Sacred - PC
About this item
- Third-person fantasy role-playing game with battle action
- Epic story with over 30 main missions and 200 subquests
- 16 different regions with 30 percent of the world getting unlocked as game unfolds
- Six unique player characters with different fighting styles and special skills
- For 1 to 16 players (multiplayer requires Internet connection or LAN)
Product information
Publication Date | March 26, 2004 |
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Computer Platform | PC |
ASIN | B0001IMDAG |
Release date | March 26, 2004 |
Customer Reviews |
3.5 out of 5 stars |
Best Sellers Rank | #159,977 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games) #8,176 in PC-compatible Games |
Package Dimensions | 7.4 x 5.1 x 1.4 inches; 5 ounces |
Type of item | Video Game |
Rated | Teen |
Item model number | 43222-5626 |
Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
Item Weight | 5 ounces |
Manufacturer | Encore Software |
Date First Available | February 15, 2004 |
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Product Description
From the Manufacturer
Sacred is a huge world full of incredible magic and ancient myth. An in-depth storyline and plenty of opportunities which will not only inspire the role-player but also the action orientated fan. Sacred delivers battles, a vast range of quests, and a story filled game.
The player can choose from 6 playable characters, each with their own individual characteristics and style. The more reserved role-players might prefer the Battlemage or the Wood Elf, while admirers of traditional fantasy characters can take on the role of the Gladiator or the Dark Elf. If the player fancies a different approach then the Seraphim, a follower of the mystical Angels, or perhaps the bloodthirsty Vampiress might quench their thirst.
In order to give the player a fast introduction into SACRED the starting position of the game also acts as a Tutorial area. Upon leaving this zone, Sacred opens up to almost limitless exploration.
Sacred's interface concentrates on user friendliness and allows the player to give their complete attention to the game events. The interface allows for the quick exchange of weapons and armor, as well as special combat moves and spells, allowing all to be implemented tactically.
Sacred does not have a barren and empty landscape but is filled with life. In the forests, marshes, deserts, catacombs, villages and towns you'll find helpful settlers, faithful "hirelings", and animals. Adventurers should also be aware of cruel, vicious and devious monsters, the Undead, thieves and raiders, amongst others.
Review
There's no way to make the case that developer Ascaron isn't trying to emulate the towering success of Diablo II with Sacred. The good news is that they've succeeded better than anyone before them, but the bad news is that Sacred doesn't touch the perfection of Blizzard's landmark 2000 title.
Playing through Sacred is a lot like sitting down for a bit of Dungeons & Dragons. You've got your main quest, which guides you through the massive world (though you're free to roam about on your own), and then you've got various sidequests that show up in each town you pass through. All involve killing stuff, and all reward you with loot and experience. What's nice about Sacred is that you feel a lot more like you're part of a heroic epic, rather than just slogging through monsters to hit the next level.
The biggest thing in Sacred that sets it apart from the crowd is the fact that you can ride horses into battle, trampling your foes beneath you or scampering away to pound them with magic or arrows from afar. Having a trusty steed to take into the fray can make all the difference, but beware – they can get injured and die just like you can. Also, mounts serve as an excellent way to traverse the huge landscape, minimizing downtime between adventures. A high-level horse can actually outrun arrows, which is entertaining, if not exactly realistic.
The six different classes available to players all play fairly differently, though many share some special moves. Also, the skill system is designed so that two characters of the same type can easily have different strengths, which helps adventurers feel more unique. The variety of equipment that drops aids this as well – it's as huge and random as any RPG, and ensures that players have different gear. The replay value this would normally imply is hampered by the lack of random maps, though. Playing through as another class will certainly be different, but you'll still be doing the same quests in the same landscapes.
The overall enjoyment factor of Sacred is fairly high, but it does suffer from some stupid technical issues. Many sections of the interface feel clumsy, especially the skill-switching, and pathing and targeting could certainly work a bit better. On the whole, though, action/RPG fans won't be ill-served by picking this up.
Concept:
Explore the gigantic world while killing a bunch of stuff and gaining some levels and loot
Graphics:
It's isometric, but the models and effects are very well done
Sound:
Kind of buggy and generic. Voiceovers are about 20 percent acceptable
Playability:
Not being able to remap keys is so 1987. The first three hours of the stupid defaults will drive you nuts
Entertainment:
Probably the best Diablo II clone around, but still doesn't measure up to the master
Replay:
Moderately High
Rated: 7.75 out of 10
Editor: Adam Biessener
Issue: June 2004
2nd Opinion:
You should be worried. Sacred has the potential to steal a great many hours away from your life. The game is immense fun, with beautiful, detailed backgrounds and dozens of individual character animations. The six playable classes are each unique and exciting in their own right. I was truly gratified to find that the menu system, maps, and inventory are all handled flawlessly. It's unfortunate that this otherwise gorgeous game is marred by some technical flaws in the hack-and-slash combat system. Even so, there are some hardcore Diablo II fans who are likely to find a new religion in the form of Sacred.
Rated: 8.5 out of 10
Editor: Matt Miller
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Addictive too. I am fairly picky, but this one sure measured up (unlike Divinity, which was a let-down game, that one was). Unlike anything I have played before, much better. Like darkstone, but way, way better. Beautiful. Easy controls, intuitive, FUN (and bits of humor).
