04-14-2004, 07:28 PM
Of all the stuff that claimed to be the "Diablo Killer" on the market, nothing has come close. Divine Divinity was weak. Neverwinter Nights was a completely different kind of game. Harbinger was fun and Diablo-like, but a little too short, and set in the future. Nothing has seemed to be able to capture the hack & slash fun of Diablo - until now.
Sacred is immediately fun. The interface takes a bit of getting used to, but after a few hours feels intuitive. The character classes are different and fun. The level up system is fantastic - more like Diablo 1 where you have to find runes that upgrade your skills. The new twist being that you can trade with a "combo master" 2 useless runes for a new random one, 3 useless runes for a new class-specific random one, or 4 useless runes for the rune of your choice.
There are plenty of items including uniques, sets, and socketable items. Not all character classes have the same number of slots. Battle mages can wear 4 rings and 2 amulets. Gladiators can wear 2 rings and 1 amulet, but get extra shoulder pads. Seraphims (angels) get upgradable wings.
I was initially worried about the description of the world being "huge". Morrowind was huge - too huge - and I didn't ever really get into it. Way too open ended. I would have a quest to do, but didn't really know how to get going on it. Here is one of the really BRILLIANT parts of Sacred: There is a main story-related quest and hundreds of mini-quests. I think they total 290 in all. Unobtrusively in the lower middle portion of the window is a small compass. The large arrow points to the direction of your main quest. The small arrow points to the direction of your subquest. When you open the mini-map, there is a tiny yellow arrow, and a tiny blue arrow showing where to go for each. It is subtle, and winderful. You can roam around freely if you choose and never really lose your way when you feel like getting back to the quests.
The quests are generally pretty standard stuff. Go kill this - go bring me that. But they are funny, too. Some of the dialog has me cracking up, but not in a way that makes the game silly. They probably put far too many "easter eggs" in the game. There are quotes from dozens of other games and movies littered through the game. There is even a "Pac-Man" cave where you are trying to gather up pellets in a maze while being chased by four slow moving ghosts that can kill you with a single touch.
Horses also change the dynamics of the game. You can still swing your axe from your mount, but it is slower. However, you can run away faster, too. More points in riding leads to the ability to use better and faster horses. I am anxious to play a mounted archer to see how it works out.
The graphics are great. They aren't the most ground breaking graphics I've ever seen, but I would give them a solid 8 out of 10. Much better than Divine Divinity, and far better than Diablo 2.
To me, Divine Divinity felt like a cheaply made and poorly translated Diablo clone. However, Sacred looks and feels like what I would expect out of Diablo 3. It plays and feels like the "next step". If you are a fan of Diablo 2, I urge you to go out and get this game. I could only afford one - Spellforce or Sacred. I am glad I went with Sacred.
Sacred is immediately fun. The interface takes a bit of getting used to, but after a few hours feels intuitive. The character classes are different and fun. The level up system is fantastic - more like Diablo 1 where you have to find runes that upgrade your skills. The new twist being that you can trade with a "combo master" 2 useless runes for a new random one, 3 useless runes for a new class-specific random one, or 4 useless runes for the rune of your choice.
There are plenty of items including uniques, sets, and socketable items. Not all character classes have the same number of slots. Battle mages can wear 4 rings and 2 amulets. Gladiators can wear 2 rings and 1 amulet, but get extra shoulder pads. Seraphims (angels) get upgradable wings.
I was initially worried about the description of the world being "huge". Morrowind was huge - too huge - and I didn't ever really get into it. Way too open ended. I would have a quest to do, but didn't really know how to get going on it. Here is one of the really BRILLIANT parts of Sacred: There is a main story-related quest and hundreds of mini-quests. I think they total 290 in all. Unobtrusively in the lower middle portion of the window is a small compass. The large arrow points to the direction of your main quest. The small arrow points to the direction of your subquest. When you open the mini-map, there is a tiny yellow arrow, and a tiny blue arrow showing where to go for each. It is subtle, and winderful. You can roam around freely if you choose and never really lose your way when you feel like getting back to the quests.
The quests are generally pretty standard stuff. Go kill this - go bring me that. But they are funny, too. Some of the dialog has me cracking up, but not in a way that makes the game silly. They probably put far too many "easter eggs" in the game. There are quotes from dozens of other games and movies littered through the game. There is even a "Pac-Man" cave where you are trying to gather up pellets in a maze while being chased by four slow moving ghosts that can kill you with a single touch.
Horses also change the dynamics of the game. You can still swing your axe from your mount, but it is slower. However, you can run away faster, too. More points in riding leads to the ability to use better and faster horses. I am anxious to play a mounted archer to see how it works out.
The graphics are great. They aren't the most ground breaking graphics I've ever seen, but I would give them a solid 8 out of 10. Much better than Divine Divinity, and far better than Diablo 2.
To me, Divine Divinity felt like a cheaply made and poorly translated Diablo clone. However, Sacred looks and feels like what I would expect out of Diablo 3. It plays and feels like the "next step". If you are a fan of Diablo 2, I urge you to go out and get this game. I could only afford one - Spellforce or Sacred. I am glad I went with Sacred.