do not waste your money
I just bought this, thinking a console version would be fun. Not so.
I honestly think Baldur’s Gate from the old xbox looked, felt, and played better than this. This genre has been out for a long time and this is the result?
In co-op you can barely see your characters (I have a 47″ tv), the quests are numerous but unfufilling, and the screen actually tears when panning quickly. Gone is button mashing, replaced by a hold button x and move your D-pad action. I haven’t mastered it yet, and it’s kind of frustrating because of auto-aim locking onto targets farther away.
So I have a $60 game with a large map of lame quests to fulfill. I will probably try and pawn this off on an unsuspecting craigslist person.
Spend your money elsewhere.
Game is broken Until its fixed should not be bought!
Ok so a lot of these so called super fans that find no fault with this game or cant see anything wrong with it and think its wonderful are still in love with runequest. This game is broken. This game has crazy lagtime events even in solo play. In co-op “same” console, players have to be online to do a gamertag profile check before it will let them play. Second co-op players can not share items through the hero chest, can not share items through LB which is what the guide says. Then there’s the game. The movie cut screens are sad because the animation is three seconds ahead of the audio. As a rpg fan, I expect good story. This offers a luke warm story riddled with poor acting and writing. There are no redeeming factors about this game save your money for a real rpg experience. Heck go play diablo 2and you will have more fun. If I owned a game company, I would blacklist anyone who worked on this project from ever working for my company.
This game needs a major patch immediately!
Made a good move to console but still needed some polish
Sacred II
Hmm…5hrs in and less than p% completed and still a large map unexplored, mosters to kill tombs to loot. This is the game that Two Worlds wanted to be and Too Human should have been. If you need a Diablo fix before part 3 comes out…this is about the best you will get. I will say tho, the game I would have preferred seeing being ported over to console of this type would have been Titan’s Quest as it’s the game closest to Diablo right now in fun.
Well, moving right along, the stregnth in playing this game is in its simplicity. All of the controls work as they should and you don’t have to fumble too much trying to find the proper button to push to make spells work when they have to. Its a find mosters, kill loot, level up and have fun kind of game without all of the combos and intricate button learning seen in some newer types of games.
As far as exploring is concerned you can’t go 5 feet without finding a new quest and truth be told, you can take them and never complete them because sometimes you may get one better than the last or you way finish so far ahead on the map you may not want to travel back to finish another, but that’s ok, you don’t get penalized too much for missing missions.
There are varieties of monsters to engage and as I am only on level 10 I haven’t fought anything huge yet outside of a giant.
Speaking of leveling, so far the first 10 I have done seems to go by quickly considering I only bought it yesterday.
Some of you are on the fence about getting this game…so let me run down some fo the bugs that bring this game down now:
- Pathfinding and AI: The map could have had a better zoom feature built in allowing you to really figure where you are going as you have to follow the path to get to your destination. cutting thru the woods will have you backtracking a lot as more times than most you will run into a wall or a mountain and can’t find a way around it. The AI is also sometimey as in many cases they just stand around and do nothing when I am attacked. Also what i really hate is when they run off and aggro a large mob and initiate “The Benny Hill Chase Effect” which doesn’t end until the mob is dead or your companion
- Descriptions of objects could have been better: Sometimes you simply have to experiment with items to figure what they do as the descriptions aren’t aways clear in what magical items are for.
- NO PAUSE BUTTON. I don’t know what Ascarion was thinking but ummmm I really hate being in the middle of a mob fighting and want to step away for a min but CANT because I can’t pause in the middl eof playing and have to run into the nearest town in order to get a reprieve. I hope this gets fixed.
- No way to sort items self explanatory however one thing I do like is that you have sotrage chests scattered all over to put your items in.
- Limited customization: There were some classes I
wanted to choose but because you couldn’t change the sex, I didn’t.
- Camera severely limited: On one hand, it could have been what i got in NWN II but still you are severely limited what you can see around you in terms of distance but you rarely miss much.
Graphically speaking, it’s passable for a 360 game as a game of this sort I wouldn’t expect to have great graphics…it works for a game of this sort but it’s not stellar and the gore facor? Hehe, could have been upped a notch.
What will get you laughing or a straightface are some of the comments you get from your character as they wisecrack thru the game…problem is about 2hrs in you have heard them all.
Thankfully what some will get this game for is the multiplayer aspect and it offers a campaign mode, PVP mode and free roaming mode. One thing I did note is that instead of Ascaron building this as a pseudo MMORPG game, they set the servers up similar to how Blizzard did with Diablo and allow you to instance your own map with up to 4 people joining in and allows you to make small tweaks on who gets in…a nice touch.
All in all, it’s not a bad game but not a great game either. it’s been out for PC for a little while and seems like it made a decent move to console and while it’s not the Diablo killer or Oblivion killer, it’s a nice light game to play while waiting for bigger and better to come out later.
Again, here is to hoping that Titan’s Quest makes a move to console…but I won’t hold my breath.