The only drawbacks are tiny characters and buildings on map, & i wish it moved a tad faster. I guess a better vid card and/or processor w./ a larger monitor screen would fix that (installed on P3 of 800MHz with ATI9250 Radeon pci 128mb w./ T&L- i think an 03 or 05 Vcard/graphics card- and 512 ram, which is now 1BG Ram, so that should eliminate the ever-so-occasional lagging, mainly B4 combat or during, but easily corrected by zooming in, which is WAYYY cool, like Darkstone by JoWood, and which you can do at any time). The 2nd reason i gave 4stars & not 5 was the intricate, slow building process, only a bit repetitive, of killing the same orc armies over & over, albeit a different vast landscape, in order to gather money coins to (bummer) find your way back to a store to upgrade equuipment.
Character upgrades are mostly automatic, but i think there was some leeeway as to how you tailor abilities, which spells one chooses and which attributes to increase.
Riding on (2x faster than running) and attacking (though slower) , and even charging orcs with a HORSE-- ya, a real live-looking one you can hop off of and on at any time indefinitely. The water and lakes and flowers are rather pretty. Awesome music and battlecries. Devastating (and customizeable attack packages of moves, and othjer powers/ combo attacks: lightening flashing multiople chromatic swooshing arcs of color with sound effects as you swing your blade. You keep saying , "Wow! Neat-o, cool!" Characters do cool jumps, kicks, and somersaults too. The magic is woven in with the attack/ fighting.
You can even pick which of the detailed characters to be. The storyline is coherent and pulls you along; quests are inter-related. The way characters react to you improves as you conquests build your fame. There are even some teleportation arches scattered around. This game is dangerous fun for wasting hours you might never miss. One of the best ever. The only old school thing about it i noticed was the tediousness of the store where you buy equipment and upgrades (a grueling, ongoing experience), and the pop-up chat dialogoes of all the npc's. Note, this is a top-down 2-D view, though you can rotate 360 & zoom (not as much as Homeworld though, another good game but i can't get past ch./lvl 3 or 4 on that one).
This game, however, is winnnable, with tactics of attack, retreat & regenerate, then go back for more-- mainly a time investment & common sense, and being a good shopper, and sometimes you pickup NPCs that tag along and fight with ou/ for you, alongside (automatically, following you). NO need for any walkthrough [Thank Heavens] OR for any cheats! How refreshing, huh? The game offers a lot of freedom. Enjoyable to play. You'll love it. Easy to figure ot. Offers re-spawning where you left off at if killed. Character regenerates health & magic (mana).
The graphics are definitely not exciting, however, spells and abilities look cool and are fun to use. It can be argued that the graphics contain a distinct art style to them; regardless they are certainly not up to today's stantards. As you progress in the game you will notice little touches like multiple well placed corpses from a large battle. But, chances are, you will glance at the 2D screenshots and think to yourself:"Isn't this what Baldur's Gate used to look like?".
Now, the other negative aspect of this game: side quests. It's not the actual side quests themselves per say... It's how they are written. This game originates from Germany, which means that it undertook a translation. I have seen 10 year olds write more coherently. My suspicions lead me to think there was no person involved, it was strictly done by program. If you compare the main quests with the side quests you will understand my position. And yes, the main quests are uncorrupted.
If you can see past the above negativities you will be rewarded with a refreshingly deep action RPG. Lets talk about gameplay. There are multiple ways to play each character, much like Diablo 2. You simply will not play the same character the same way. Skills, abilities, spells and combat arts are all very customized. Translation: Very high replay value. Each character is original and all of them (surprisingly) are a pleasure to play. Killing goblins, dragons, zombies and Hill giants have never been funner. Battles are constant, they are everywhere, and most of them are frantic and require a touch of stragety. It's very open ended so you can visit all these beasts any time you want. Assuming of course your able to travel across Sacred's vast terrain to get to them.
If your a long time gamer you know that difficulty makes or brakes a game... And let me tell you, the difficulty in this game is perfect. A word of caution, this game will be difficult for non-hardcore rpg gamers. Length might be your next concern. And let me quiet any doubt you might have about it. It's LONG... to say the least, and much like Diablo you can return to the game on a more difficult setting, meaning better items (the important part) and of course more replay value. Don't be fooled into assuming there is no story here, there is, and while it's not the best like "Planescape Torment" or "KOTOR" it's still decent.
Sound is the strongest point of this game period. Music and sound effects. There are hundreds of different comments your hero will make (each of them) by either progressing through quests, killing beasts or simply out of boredom. Much of them will leave you sminling to yourself. Music is well placed, it's good and it's executed perfectly for each moment. It's slow when in cities and it's lifting when engaged in battle. Also, it's worth mentioning that the main quest characters all have voice overs.
The length, the difficulty, the sound, the music, the replay value, the customized choices and the sheer amount of pleasure gained by killing an orc with meteor showers forces me to give this game 5 stars. If your a hardcore RPG action player do yourself a favor and go buy it. This game is a sleeper much like Gothic II. Both of them, are simply the best RPGs available to us gamers at the moment. I strongly recommend both of them. Notice: Most of this review was aimed at the original sacred and not the expension.